I've got a 2003 Dometic fridge that has worked pretty well, but has been tricky to keep dialed in.
I thought it was really taking a dive before this last trip when we went through everything and it finally came back to life and worked very well for the week.
I've been searching, and I thought someone had posted about replacing this fridge with a 12V only fridge, like Vitrifrigo or Isotherm, but I can't find it now. I don't want a residential due to doing almost all dry camping. In fact, I'd really like to keep the propane fridge, but realize the safety issues that come along with it.
Anyone know of a close replacement for this size fridge? Dometic 1492 dimensions are 59" high, 37" wide, and 24" deep.
The closest I can find is an Isotherm Cruise 220 Combi, 60.8" x 21.5" x 22",so not perfect fit, but may be doable.
Indel Webasto: CRUISE 220 COMBI Stainless Steel (https://www.indelwebastomarine.com/us/products/fridges-freezers/cruise-marine-refrigerators/xlarge-fridges-165-320-l/cruise-220-combi-stainless-steel/)
You may want to take a look at JC Refrigeration's 12 volt conversion for your Dometic fridge. That may fit your needs at a reasonable cost. Their # is 260-768-4067 ask for JR good guy, they stand behind their products.
Thanks, yes, I was considering that, but since the fridge has to be removed anyway, I was thinking it would be smarter to just replace the whole thing as I'm sure an 18 year old fridge will probably start needing other parts replaced in coming years.
But I can definitely see the cost benefit with the JC unit.
I went residential fridge as I couldn't fined a 12 volt the size I wanted. I got a residential fridge which held a little more than the
Dometic fridge and put in a 8 inch pull out pantry in the left over space.
My box was in decent shape! The only issue with mine was the door hinges. I added a reinforcement kit to fix that. If you go that way door gaskets can be an issue as well
So this may be the wrong question, what's wrong with your fridge?
Scott
A friend of mine bought a 12volt 10+ cubic foot fridge last year. Can't remember the name on the unit. Works great. Maybe he will chime in with who makes it. It maybe Furron.
The name of our unit is Ever chill 12 volt works great.
We are running the original Dometic 4804 and I replaced the cooling unit with one from JC Refrigeration. Yes, our fridge is 28 years old, but the cooling unit is pretty much everything important and it's brand new.
And I didn't need to do any carpentry.
We, also, did JC last year. Been good, so far. We would LOVE to replace the gaskets, but that seems to be a dead end. We originally looked for a replacement that would fit the existing space. Amy would NEVER give up the storage under the existing fridge. Looks like Andy's might fit. I'll look into it, for future possibilities.
Most everyone is selling the 8 cf helium refrigerator for $852. That's a lot cheaper than our 8 cf Norcold is today. Atwood Helium RV Refrigerators (https://bigdaddysparts.com/AtwoodHeliumRVRefrigerators.html)
Pierce
The dimensions of the 1492 make it difficult to find an easy replacement without doing cabinet work (either to fill in the width gap that remains or do a full-up residential replacement). The latter might be the easiest in the long run, if you delete the drawers below, a 36" wide counter depth residential unit fits pretty well with just a filler panel needed above the fridge.
There just aren't any drop-in (or close to it) replacement units that are similar in width and height.
Thanks, this looks like a nice option.
And thanks everyone for the great responses. While the current fridge is working well at the moment, it has been problematic its whole life. And would really like to eliminate the whole propane-fridge safety component.