This is my experience on installing a Magic Chef 10.1 residential refrigerator in my 36' 1998 U270. I capped the propane line with a ½ inch male flair plug, unplugged the 110 connection at back of fridge, and disconnected the 12 volt to the control board in the back. I got distracted and did not tape off the 12V + lead and managed to short to ground, which in turn tripped a 30A 12V breaker located in the driver's side bay large storage area. I found two hex head screws holding the fridge to the floor at the back and about four to six Phillips head screws around the frame at the front. My fridge sits above the propane furnace at about 14 inches, got a two wheel dolly that had a removable handle and a set of smaller casters that could be placed below the fridge. It was about 13 inches high with a piece of ¾ plywood sitting on top. Removed both doors from the fridge, front control panel, all shelves and plastic organizers and then wiggled it out onto the dolly. I then laid it down on a pad and removed rest of door hinge brackets, turned it face down and removed the ammonia cooling system as if I were replacing it with another. These efforts reduced the weight to less than half.
Preparation of coach for removal and installation: removed inside oak grab handle at right of door; removed screen door; lifted up dash cover and middle dash cover with worthless drink holders and propped them open; moved passenger chair back as far as it would go, and then turned it at an angle toward the driver's chair. Carried doors and interior items of fridge from coach, removed the cooling unit, and then removed the empty box.
The Magic Chef 10.1 clearly states in the operation manual in bold print: not for use in an RV and not to be operated with an inverter. It also does not recommend placing in a "built in" cabinet or operating outside of a conditioned space. I bought a 1500 watt pure sine inverter from Windy Nation with a 3,000 watt surge capacity (store brand). It is installed next to the main battery buss in the driver's side large storage cabinet. The inverter is connected to the battery buss with 2 gauge welding/battery cables and a 150 AMP fuse all supplied with the inverter.
I then ran a 12 ga extension cord from the inverter, up into the kitchen cabinets and followed the path of my solar wires to the back of the fridge. The extension cord already had a replacement female socket, so I removed it to make it easier to thread it back up behind the cabinets and to the fridge, cut the cord to length and reattached the plug. I am powering the inverter from a 600 A lithium battery pack supported by 900 W solar. I did some research and one recommendation from an electrical engineer is to size your inverter at 5x the annual electrical consumption of the appliance. The sticker said 297KW per year, so 1500 seemed adequate. This will hopefully make the dire warning not to operate the fridge from an inverter a moot point.
Air flow: Foretravel installed multiple layers of Styrofoam insulation board in my cabinet to make a snug fit on the sides of the original Norcold. I removed one layer of insulation from both sides which gave me an air gap at both sides, fortunately the gap on the left side of the fridge is twice the size and that's where the coils run in this fridge. I also have air gaps at the top and bottom of the fridge, but the cabinet framing around the left and right side of the fridge is tight to the fridge which actually helps hold it in place. The original roof and side wall vents have been closed off. The fridge now gets its airflow from the interior of the coach. I can feel some convection at the top where the air is warmer. I've placed a remote thermometer at the back of the fridge to monitor the temperature and will add a circulation fan if needed.
Mounting: Bottom front, two 1/8" by 1" by 3" metal straps are attached to the bottom cabinet frame and into the bottom hinge bolts of the fridge. Top front: Two 1.5 x 1.5 x 3" aluminum angle pieces were attached to the top of the fridge with VHB tape and then screwed into the top cabinet frame. Back bottom: two similar aluminum angle pieces were screwed into the bottom lip of the fridge and attached to the fiberglass covered floor of the fridge compartment with VHB tape. I've already traveled some Arkansas and Oklahoma hairpin turn roads with no problems. It seems very secure.
Securing doors while driving: An Okie Engineering project in test mode consists of custom made ¼ inch bungee cords affixed to a padlock hasp (the none hinge portion) that was attached with VHB tape. I'm using clear Command hooks in unobtrusive places on the visible side of the cabinet. It's working so far, very easy to use and hangs out of sight (nearly) at left side of fridge.
Power consumption: Bought a Harbor Freight watt meter and it indicates 65W running and after 10 days I'm average 31 watts per hour in 60 to 100 F temperatures.
I stripped the new fridge to bare bones to bring it into the coach – no doors, shelves, hinges, bins, etc. Fit through the door and then set it on the four-wheel dolly used to remove old fridge. Had help lifting the fridge into the coach but inserted it into the cabinet by myself. Install all shelves before you attach the doors, or you get to install them twice. Pain in the rear.
