Having just gone through a rather exhaustive search for information leading
to the whereabouts of Dometic refurbishers I would happily find that I am
mistaken in saying that the results of my search show that there ain't
anything there. Not only that, but the refrigerator in question is no longer
available new. The closest fit in either Dometic or Norcold requires
extensive cabinetry, plumbing and venting redesign, to the best of my
knowledge. An example is Michael Sullivan "Sunny" the cheerful yellow Syncro
(check this link:
http://www.haywood-sullivan.com/vanagon/cabinet1_detail.html )

If it won't work on 110V, it's almost a hopeless case, I'm afraid. I've
heard that some people have had some success reviving their reefers by
turning them upside down for a while, but I'm skeptical. I think this
belongs in the "urban-legend" category, that seemingly miraculous
refrigerator healings that have apparently occurred as a result of this
technique may be attributed to other causes. But hey - whatever works! Never
underestimate the placebo effect.

Coby Smolens
Valley Wagonworks
VW Bus and Vanagon Specialists
"Intimately acquainted with VW Vans since 1959"
1535 SF Drake Blvd, San Anselmo, CA 94960
415-457-5628

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
Of ForestDweller
Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2001 1:00 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: dometic fridge

Hey everyone,
I've got a grim looking dometic fridge. It hasn't worked since I purchased
the
rig...so this afternoon I pulled it out. It looks to be pretty rusted, one
gasket that I saw was totally cruddy and cracked. Right now I feel pretty
lucky
that it never started (and never caught my van afire). Neither the
LP/112/12volt options ever produced any real effect. Once, I left the thing
plugged in to shore power overnight, and I thought the interior might have
been
a bit cooler than when I started, but the temp differential was so slight I
could have immagined it.

I'm thinking now that if the sticker shock isn't too high, perhaps a new
fridge
is in order, which leads me to the following questions:

Q: Has anyone out there refurbished a vw (dometic) fridge? If so, how
painful
and how costly was this opperation? Key question, would you do it again?

Q: If I have to replace the fridge, should I go w/ dometic or are there
replacement alternatives?

Thanks in advance.
-Todd
'80 Westy "Old Blue"
'94 Toyota P/U

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