No, this is false. I have camped in 90-100 degrees for days on end
without problem with my stock RM182A Westy fridge. I do have an external
vent from behind the fridge to the outside, using a small fan to get
that hot air  out of the vehicle. The fins freeze up solid after a
couple of days

I also have an old travel trailer permanently ensconced above a beach in
Baja with it's original 70s Dometic. It gets down to the high 30s in the
fridge when it is in the 80s outside. The freezer temp is always below
ZERO, often pegging my thermometer at minus 15 degrees F. I do not set
the fridge as cold as it will go since I don't want all my food frozen.

Mark

Todd Last wrote:

> Isn't it a fact of the design of the Dometic (or any ammonia apsorption fridge)  that you are not going to get any better than 20-30 degrees lower than the ambient temperature?
>
>
> Todd
> '88 Westy
>
>
>  -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: Michael Diehr <md03@XOCHI.COM>
>
>>After this last weekend's positive experience with a coleman xtreme
>>cooler in 100F+ temperatures, I'm wondering if there's even any
>>reason trying to fix up the Dometic.
>>
>>First question -- has anyone ever had a working dometic provide
>>adequate cooling in 100F+ temperatures?
>>
>>Looking at the coleman cooler, I notice that it has almost 2" of foam
>>insulation.   Looking at the dometic, it seems to have very little
>>insulation, and it also seems to be self-defeating as it dumps so
>>much waste heat under the cabinet, so it's basically bathing itself
>>in hear.
>>
>>Second question -- is re-insulating the dometic with some sort of
>>modern insulator a possibility?
>>
>>Third question -- does venting the waste heat out of the van make a
>>serious difference?  The dometic has a fan already, but all it seems
>>to do is stir up the air behind the cabinet.   Would a fan that vents
>>the air outside of the van actually be better?
>
>