First thanks to Tim for ice bucket and George for photos , I fitted ice bucket and dropped metal arm hoping for ice , nothing , took outside cover off to find control unit disconnected and bottom connection broken .
Now heading to local hardware for advice on fittings , anyone else been down this path ?
Better picture
Jimmy,
I wouldn't need any more excuse than where you are at to switch to a residential refrigerator.....Good luck getting the ice maker going!
The water line that either Dometic or FOT use for the ice maker is for shit! It turns brittle and also on our coach, they had it right next to the burner so it would burn a hole in the line! Our line runs from the passenger side kitchen, under the coach and back up into the fridge opening on the driver side. Tough to run a new line, but I want a new copper line run. We have modified ours so that it doesn't rub against the burner.
You should be able to fin fittings at Lowes. We had to replace the fittings and I do think we found everything at Lowes.
Think you could be right , just stripped back the black plastic sheath to find the plastic pipe from valve to freezer ice box is crumbling , only solution would be fridge out to replace the line !!!!!
Tom
How did you replace line, any photos or tips
Our line was bad from the kitchen to the valve, not from the valve to the ice maker. We had enough extra line that we could remove the section with the leak and reattach the fitting. But I think the next fix will require a new line.
I think you are correct, the fridge would need to be pulled. And I agree with Tim, if pulling the fridge, might consider going residential!
I'm not Tom, but Mike McFall has some great photos of how MOT does it
Mike and Pat's Travels: We are still at NACOGDOCHES.. (http://mikepatstravels.blogspot.com/2010/09/we-are-still-at-nacogdoches.html)
After seeing those photos, we paid MOT to do ours back in 2010. Neither one of us is limber enough to fit behind the fridge.
We also paid MOT to replace the line to the ice maker when we bought this coach in 2010. The previous owner had just disconnected. Chester and another fellow at MOT did the job of replacing the line. I think this is one of their specialities, because he is the littlest, skinniest guy in the shop (not Chester)! They pull the fridge out just far enough for the little guy to get behind there and he does all the connections. The job was surely not going to be done by me!!
Wow , just looked at the photos can't imagine how he got in or out .
What's involved in moving the fridge forward ??
Jeez, making me love my residential more by the minute!
I have crawled behind quite a few dometic and norcold refers to replace the lin from the valve to the icemaker on the back of the refer and yes it is rather tight in there, but can be done
What's involved in moving the fridge forward ??
There are screws on the inside that hold the refer in place that have to be removed and there are screws at the rear to remove and disconnect the electric and gas line and water line and then slide it forward into the coach. You can make a stand that is the same height as the mounting hight of the refer and slide it onto that if not able to get to it from the outside by crawling through the access panel
Do you disconnect gas / electric if just moving forward to crawl up back ??
Yes.
So I need a small contortionist who is good with electric and gas
Since I could not fit climbing up inside the rear of the refer, I replaced it going thru the vent in the top moving the refer slightly forward to reach in. It helps to have a friend with long arms. 8)
Photos of the process:
Dometic NDR-1492 ice maker leak repair - Dometic NDR-1492 ice maker leak repair (http://beamalarm.com/Documents/dometic_ice_maker_leak_repair/dometic_ice_maker_leak_repair.html)
Great write-up Barry , how long did it take and where did you get the replacement water line . Now looking for small flexible friend with long arms
It has been awhile but I think I got it from Dometic.
How long did it take you and friend to complete the whole job
Again I am guessing about 2 - 3 hours.
When I did mine, I just went to the hardware store and bought the same size plastic tubing. The original line lasted four years, so far my replacement is going strong on six years.
Our water line "rotted" out with in a year after purchasing the coach. It was previously patched and when we first tried the ice maker, we had water on the floor. Replace the line with a ice maker water hose from Home tDepot. Yes, we moved the Dometic out and my wife crawled behind, one boob at a time.
About 2 years later, the compressor quit. I could replace the compressor, but couldn't find any one to recharge the system.
So, I removed the ice maker and replaced it with a shelf and 4 ice trays. That works, almost. Bag ice helps.
Just purchased a counter top ice maker and we'll see how well that keeps up.
The next bit of trouble, (it quite working on propane on this trip home), the Dometic could be history.
My icemaker in the refrig also leaked but I just cut the water to it off under the sink and purchased a small counter top Ice maker from Compact Appliance on line about $150.00. It makes more ice than needed and I can bring to home and use there also. Anytime I am leaving on a trip I make ice and place in freezer. Always lots of ice. DAN
My turn to replace my waterline today. My new coach has had the ice maker off for years, per Norm the PO. I installed a new water valve to replace the leaking one. Everything works, but the old waterline is being a pain to patch. I bought several hose solutions and will replace the line today, hopefully from the top and the access door. Big unknown is how is the hose fastened at the top, where it enters the freezer?
Barry's photos show his new line having the heated element, mine does not have that feature. But his photos do show a hose clamp on the plastic "thru the wall" part. Not sure one can hose clamp 1/4" line?
The clamp goes around the plastic insert (which is larger) not the 1/4" hose as in the photo.
Thanks, we are looking at the back of the unit, thru the access door, and moving closer to being able to touch the parts. Looks like a real tight fit into the coach, between the pantry and the incoming unit.
DW says she is ready to just slip into the access door, and stand up inside the space. I think another solution is better, TBD.
If anyone is doing this replacement,the best thing you can do is go to your local hose and rubber company and get the best food grade line you can buy,the stuff you get from HD and Lowes is cheap and most of it is from across the pond.
I plan to use copper if mine ever needs a re-do.
Right now the plastic line from Home Depot is lasting longer than the original line did.
Heated line is $80 , would copper without heat line be better option ??
My thoughts are to keep the old heating element just like I did last time. Since copper is an electrical conductor, I would sheath it first in an insulator, heat shrink tubing comes to mind, before laying the heat strip alongside, then another layer of heat shrink.
A toasty sandwich.
We succeeded in replacing the line. We did have to pull off the doors and the hinges to get our unit into the coach far enough to be able to work on the rear wall. We used one of Bill Chaplin's hydraulic lift platforms that adjusted to the height that we needed. With a piece of formica covered plywood as the lifting and support surface it was easy to slid the unit inboard. On the platform we were able to just slip and side and roll the unit forward from between the kitchen wall and the pantry units on our mid door 36.
The line we replaced had been one that replaced the heated line still taped to the rear of the unit. The top end of the supply hose had a brass ferrel insert, and was held to the thru the wall attachment by a spring clamp. I choose a new route, to avoid the hot metal pipes. We think we are going to like having an ice maker in the coach.
He did an excellent job !! A super repair and re-install ;)