Color choices: Purchased at Home Depot and they offer it in stainless, black and white. We would probably save the money and buy black because the stainless shows more fingerprints, but what's done is done. Very happy with a frost-free fridge that required no cabinet work in our coach and has two more cubit feet of storage capacity in the same footprint as the old Norcold. Appreciate all the responses and advice offered in my previous post about replacement.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not a trained RV tech, engineer, or product specialist. This is a description of what I did, follow it at your own risk and peril. These fridges nearly outweigh me, so I did everything I could imagine to reduce the physical requirements. Suggest you get a good strong, younger, fit friend or two to help.
Nice job. You will love it.
jk
One of the best things to do, enjoy. Pick up Braum's on your way in :-)
Patrick,
Great write up. Thanks for sharing. I know my day is coming (probably soon) with my 23 year old Dometic. I will probably go a similar route as what you did.
Richard
Great write up. Saw these on a FB writeup for door latches. Might work too?
Amazon.com : HEOATH Upgrade Home Refrigerator Fridge Freezer Door Lock Latch... (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08WKXLZ93/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1&fbclid=IwAR2ZSgm2xP8FrQo3cSnMcqfuhjBDJ45ej-VZH1qwUXe-jdWVKw6k6r0z99o)
I have the same fridge. I used this for a latch.
https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Everchill/324-000149.html?feed=npn
Thanks Alan!
Ditto on the one Jeff used. Works great and easy to adapt to the Magic Chef.
jk
Love my little resi .
I opted for bottom freezer.
Nice installation. We've been very happy with our Samsung residential for the past four years and I think you'll be very happy with this one!
I'm going to order this and try installing. Did you have to modify it in any way? Thanks. My doors don't stick out from the cabinet, so locks that attach on the side walls of the fridge do not work for me.
Note: Just did a search to buy and it's not currently available until mid August.
I made one of those latches out of stainless steel and it works great.
I'm thinking of replacing ours with a Frigidaire FFHT 1425. Dimensions are very close to existing Dometic.
Before I order it, I want to be certain I can get it into the coach. I have read that I should remove the grab handle and maybe the screen door.
The dimension are 27 5/8 w
29 3/8 d
59 7/8 h
They say depth is 25 1/4 d without the door
I am considering making up a mock box with those dimensions, to test if it will clear.
Am I dreaming, or what would be a better idea? Let me know what you think.
Do you not have the height for a Samsung RF18? We've been very pleased with ours—if you can create the required height.
Amy doesn't want to lose the drawer under the fridge
The one we are looking at is 13.9 cf
Perfect size IF I can get it into the coach
Some are the bigger fridges are installed by removing a window and getting them in that way.
Rich
I had asked about repairing a leak, in a previous thread. The response said not to use sealant, but to use a gasket. Where would I purchase this, and what is it called ?
If I do have to remove a window, might as well be that one
Thanks
Glenn, Automotive "D" seal is the way Xtreme Paint & Graphics seals every window they remove and then re-install following a full paint job. Excellent seal and does not attract dirt. Purchase at auto supply stores
I had no problem getting the 13 cubit foot Frigidaire in the front door.
My door hinge is on the right. I was able to mount the latch using one of the predrilled holes for a left sided hinge. Easy peasy.
jk
I have ordered the fridge, and have removed the doors and all internals to lighten the weight.
Are there any tricks to removing the existing fridge?
Also, how do I "cap off" the gas line. It is flared and looks to be 3/4"???
We had the fridge cooling redone a couple of years ago. The work was done by his 15 year old son. I wasn't there to watch, but they had to pull it out to rebuild it.
Waiting for someone to help me take it out.
Glenn I capped the gas line near the tank. Taking the old fridge out was heavy. If my son
wasn't taking it for a cabin I would have taken a lot more of the trim around the door off.
Took the screen door off and the grab handle.
There are two lines coming out of the tank, one high, one low. Both exit the compartment through a hole in the back.
How can I tell which goes to fridge and which to stove.?
I can attach a picture, if that would help.
Shut propane at the tank completely. Cap the gas line behind the fridge. Turn propane back on and test your cap to make sure there is no leak.
Great installation and writeup. I love my residential fridge. It's been working great in my rig and running off the inverter when off power.
All my coaches since '94 have had residential refrigerators. Lynda would not let me have a coach without one.
If I remember correctly one goes to the fridge and on goes to the cooktop. On mine the
top one in the propane cabinet goes to fridge. I removed the whole line as I don't like a
pile of useless junk hanging around. If I was going to find out I would cap off one of the
lines and turn on the propane gently and if no propane comes out the fridge line you have
guess right and if propane comes out then that is the line that needs blocking.
I tried to trace how they ran the refrigerator gas line.
