Foretravel Motorhome Forums => Foretravel Tech Talk => Topic started by: cucotx on March 08, 2022, 06:19:51 pm
Title: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: cucotx on March 08, 2022, 06:19:51 pm
I have decided to go full Monty. I want to replace my Dometic with an all electric unit.
I will also be replacing all my AGM House batteries with lots of Battleborn lithiums.
Can anyone recommend a drop in electric replacement for the dometic? I have a large drawer full of fuses right under the refrigerator so I won't be able to remove that to make more room?
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: cucotx on March 08, 2022, 07:09:53 pm
If replacing the whole refrigerator with a residential unit is not possible, is anyone here familiar with the units from JC Refrigeration in Indiana?
Are those units still Propane/Electric or is it a Dometic 1492 to electric conversion?
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: oldguy on March 08, 2022, 07:59:31 pm
I put in a 13 cubit ft. Frigidaire which fit above the cupboard. I built a pull out pantry to go beside the new fridge so I got more storage space and a larger fridge.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Bill B on March 08, 2022, 08:09:03 pm
I was recently told that Foretravel, when installing an 18cu ft refrigerator, can put the fuse trays on the wall with an access door along side the refrigerator. Assuming you have the double door 36 inch wide Dometic. Might check with David at FOT.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Chris m lang on March 08, 2022, 08:38:31 pm
Peter, several folks have used the 18cuft Samsung and have been very pleased with it. I used a 10 or 12 cuft LG and installed pull out pantry next to the refrigerator. I had installed a 220v dryer above the washer so we needed the extra pantry space. The smaller refrigerator has worked fine for us. Chris
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: cucotx on March 08, 2022, 08:59:07 pm
I was recently told that Foretravel, when installing an 18cu ft refrigerator, can put the fuse trays on the wall with an access door along side the refrigerator. Assuming you have the double door 36 inch wide Dometic. Might check with David at FOT.
Hi Bill,
Here is the fuse tray that I have under the refrigerator.
I think the 2 door 14 cu. ft. refrigerator, including doors is 59 31/32" (H) X 37 1/2" (W) X 27 1/2" (D)
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: cucotx on March 08, 2022, 09:08:20 pm
Peter, several folks have used the 18cuft Samsung and have been very pleased with it.
Hi Chris, Do you happen to know the model for the 18 cu.ft. Samsung? I would like to check the dimensions for it. Also, next time I get to the bus, I'll see what it would take to move the fuse tray to the side of the refrigerator, as per Bill's reply above.
I would love having a residential unit, like the 18 cu.ft. Samsung, except that there is no way I'll drive all the way to TX from N.J. this year. Not with the price of diesel at this time. That would be a waste of money. But, if the project is doable, may be I can find a local place to get it done.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Dave Cobb on March 08, 2022, 09:26:59 pm
The Samsung units, like my 33x24x71, fits my cabinet. But some coaches have 36" wide refers. I have seen a Foretravel where the fuse tray was dropped down and it worked for the needed height of the new Samsungs. There was a day, back in 2015, when only Samsung made a 33" counter depth 24" deep cabinet unit. There are now some more brands that make 33" units. If you have a 36" wide unit, you have many more brand options for the 24" counter depth units. I hope that you can figure out how to simply drop/lower the fuse drawer down to the floor. On my mid door coach, I had to remove a couch window to load the refer into the coach, and stand it up in the arched living area, then roll it back into the drop ceiling kitchen. And maybe most importantly, save your walnut door panels, as they are good for reuse in a future projects.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: cucotx on March 08, 2022, 09:35:08 pm
The Samsung units, like my 33x24x71, fits my cabinet. But some coaches have 36" wide refers. I have seen a Foretravel where the fuse tray was dropped down and it worked for the needed height of the new Samsungs. There was a day, back in 2015, when only Samsung made a 33" counter depth 24" deep cabinet unit. There are now some more brands that make 33" units. If you have a 36" wide unit, you have many more brand options for the 24" counter depth units. I hope that you can figure out how to simply drop/lower the fuse drawer down to the floor. On my mid door coach, I had to remove a couch window to load the refer into the coach, and stand it up in the arched living area, then roll it back into the drop ceiling kitchen. And maybe most importantly, save your walnut door panels, as they are good for reuse in a future projects.
I found an 18 cu. ft. Samsung, model RF18A5101SR. 70" X 32 1/8" X 28 1/2".
Yep. I need to get to the bus and check the height of that tray and the specifics for its wiring.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Roger & Susan in Home2 on March 08, 2022, 09:47:05 pm
Do you happen to know the model for the 18 cu.ft. Samsung? I would like to check the dimensions for it. Also, next time I get to the bus, I'll see what it would take to move the fuse tray to the side of the refrigerator, as per Bill's reply above.
RF18A5101SR is the current one, available all over.
Samsung RF18A5101SR 33 Inch Counter Depth French Door Smart Refrigerator... (https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/RF18A5101SR.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAmpyRBhC-ARIsABs2EAr4lTM27zjwfJPk_td5WUNKMue6iojmnVmI5dHKVg7jw2wDj-cyx4UaAqBuEALw_wcB)
Almost 4" extra width in ours for a top to bottom pantry. You have to make sure the doors cler the sliding door tracks if that is an issue. Ours does and we have about 2" left on the bottom. If your refrig cabinet is next to kitchen cabinets what's under and behind the drawer? Lots of room.
