• Pinch Bolt Spindle Nut
  Forum: Suspension/Tires/Wheels
  Last Post: [email protected]
  59 minutes ago
  » Replies: 0
  » Views: 6
• Gast compressor
  Forum: Air Operated Systems and Leaks
  Last Post: dannymarilyn
  4 hours ago
  » Replies: 6
  » Views: 120
• Front compressor running ...
  Forum: Air Operated Systems and Leaks
  Last Post: hypoxia
  10 hours ago
  » Replies: 7
  » Views: 172
• Detroit Series 60
  Forum: Engine and Transmission Monitoring Systems
  Last Post: Richard
  11 hours ago
  » Replies: 40
  » Views: 20,632
• Who are the experts? I wa...
  Forum: General
  Last Post: tobflyin
  Yesterday, 12:06 PM
  » Replies: 3
  » Views: 252
• Coleman 2 Ton RVP6536 Ser...
  Forum: Replacement part information
  Last Post: rickj
  Yesterday, 11:09 AM
  » Replies: 0
  » Views: 50
• 1989 Newell on Auction
  Forum: Coaches for Sale (Please read the info in the Category description)
  Last Post: rickj
  Yesterday, 10:40 AM
  » Replies: 22
  » Views: 16,077
• East Coast 2025 No Rally ...
  Forum: Get Togethers
  Last Post: Fulltiming
  04-25-2025, 06:00 PM
  » Replies: 40
  » Views: 10,159
• alternator not working
  Forum: Electrical
  Last Post: Jack Houpe
  04-25-2025, 08:58 AM
  » Replies: 38
  » Views: 37,422
• Time for a change
  Forum: General
  Last Post: Jack Houpe
  04-25-2025, 05:41 AM
  » Replies: 3
  » Views: 247

• Forum posts:67,384
• Forum threads:8,015
• Members:3,843
• Latest member:pete9093

hi all,

after reading about the tragic fire of a 99 wanderlodge this week and that it was being attributed to the propane fridge as the most likely reason for the fire, it has renewed peoples interest in converting from a propane rv fridge to a household fridge.

since i did that not too long ago on my 1990, i thought i would share my experience with it.

darlene was never happy with the dometic 2820 fridge we had. it was small, it didnt cool very well when it was hot outside (this is a debate on forums, but until you live in the phoenix area, you dont really know what hot is.) by hot i mean 110-120 degree ambient. and you say, why would we want to use the fridge when it is that hot? because we want to load it up and since it takes a better part of day to get cold, we fire it up the day before we are leaving to be able to stock it up.

i have studied ammonia gas fridge specs, and no matter what any of you say, if it is 115 degrees outside, your fridge is NOT going to get down to 40 degrees. particularly if you turn it on and the interior of the coach is 125 degrees. i talked to a tech at campingworld service and he said he believes people have them change fridges in the summer not understanding that it just cant cool like a compressor fridge can.

if you look at specs, the best operating ammonia fridge will cool 55-60 degrees from ambient. so, for those of you who live in normal parts of the world and it is 95 degrees, yea your fridge will get down to 35 degrees and you are happy as a lark. if it is 115 degrees and your fridge is even a little less than perfect, you now have a slightly cool fridge temp of 55-60 degrees. and the freezer is not good enough either.

i have discussed this with many people who are claiming their fridges work when it is hot just fine. the problem is that they really dont know what HOT is. it is all relative.

btw, once we would get on a trip and get to a temperature that most of the rest of you believe is hot and we believe is a cold wave, the fridge would work fine....just still be too small.

so....having established that the fridge needs to be replaced with a household one, i went on the quest to find the right one. i had very little room to get too different of a fridge dimension wise. there were several discussion in different places on what fridge replaced their rv fridge and when gordon (who is on this forum) replaced his, i followed his lead and used the same one. although, in typical newell fashion of no two newells are the same, my cabinet work was much more extensive than his was.

i used the whirlpool Model# ET0MSRXTB. i paid $300 delivered from Lowes on it.

it has rear cooling coils that are exposed but that made it easier for me to put a cooling fan there to blow up.

i will tell you it took fairly extensive modifications to the cabinet. i had to trim on both sides and the top and re fabricate the base (cutting down the drawer as well) to make it fit in mine.

in addition i made a removable panel that is accessible from the exterior fridge access door to seal the compartment up since there is no longer a need for outside air. i also enclosed the top roof vent from the inside where the gas chimney went.

i added a computer fan that is switched from a switch in the cabinet next to the fridge to turn the fan on to blow across the coils.

i did current measurements. the biggest current drain was the defrost circuit. so i disconnected it on the fridge. i was not going to use it for more than weeks at a time so that is not a big deal. and if it was, it takes ten minutes to plug it back in from the inside freezer compartment.

when i was done i do not believe you could tell it wasnt done at the newell factory. i have shown several members of the forum and they say the same thing.

1. the new fridge was taller and wider. so i had to cut the sides and cut the top and lower the platform it sits on by 4". that meant i had to make the drawer shorter and shorten all the supports underneath including the plenum for the heat in the bathroom. i made a jig out of aluminum stock to cut straight since it was so close to the wall.