The line is hidden the entire way
Although I would prefer to cap it at the tank I think I'll use a flare plug, too, at the refrigerator
Taking the front frame off the existing unit was no fun
Using a flare plug at the refrigerator should be just fine.
On our first trip out we broke the bottom shelf. Beer bottle fell on it and shelf exploded sending glass into me, under fridge, into fridge and over half the floor. Replacing with Acrylic that we had cut at a local glass shop. We will have to take both doors off to install the shelf.
I have removed the old fridge. The space is lined with what looks like 3/4" blue styrofoam insulation board, which is covered in 21 years of mold. I will be installing a residential refrigerator. It would be easier to remove/ discard the blue board, and reinstall new insulation board, if necessary. I know air wants/ needs to circulate around the new unit.
1) does the new refrigerator require insulation board?
2) do I need to close up the vent in the back and on the roof?
3) what have you done when installing residential refrigerators to prep the existing space?
Before you get too far with this install, determine how the refrigerator vents the heat extracted from inside. Older refrigerators had coils on the back, some had them underneath, some with fans. Many modern refrigerators imbed them in the sidewalls. This is part of why the manuals refer to leaving a space, usually about 6 inches around the frig, and say not for built in use. Now, having said all that, many folks have installed frigs made that way and had no issues. Mine is still waiting to be installed but has been working as a second frig in the house for the last two years. My intention was to provide as much airflow space on the sides as possible, probably only about an inch, and them add grills above and below the frig with small computer fans to draw air up past the sides. The idea was to make the fans triggered either by the compressor kicking on, or by temperature. Again, none of this has been done yet, I am involved in other projects. I had also considered building a technology cupboard for the router, NAS, and so forth, above the frig and having the fans run 24/7 drawing air past the frig and cooling the electronics installation.
I fiber glassed in the roof air vent and insulated the side vent. I took all the blue Styrofoam out
for more air circulation. I also cut out a strip of the veneer at the top in front of the microwave
so it could vent out the top. The fridge was working fine before I did that but I figured the more
air circulation the better. I put in a pull out pantry so the is good circulation on that side.
I have to ask....if you want air circulation, why would you enclose the side and roof vents. What harm can they do?
That looks very nice Patrick.
It's a lot cooler inside the coach with the air conditioning on in the summer and in the
winter the fridge isn't sealed to the front like the propane fridge so you will have a
big draft of cold air coming the coach.
Reply 34: That was my thinking. I removed a lot of the blue insulation board to create air flow around fridge and then closed off the back and roof vents. My coils are in the wall on the left side where I have five inches of air space. Air circulates from bottom front, through back, and sides, and then out the top front. You can feel the temperature difference top to bottom. I'm also monitoring temp remotely at back of fridge. This reduces the temperature extremes from outside both hot and cold. I will be adding muffin fan at back floor level pulling air up soon to assist with airflow.
I left my top and wall vents open. Figured a little more ventilation was better than not enough. I run in fair weather without cold/heat extremes.
YMMV
jk
I added a t-stat controlled muffin fan blowing air in the back bottom of the enclosure. It also has a manual switch in the circuit.
i also blocked off the bottom and top vents that the old fridge used for ventilation. Keeps the temps in the cabinet and coach more stable.
Rich
I have been monitoring electrical consumption for 930 hours. My average load is 33.35 watts or about 2.8 amps dc off battery. Does not include inverter loss. This does include auto defrosting and full time use with a rather full fridge. It pulls 65 watts AC when running.
Interesting to note that Furion's published average consumption figure is right at 3.75 amps for their 10 CU foot dc fridge.
I was curious if removing the passenger side front chair would make removing the old fridge and getting the new fridge in easier. I also have the curved dash with the useless cup holders. From what i am reading it's seems like a pretty straight forward swap if the dimensions are the same or close.
Those useless cup holder on my coach some previous owner used ABS couplers. It looks
like they were turned down a bit on a lathe. Also someone on the forum was making extentions
on a 3D printer and was selling them.
I moved the chair back and swiveled it to provide maximum clearance. I also lifted up the center dash cover and propped it open. Threw a towel over dash to protect it. I did remove doors on both fridges and cooling unit on old Norcold to make it easier to get in and out. Fridges weigh about same as me, so was interested in making them easier to handle.
Well
@Realmccoy is dead on with post #1. Only thing different that I did was unbolt the passenger chair and moved it back. 2 lag screws at the rear of the fridge and 2 wood screws at the bottom and 2 at the top. The Dometic has a special place for them to fasten the fridge to the wood cabinet. I had to pop the top cover with the thermostat and controls to get to the top screws. Super easy. Just took the doors and hinges off but I'm quitting for the day. Fridge is still in the motorhome.