Another Samsung installed (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=22462.0)
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: rbark on March 08, 2022, 10:19:20 pm
I installed the same unit that Roger did and was able to put a sliding tray under the refrigerator plus cabinets on the side.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Hach on March 09, 2022, 01:45:30 am
If replacing the whole refrigerator with a residential unit is not possible, is anyone here familiar with the units from JC Refrigeration in Indiana?
Are those units still Propane/Electric or is it a Dometic 1492 to electric conversion?
I have your same Dometic and bought the JC Refrigeration direct replacement unit. I had it shipped to me. Pulled the Dometic out and laid it on a blanket in the galley. Removed and replaced the back assembly and installed the new boiler reusing my electric heaters. Works great and has a very good warranty. Retains the gas, AC function and all the other Dometic features work the same. Two-man job. I'd do it again as long as the Dometic box is satisfactory. One tip is to hang a blanket on the wall to the bathroom. Scuffed it a little removing the fridge. Took some time and a real wood artist to sand it and refinish it to match. Been using it successfully for a few years now and my ice cream stays cold and hard. The Intelitec guts below are no longer made so one needs to be respectful. Other custom solutions are available but remove and replace was the easiest option given my situation. We often leave our coach unplugged and unattended for days, so the gas feature was important to me.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: cucotx on March 09, 2022, 08:24:58 am
I have your same Dometic and bought the JC Refrigeration direct replacement unit.
I heard from JC Refrigeration. They seem to have an electric only compressor solution for the Dometic 1492. See attached. I'll explore the possibility of a residential unit first.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: D.J. Osborn on March 09, 2022, 08:40:42 am
I replaced the cooling unit in our Dometic with a JC Refrigeration unit in 2013. It worked until 2018 when it failed. Even when it worked it still performed as would be expected—which was as an absorption unit (with somewhat marginal cooling in very hot weather) in an old refrigerator box and it had lots of frost buildup when camping in the humid south. In 2018 I replaced it with a Samsung RF18 residential refrigerator and I have been extremely pleased. It's a much larger refrigerator (and much-more usable freezer area) with frost-free design and it's a real blessing!
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Hach on March 10, 2022, 07:05:43 pm
Sorry to hear about your experience. Absorption refers are definitely their own beasts. Went to great lengths to address its inherent weaknesses. I never run it when off level. I installed 2 chimney fans to improve efficiency, and I added the Cooling Unit Warehouse Dometic 3 fan unit over the cooing fins inside the box. It's essentially frost free and it's cold. If my year coach had a less constrained hole I'd probably go with a residential unit or an insulated box with a remote compressor. I will watch and learn from how Peter tackles the problem. He's certainly got the solar and electrical upgrades completed to go in that direction. DWMYH.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: cucotx on March 10, 2022, 10:28:05 pm
He's certainly got the solar and electrical upgrades completed to go in that direction. DWMYH.
Hi Mark, 1 - Yes, at this time, my preference would be a residential unit. But, I need to research the issues of running a residential unit in an RV. Issues with leveling?
2 - My second option would be to go with the compressor solution from JC Refrigeration. That would get rid of propane and also allow me to keep the current refrigerator box and fuse drawer in place. I still need to make it to the bus and measure to see if I have enough room behind the refrigerator for the needed compressor. According to JC, I need at least 7 3/4" of space.
3 - I do have the battery needs for an all electric coach covered. I have plans to put lots of lithium in the coach. My plans are for 540 A-hr at 48V for the 120V needs of the coach. A separate bank will take care of the 12V needs. The reason for the large battery bank will become clear once I announce the results of my solar project.
4 - I'm hopeful that I will have some exciting information on my current project to add solar to the bus later this year. I'm currently working on that project now. It is going well. I plan to have a prototype for the solution running by this time next year. If it works as well as I think it will, it will provide all the solar needs I will ever need.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: oldguy on March 10, 2022, 11:51:06 pm
The leveling issue is what I like about a residential fridge, there isn't one and that goes for all compressor driven fridges. If I could have found a 12 volt fridge that was the size I wanted I would have considered that. There are a lot of options out there. The residential fridge is a lot cheaper than the 12 volt fridge.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: erniee on March 11, 2022, 09:18:14 am
Residential is just fool proof. The Intellitec wiring has a long pig tail so you can move it.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Rudy on March 11, 2022, 12:04:18 pm
Peter, we took the dometic out of our 95 U320 and replaced it with a 10 cuft residential. It fit in the same hieght but was 8 inches narrow allowing for new pull out shelves. It suprised me that the narrower unit had more room inside than the dometic. And kept my Blue Bell just right.
Now my 2001 U320 came to me with a big residential courtesy of prior owners. No operating issues with it either.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Peter on April 30, 2022, 10:57:00 am
Reference the 18 Cu ft Samsung install. I presume you have to lose the built in Vacuum below the fridge for the install correct?