2. i used black edgebanding since the fridge is black. and painted the inside with flat black. it blends perfectly.

3. i drilled five 1" holes across the top for ventilation and painted the inside of the holes black.

4. i made a small plenum about 12" high and mounted a 3 speed computer fan on the top pointed at the bottom of the coils on the back of the fridge. i ran a switch to the inside back of the cabinet over the dinette. just for extra ventilation if needed when really hot.

5. i did the same as yours with full sized house fridges. i made a piece of wood go across the top just behind the hinges that i used the front levelers of the fridge to "jam" the fridge up against to hold it steady. i also put 2 wood screws on the bottom plate of the back of the fridge into the platform. it aint going anywhere

6. i sealed up all former openings to the outside. the roof and the side access panel for the old propane fridge. i made the outside one removable to get at the back of the fridge.

7. i wired the fridge into the inverter circuit.

7.5 i disconnected the fridge defrost circuit. we dont live in it full time so it gets defrosted by turning it off. besides, it consumes 400 watts. the fridge is only 1amp with the compressor running and 2 amps at startup for a few seconds. i am trying to keep it as low a power as possible. the uline icemaker i have draws 2 amps....not counting the heater to loosen the ice cubes before it dumps them out.

8. installed it and turned it on. got from 85 ambient to minus 4 in the freezer in a few hours. love it.

i have to say that it was way more work than i expected, but the results are outstanding.

it cools down in a few hours and is ice cold even when it is 115 degrees outside.

darlene was happy so i was too. and it was a fun project

tom

my daughter laura has become quite the newell spotter after spending a month traveling with us this summer.

out by her home in surprise she saw a early 90's cream colored newell with beige stripes on Olive Street.

I will teach her to tell the year better but from what she describe (she compares it to our two coaches), she was close.

later

tom

Does any one else foresee a problem coming for Newell as the 2014 models are now selling for 1.8 million. Seems to me that Newell is moving toward a problem that the Prevost converters ran into and that is not enough people able to buy their coaches. Prevost prices have stabilized and even dropped. Newell's break even point seems to be around 24 coaches a year and that is where they have been for several years now. A few less sales could be very bad. I hope my impression is wrong. Just wondering if I'm the only one with these concerns.....................I owned a Country Coach when a vibrant business went into liquidation very quickly.

Folks, there has been many discussions on the fires that have been caused by rv refrigerators. Another disaster happened last night when a friends coach caught fire. Fortunately, he, his dog and his wallet survived. He had enough time to get out with just his underware. His wife was in another location. He had a Norcold and had all the recalls and recalls on the recalls done. The coach from kitchen to drivers area is gone. He had a working smoke detector, Thank God.
I went out to my coach and I have a Dometic. I checked the smoke detector above the refer and found out it is defective. I will purchase a couple more detectors this week. When that unit goes out, a Whirlpool will take its place.
Tom is a member of the wanderlodge group and maybe he can get the photos about this situation. I don't believe anyone should take this lightly. Ernie Ekberg

This is the first Guru contest. Maybe Tom can award the winner some extra stars! If not, you will have the satisfaction of winning.

Below is a picture of the mystery item. Yes, it is cracked, otherwise I would not have gone to the trouble. It came originally on my '99. What is it?

As cold weather approaches, a friendly reminder that AquaHot recommends an annual service to ensure many hot showers and hot coaches. The service is an easy job for a DIYer with basic tools & knowledge. The instructions are in the link below.

http://newellgurus.com/Thread-AquaHot-annual-service

Been watching my Filterminder and it was at 20. At 25 it calls for a filter change. I've always changed my air filters at 30,000 miles as these diesels kick up a lot of dust. I have also heard of some air filters degrading and breaking up & parts going through the turbo. I was anxious to do an autopsy on my air filter after 30,000 miles. The inlet side of the filter was very dirty. The outlet side was clean. Using a light I could see no light through the filter. I saw no degrading of the paper element which was a positive. It is my opinion that 30,000 miles is about right for changing the air filter.

hi all,

i was at chesters coach today and mentioned to him he should either change or carry a spare merge solenoid.

I told him i would send him the part number. it is a

Cole Hersee 24106 18 bucks plus shipping at ryderfleetproducts.

http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/ryder/...tDetail.do

tom

Hi all,

Darlene and I and the grandkids went to see Chester's 2001 and spend some time with him and Jan. Besides being really neat folks and extremely welcoming to us, their coach is absolutely stunning. It is very very beautiful and clean. They are visiting here from Mexico where they live. Jan has family here in the Phoenix area and they come often to see them.

We spent almost 3 hours with them including lunch at a local restaurant (thanks chester!)

we went through all his bays and talked newell for a long time and then went inside and visited.

Will see Chester tomorrow for a little while and visit again.

Thanks Chester and Jan!

Tom

the bluebirds guys are having some fun with this listing on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1978-blue...3a79f63fb9

we can only hope.....

tom