Got rid of the Absorption system last year, it was a Norcold 2118 Had it converted to a two 12 volt compressor system by Dutch Aire dang thing works great Ice cream always hard and we are no longer afraid of the fridge bursting into flames.
The first thing I did when we bought our truck camper was install a FridgeDefend by ARP. It has temperature sensors and shuts off power to the refrigerator if the flue gets too hot. I sleep a lot better knowing we have it.
The sad part of this is that almost all absorption refrigerator fires in most cases I personally believe could have been easily prevented. In the absorption technology, heat is applied to the coolant filled "boiler". Heat rises, so the heat starts the coolant circulation process. The "boiler" is heated from either propane gas or an electric element as the heat source. When the level of coolant is fairly even in the boiler, everything is well within tolerance, which is why it needs to be kept within approximately 3 degrees level. But just like if you had something in a fry pan and if you tipped it to the side for an extended period of time, the intense heat where the food used to cover evenly might now turn into burnt portions of food. I realize that might be an oversimplification, but the point is, it results in small burnt coolant residue that cumulatively plugs the cooling tubes of the refrigerator eventually impeding the coolant flow permanently, and this rise in temperature from being off level can occur more rapidly than you would suspect, including even simply traveling up or down a long extended slopped grade or even parking to get food or shopping in a slopped parking lot can raise the boiler temperature from well above 450 degrees in just a few minutes (in the worst cases where fires actually were the result, it caused the industry to apply a minor band-aid approach by requiring through a recall effort the addition of a high temperature safety fuse. The trouble with this fuse is that it doesn't blow until temperatures are around 800+ degrees and by that time sometimes the insulation around the tubes is still hot enough to ignite, in some cases even with the heat suddenly removed. And the refrigerator manufacturers used to advise that full refrigerator replacement was the only solution once those tubes were plugged (we all remember the "Hail Mary" attempts of "burping" by removing and turning the refrigerator upside down in hopes of getting the burnt particles moving again as a temporary solution), but there are many reputable repair facilities nowadays who can now repair the tubes and repressurize with replacement coolant. But the better solution is to prevent the boiler from getting hot enough to cause those tube plugging particles in the first place. It keeps the absorption refrigeration process more efficient and effective and prevents anything from getting hot enough to result in a fire.
Existing controls have always triggered by the internal refrigerator temperature with simple full-on/full-off method with no monitoring of the boiler temperature. You wouldn't think of running an engine without some way of monitoring or alerting to an overheat condition, but these refrigerators have been run this exact way for decades!
Someone eventually provided a device to prevent these fire and off-level damages and I've been using them, including on my own motorhome, for over ten years now and I've been very impressed with their results. Their website provides even more information regarding the process I described, and no, I have no connection with them or their company beyond being a satisfied customer, but I truly believe this is a missing control that always should have been part of the process. You can do a web-search for "ARPRV" to find them.
Most Norcold fires were while running an absorption unit on electricity. On bigger units the element was oversized for the exhaust chute physical area causing the insulation to catch on fire. Poor design. That’s one of the reasons they settled the law suit years ago.
Now I have experience with propane fridges and freezers in house/cabin settings and would never install a fridge of this type permanently In A Cabinet.
There is yearly maintenance and inspections that needs to be done that cannot and won’t be done.
First project was pulling the Norcold flamethrower 6000 out and no surprise there had been a fire or fires in its life, burnt cabinet frame wood, melted vinyl pieces for ducting air up to vent and burnt out insulation above the stack on back of fridge.
I upgraded the house battery and installed an inverter charger + dc/dc charger for on the road, found a cabinet mount household fridge that fit the replacement cabinet and now I can run the fridge parked outside my house on a slope loaded and ready to go.
Now I have experience with propane fridges and freezers in house/cabin settings and would never install a fridge of this type permanently In A Cabinet.
There is yearly maintenance and inspections that needs to be done that cannot and won’t be done.
First project was pulling the Norcold flamethrower 6000 out and no surprise there had been a fire or fires in its life, burnt cabinet frame wood, melted vinyl pieces for ducting air up to vent and burnt out insulation above the stack on back of fridge.
I upgraded the house battery and installed an inverter charger + dc/dc charger for on the road, found a cabinet mount household fridge that fit the replacement cabinet and now I can run the fridge parked outside my house on a slope loaded and ready to go.
I didn’t have a fire, but when my NorCold 1200 failed, I replace it with a Samsung RF18. When I pulled the old refrigerator out, I found melted styrofoam insulation and charred plywood. I also
replaced the gas cooktop and removed the propane tank.
Mike, i have been a fire Investigator in the RV industry for the last 25 years. Have seen a lot of alleged refrigerator fires and those that were true refrigerator fires. I'd be more then happy to discuss with you.
No, but I have been on an airplane with a fire. Also on an airplane when an engine blew up. I spent a career flight testing so it came with the territory. More seriously, when I see burned up motorhomes in my travels, the obvious starting point is almost always where the engine is located.
Had Dometic refrigerators from 2001 through 2024. The only problem I had was from a nearby lightning strike which took out the eyebrow card. I did not install ARP but did install Protang suppressor in the compartment. Current refrigerator is Furrion 12 VDC.
I’ve witnessed two fridge fires and they were both dual electric/propane. The propane caught the unit on fire. Found in time to prevent loss but scary nonetheless.
We have 3 RVs. One had a Dometic gas/electric that we only used on electric [all-electric coach, but Travel Supreme wouldn't install anything else in 2004, despite our repeatedly asking them WHY you would install a gas/electric RV fridge in an all-electric coach?!?] that ran continuously for 19 years before failing. Replaced with a 110 residential, works great. Our 2013 travel trailer has a Dometic gas/electric that has been used on both sources, but primarily electric, and has run continuously since 2013. No problems. It also has an electric bar fridge in the outdoor kitchen, same story. We recently [two years ago] bought a 1997 Safari Trek. As far as we know, it is the original fridge, a Norcold, and has run continuously for the last two years, no problems.