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Chuck & Jeannie on April 30, 2022, 11:39:19 am
Reference the 18 Cu ft Samsung install. I presume you have to lose the built in Vacuum below the fridge for the install correct?
Yes. The Samsung is taller. It also has to sit down a bit from the ceiling so the top of the left fridge door will clear the sliding pocket door track.
If you go this route, be sure you keep the two doors from the lower cabinet and the walnut door inserts from the old fridge. Good material for future projects.
Photos below from our Samsung install.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Peter on April 30, 2022, 11:46:47 am
Very nice install Chuck, Exactly what I want to do. I thought about installing the "fridge defend" instead of the Samsung install but I am leaning towards the new fridge. I suspect about 10 hours labor if I get someone to instal it for me. Did you ever re-install the built in vac somewhere else? Peter
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Chuck & Jeannie on April 30, 2022, 11:53:30 am
Did you ever re-install the built in vac somewhere else?
No. For big cleanup jobs we carry a small portable hand-held corded vac in a storage bay.
We have vinyl tile everywhere but the bedroom, so most times just sweeping the floor with a broom is good enough and we don't need the vac.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: GleamB on April 30, 2022, 12:21:48 pm
We are, once again, considering going residential. We have 3 new 8D AGM's and old 360 watts of solar.
Can someone, please, let me know what electrical upgrades/changes we would have to make to go residential? I know someone who has a separate inverter for the fridge?? Thanks
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Alan & Gerri Ortiz on April 30, 2022, 12:35:33 pm
Here is a thought on the central vac unit. Move it under into the Toe kick plate area for access as part of the residential. We have tile flooring and we added a toe kick Vacpan which the DW loves. Just an idea.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: oldguy on April 30, 2022, 12:57:46 pm
I had never heard of the Defend Fridge before. I like the idea of being able to turn off the freezer when not in use and the 4 inches of insulation it will save power. One of the things wrong with that fridge it is too deep so it won't fit. As long as you have a pure sine wave inverter you are good to go.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Chuck & Jeannie on April 30, 2022, 01:02:45 pm
Can someone, please, let me know what electrical upgrades/changes we would have to make to go residential?
I know someone who has a separate inverter for the fridge??
Glenn,
Simply installing a residential fridge doesn't require any mandatory electrical upgrades or changes. There should be two duplex outlets behind your original factory fridge. One outlet runs off shore power only, and the other outlet is powered off shore power AND your inverter. You will plug the residential fridge into the outlet that can supply both AC power sources.
If you plug into the stock factory inverter powered outlet, then you need to consider how much time you will spend camping without shore power hookups. For occasional over-night dry camping, your stock inverter and 3 AGM8D batteries will work fine. For longer boon-docking stays, you'll need to recharge your batteries each day from either the generator or your solar panels. To use the solar will require increasing the size of your PV array and probably a bigger solar controller.
The reason some members use a small dedicated inverter to power the fridge is so they can avoid running the "big" inverter all the time. Smaller inverters can be more efficient and use less power when in "idle" mode, so they help to conserve battery power.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Peter on April 30, 2022, 01:10:08 pm
Fridge Defend is a product that helps to alleviate Dometic/Norco fridge fires due the boiler getting to hot. It shuts down the system when the temp gets to hot. Sorry I had the words backwards... Peter
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: oldguy on April 30, 2022, 01:15:19 pm
That's OK I got to lookup a 12 volt fridge and if the size was right it might be a good choice. I'm really happy with the 13 cubit foot fridge I got and has more room in it than we need and the extra storage space we got.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: GleamB on April 30, 2022, 02:19:25 pm
Old Guy.... What fridge do you have? Thanks for the responses.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: oldguy on April 30, 2022, 03:36:28 pm
It's a Frigidaire and at the time Costco had them. I choose it because it would fit.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Jason on May 01, 2022, 08:51:26 am
For those that have replaced these with a residential, did any of you go through the door? If so what model did you get? It would be nice to not go through the window and just take the fridge door off and come through the coach door.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Chuck & Jeannie on May 01, 2022, 09:04:54 am
Jason,
1. Measure your maximum possible door opening (the width varies on different year/model Foretravel coaches). Removing the screen door may help?
2. Look up the dimensions for the fridge of interest. Easy to find this info online.
For instance, the Samsung we installed 8 years ago was 24 3/8 inches "deep" with doors (including handles) removed. Our entry door is 24 1/4 inches wide, so they had to use the window.
Samsung RF197ACRS 17.8 cu. ft. Counter-Depth French Door Refrigerator with 3... (https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/RF197ACRS.html)
The current replacement for that Samsung model is 24 1/2 inches "deep" with doors removed.
Samsung RF18A5101SR 33 Inch Counter Depth French Door Smart Refrigerator... (https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/RF18A5101SR.html)
If necessary, you may be able to find skinnier fridge models from other manufacturers that would go through the door.
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: Roger & Susan in Home2 on May 01, 2022, 11:46:13 am
Please see Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=44162.msg446754#msg446754)
Title: Re: Replacing Dometic NDR-1492-BSIMHF refrigerator with Electric unit
Post by: oldguy on May 01, 2022, 06:33:45 pm