That is great news.
I know I have read on many sites a claim that the best you could hope for was a 20-30 degree differential.
Glad to hear that this is urban legend!

Sounds like the key is exhausting the hot air trapped in the van.

Todd

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Mark Drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
> 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?
> >
> >