Amish Cooler?

Topic: Amish Cooler? (Read 2237 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #25 – October 14, 2016, 02:40:36 pm

Maybe the Artic Cold place has better customer service,both places claim their's are the best,I guess the Amish can build and
fix things that use electric but can't use them,I'll check with Vanilla Ice when I see him.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #26 – October 14, 2016, 03:25:26 pm

Quote from: John44 – October 14, 2016, 02:40:36 pm

Maybe the Artic Cold place has better customer service,both places claim their's are the best,I guess the Amish can build and
fix things that use electric but can't use them,I'll check with Vanilla Ice when I see him.

Actually, the Amish at JC Refrigeration use electricity in their business--they just aren't on the grid. They use a diesel generator to provide the electricity they need for their manufacturing and office operations. They also use electricity from generators to recharge their business cell phones. In fact, while we were in that area we saw a young Amish couple using a small Honda generator to power the electric tools they were using to repair their horse-drawn buggy.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #27 – October 14, 2016, 09:55:30 pm

I called Arcticold several times today and there was no answer. The recording said to leave a message but it never let me do that so I accomplished nothing. I'll try again Monday and maybe send an email just in case they're Amish too and don't use telephones?

Also, don't worry about your refrigerator quitting. Your ice machine is big enough to hold all the frozen food in your freezer. You can purchase an inexpensive ice chest locally for your fresh food. I've been carrying a 30 year old ice chest with me and actually used it several times for various reasons over the past few years. I've only lost a few food items, mostly due to not paying attention. It's not a disaster or anything. I stop once or twice a day to buy a bag of ice, and I have to run my genset a few hours after I stop driving to charge the coach battery. This basically gives me an excuse to run the ice machine that I never run, the inverter that I never run, and the genset that I usually avoid running except when absolutely necessary. I'm still getting 9-10 miles per gallon even with all the generator hours after I stop for the night.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #28 – October 14, 2016, 10:08:27 pm

Maybe I was wrong. Customer Service is everything! If they are not answering phones,Thats NOT Good.sorry

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #29 – October 14, 2016, 10:11:37 pm

How can a company not answer the phone?
This drives me crazy

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #30 – October 14, 2016, 10:37:10 pm

I left Virginia and drove all the way to Maine before the RV service place down there called me back... pretty normal these days.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #31 – October 14, 2016, 10:45:23 pm

Hmm

Googled Articold. Lots of complaints popped up.

Here is the better business bureau report - 14 complaints - 11 related to product.

Consumer complaints for Arcticold Refrigeration - The Atlantic Provinces BBB

No horse in this race,

With the age of the electronics and refrigerator, I would buy a newer propane one if I wanted to stick with propane.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #32 – October 15, 2016, 10:26:08 pm

Scott
How is it going ? Any progress?

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #33 – October 16, 2016, 03:30:10 pm

No, they won't open up again until tomorrow morning. I'll attempt to contact them then. Meanwhile the ice machine / ice chest solution to the problem is working pretty well.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #34 – October 17, 2016, 10:18:25 am

I just got a phone call from the owner of Arcticold and he told me he'll be at their Calais Maine warehouse on Wednesday or Thursday this week and he will help me install the cooler if I drive my coach out to his warehouse. He lives in Canada and drives between their various warehouses. He told me it's an easy installation that should take two hours. He said they really do have a lifetime warranty. This is probably the route I will take to get my cooler replaced. I'll probably stay in Maine a few more days afterward running the refrigerator on gas and electric about equal time to be sure it's working properly both ways before I leave.

The owner's cell phone number is: (506) 961-6387

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #35 – October 21, 2016, 04:21:48 pm

The new cooling unit seems to be working properly. It's been in about 24 hours as I type this and I've run it on both gas and electric. To be perfectly honest, I think I'd tell people to go to the Amish Cooler place in IN just because this was such a strange deal. The guy would only accept cash, which of course means I have no recourse except to get an attorney if the unit fails and he refuses to give me a refund... That hasn't happened but still... My grand total came out to $720, which is $80 less than if I had gone to IN. I was already in ME so all I had to do was drive out to Calais ME for the install. I have a lifetime guaranty, but experience has shown that guarantees guaranty nothing. That's not to say the place in IN would be any better. Basically this just means I've bought a lot of stuff over the years that didn't work and I had a terrible fight to get a refund, but I always prevailed eventually. Pay with a debit / credit card and you can do a charge back if the unit doesn't work. Be aware that the refrigerator just barely fits through the door on the older coaches like mine. The newer coaches have a wider door I'm told. Also be aware that there will probably be some damage to your coach, so make whatever emotional adjustments you need in advance. My coach probably took more damage from this job than from any other repair I've done since I owned it. It's all minor cosmetic stuff but there's a lot of it. I didn't take any photos because I was busy most of the time cleaning the mess and fixing the damage done. Be aware also that the cooling unit may not be an exact fit for the refrigerator, mainly because the thicker tubing on the new cooler can't be bent in such tight turns as the original tubing, so the cooler is slightly thicker overall. My refrigerator sticks out from the cabinet as a result, way less than an inch, but enough to bother some people I'm pretty sure. I learned a lot just from helping remove and reinstall the refrigerator. The part of the refrigerator that needs to be level is the shelf in the freezer. I'm told the rest of the refrigerator will work as long as it's reasonably level. This would explain what was written above about needing to straighten the freezer shelf to get the cooler to function. It takes about 45 minutes for the ammonia to boil and it's about a 45 minute cycle for it to flow through the tubes. These gas refrigerators hardly ever catch fire according to what both cooler manufacturers told me. There's one particular model that did catch fire sometimes, but it's not a Dometic model and it's definitely not the RM2820 that I have. My refrigerator blew out at the burner while the gas flame was lit and still didn't catch fire. I was told it's very unusual for an RM2820 to blow out near the burner. I was told the new helium refrigerators don't work any better than the current ammonia refrigerators. It was just a response to the bad publicity from the fires. I was told the older refrigerators are much more ruggedly built than today's units. Even my RM2820 is supposedly much more durable than today's models. Like everything else built today, the manufacturers tried to save money on costs by using thinner metal. If you have a 30 year old refrigerator it probably already has thicker tubing in the cooler, like the aftermarket cooler I just got installed. I was told there's no other difference really. The rest of the cooler and the refrigerant inside isn't really any better than what the manufacturers used, despite claims made to the contrary. I had a lot of wasp nests around my refrigerator so I think I'll put some screen inside the louvered door. the chimney already has screen inside it. The owner of Arcticold was real nice until the end when I offered to buy him lunch and we'd come back in an hour at which point I'd pay him cash if the cooler was obviously working. He insulted me several times but I didn't lose my temper or say anything I'm ashamed of, surprisingly. I did pay him cash after the unit had been on an hour and I could tell it was working properly. If not for the insults I would have written their first good review to counteract all the bad stuff on their BBB page. I didn't tell him I read all those complaints. This is a job that requires two people, and even at that you're probably gonna have some damage. If the unit doesn't work you're likely to have a battle on your hands trying to get a refund. I really can't believe I did this but maybe I got away with it? ...this time... The owner of Arcticold called me this morning to be sure the unit was still working, which was nice. These are things to think about. If you replace the refrigerator you still need to remove the old one and install the new one, which means you'll probably get the damage anyway. If either / both refrigerators won't fit through the door you'll have to take a window out. I'm not even gonna speculate what would happen in that case... I'm sure I'm forgetting something but maybe someone will remind me by asking questions?

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #36 – October 21, 2016, 04:43:18 pm

When I helped my brother put the Amish unit in his we took off the doors and laid it face down on the floor and changed out the refrigeration unit re-installed. Was not a real hard job just tedious. He has never been happier with a gas refrigerator than he is now.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #37 – October 21, 2016, 05:17:00 pm

I suggested we should replace the cooler without taking the refrigerator out of the coach but he said it's a lot easier to take it outside. I think the Amish Cooler place puts a drop cloth on the floor and does the replacement inside the coach. At this point I'm just glad it's working again. I really can't believe I did that. If anything goes wrong I can't say I didn't know better. I am not suggesting anyone else should take the route I did, quite the contrary. I suggest you go to the Amish Cooler place, unless someone else knows of a reason not to? ...please feel free to comment if you have personal experience to share

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #38 – October 21, 2016, 05:21:05 pm

From your description I guess it wasn't much easier on your coach.

Keeping An Eye On The Amish (cooling unit)

Home Depot will sell you a sample jar of custom mixed paint in any color for $3.79 or close to that.
The samples used to come in flat only, but now are available in flat, eggshell, satin and gloss. Basically you now can get touch up paint for almost everything for cheap. It's what I used to touch up the scratches on the reefer trim.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #39 – October 22, 2016, 10:40:09 am

Most of the damage was to the carpet, which I was planning to replace anyway. I asked about it when I was at Foretravel the other day and they told me they don't install carpet on the new coaches, only vinyl or linoleum that looks like wood. I think I'm gonna stick with carpet everywhere except the bathroom, but it'll be dark brown to hide the mud that inevitably gets tracked in when you live in national parks. I like the insulation ability of carpet and I like my coach having all this stuff the new million dollar coaches don't have.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #40 – October 22, 2016, 11:31:14 am

Try Infinity in NAC
They did my carpets

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #41 – October 22, 2016, 11:45:42 am

Scott, we have updated all interior fabrics from front to rear, and continue to prefer carpet for the floors.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #42 – October 22, 2016, 11:55:56 am

Quote from: RRadio – October 22, 2016, 10:40:09 am

Most of the damage was to the carpet, which I was planning to replace anyway. I asked about it when I was at Foretravel the other day and they told me they don't install carpet on the new coaches, only vinyl or linoleum that looks like wood. I think I'm gonna stick with carpet everywhere except the bathroom, but it'll be dark brown to hide the mud that inevitably gets tracked in when you live in national parks. I like the insulation ability of carpet and I like my coach having all this stuff the new million dollar coaches don't have.

Scott,
You don't need a coach builder to install carpet. I get all of my carpet and padding (for home and coach) in Dalton, Georgia for cheap. For you Dalton is about 160 miles from Nashville and worth the trip. After I put the new floor in the bedroom of the FT I had a local carpet installer put both pad and carpet in for $75.00. I have the PO's bill here from Tennessee RV for installation only of carpet and padding in the bedroom for $360.00.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #43 – October 22, 2016, 02:16:54 pm

Quote from: Travelin' Man – October 22, 2016, 11:55:56 am

Scott,
You don't need a coach builder to install carpet. I get all of my carpet and padding (for home and coach) in Dalton, Georgia for cheap. For you Dalton is about 160 miles from Nashville and worth the trip. After I put the new floor in the bedroom of the FT I had a local carpet installer put both pad and carpet in for $75.00. I have the PO's bill here from Tennessee RV for installation only of carpet and padding in the bedroom for $360.00.

We replaced the carpet in our coach locally (BR, and from the entrance door up through and including the cockpit). The guy did a great job and charged us $360.00 for labor.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #44 – October 22, 2016, 03:40:42 pm

Foretravel was mainly looking at the driver's seat, which is leather and starting to fall apart, and the couch, which is fabric and also starting to fall apart. I mentioned the carpet too. I was told by another customer that my quote was gonna be for $10,000 and we laughed, cuz I thought he was kidding... until they gave me the quote! hahaha ...I told them I hate the leather seats because it's hot and sweaty even with the dash air conditioning blowing right on me. The dye in the leather sweats through and has ruined several of my shirts that I foolishly wore while driving. I need to remember to put on an old shirt when I drive. I wanted the seats reupholstered in fabric but Foretravel said to use the fake vinyl "leather" they're installing in the new coaches because it's cheaper, more comfortable, and the dye doesn't sweat through your clothes. I haven't really decided what to do yet. It's not a top priority. I just happened to be there to get my windshields replaced but they couldn't do it so I figured I'd ask them about other stuff so the trip wouldn't be a total waste.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #45 – October 25, 2016, 04:35:17 pm

The Arcticold guy suggested that my refrigerator may have been slowly leaking ammonia for a long period of time before it suddenly blew its remaining charge. At first I dismissed that idea as unlikely. After running this new cooler for several days I remembered that previously my refrigerator wasn't as cold as usual and had frost developing on the evaporator even though it was in Aridzona. The new cooler is working much better and it apparently shuts off frequently enough to melt the frost from the evaporator even here in much more humid Maine... Something to think about if you notice a difference like this on your refrigerator.

Re: Amish Cooler?

Reply #46 – October 25, 2016, 05:04:57 pm

The fake vinyl leather is known as Ultraleather and available through most upholstery shops.
ultraleather home page

Ten Grand seems like a lot of coach bucks for getting some carpet installed, and the couch and one seat getting re-upholstered, at least here in East Tennessee it is.

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