We installed the fridge protection device from ARP specifically to prevent a fridge fire. Highly recommend it.
I have the ARP system in mine as well as a Jogoswall automatic fire extinguisher back in the cooling unit area.
Same here, I installed a Fridge Defend system with both internal and exterior fans. The fridge works great and the risk of a fire is negligible now.
Got rid of the Absorption system last year, it was a Norcold 2118 Had it converted to a two 12 volt compressor system by Dutch Aire dang thing works great Ice cream always hard and we are no longer afraid of the fridge bursting into flames.
Never had a fire, but I am very conscious about keeping my rig level when traveling and parking. And I also installed the ARP fridge defend.
The first thing I did when we bought our truck camper was install a FridgeDefend by ARP. It has temperature sensors and shuts off power to the refrigerator if the flue gets too hot. I sleep a lot better knowing we have it.
The sad part of this is that almost all absorption refrigerator fires in most cases I personally believe could have been easily prevented. In the absorption technology, heat is applied to the coolant filled "boiler". Heat rises, so the heat starts the coolant circulation process. The "boiler" is heated from either propane gas or an electric element as the heat source. When the level of coolant is fairly even in the boiler, everything is well within tolerance, which is why it needs to be kept within approximately 3 degrees level. But just like if you had something in a fry pan and if you tipped it to the side for an extended period of time, the intense heat where the food used to cover evenly might now turn into burnt portions of food. I realize that might be an oversimplification, but the point is, it results in small burnt coolant residue that cumulatively plugs the cooling tubes of the refrigerator eventually impeding the coolant flow permanently, and this rise in temperature from being off level can occur more rapidly than you would suspect, including even simply traveling up or down a long extended slopped grade or even parking to get food or shopping in a slopped parking lot can raise the boiler temperature from well above 450 degrees in just a few minutes (in the worst cases where fires actually were the result, it caused the industry to apply a minor band-aid approach by requiring through a recall effort the addition of a high temperature safety fuse. The trouble with this fuse is that it doesn't blow until temperatures are around 800+ degrees and by that time sometimes the insulation around the tubes is still hot enough to ignite, in some cases even with the heat suddenly removed. And the refrigerator manufacturers used to advise that full refrigerator replacement was the only solution once those tubes were plugged (we all remember the "Hail Mary" attempts of "burping" by removing and turning the refrigerator upside down in hopes of getting the burnt particles moving again as a temporary solution), but there are many reputable repair facilities nowadays who can now repair the tubes and repressurize with replacement coolant. But the better solution is to prevent the boiler from getting hot enough to cause those tube plugging particles in the first place. It keeps the absorption refrigeration process more efficient and effective and prevents anything from getting hot enough to result in a fire.
Existing controls have always triggered by the internal refrigerator temperature with simple full-on/full-off method with no monitoring of the boiler temperature. You wouldn't think of running an engine without some way of monitoring or alerting to an overheat condition, but these refrigerators have been run this exact way for decades!
Someone eventually provided a device to prevent these fire and off-level damages and I've been using them, including on my own motorhome, for over ten years now and I've been very impressed with their results. Their website provides even more information regarding the process I described, and no, I have no connection with them or their company beyond being a satisfied customer, but I truly believe this is a missing control that always should have been part of the process. You can do a web-search for "ARPRV" to find them.
Excellent Comment!
Most Norcold fires were while running an absorption unit on electricity. On bigger units the element was oversized for the exhaust chute physical area causing the insulation to catch on fire. Poor design. That’s one of the reasons they settled the law suit years ago.
Bought a used Class C two years ago, first RV.
Now I have experience with propane fridges and freezers in house/cabin settings and would never install a fridge of this type permanently In A Cabinet.
There is yearly maintenance and inspections that needs to be done that cannot and won’t be done.
First project was pulling the Norcold flamethrower 6000 out and no surprise there had been a fire or fires in its life, burnt cabinet frame wood, melted vinyl pieces for ducting air up to vent and burnt out insulation above the stack on back of fridge.
I upgraded the house battery and installed an inverter charger + dc/dc charger for on the road, found a cabinet mount household fridge that fit the replacement cabinet and now I can run the fridge parked outside my house on a slope loaded and ready to go.
Bought a used Class C two years ago, first RV.
Now I have experience with propane fridges and freezers in house/cabin settings and would never install a fridge of this type permanently In A Cabinet.
There is yearly maintenance and inspections that needs to be done that cannot and won’t be done.
First project was pulling the Norcold flamethrower 6000 out and no surprise there had been a fire or fires in its life, burnt cabinet frame wood, melted vinyl pieces for ducting air up to vent and burnt out insulation above the stack on back of fridge.
I upgraded the house battery and installed an inverter charger + dc/dc charger for on the road, found a cabinet mount household fridge that fit the replacement cabinet and now I can run the fridge parked outside my house on a slope loaded and ready to go.
In
16 years with a 3 way with no issues and now 10 years with a 12v/propane dometic with no issues
I didn’t have a fire, but when my NorCold 1200 failed, I replace it with a Samsung RF18. When I pulled the old refrigerator out, I found melted styrofoam insulation and charred plywood. I also
replaced the gas cooktop and removed the propane tank.
Mike, i have been a fire Investigator in the RV industry for the last 25 years. Have seen a lot of alleged refrigerator fires and those that were true refrigerator fires. I'd be more then happy to discuss with you.
No, but I have been on an airplane with a fire. Also on an airplane when an engine blew up. I spent a career flight testing so it came with the territory. More seriously, when I see burned up motorhomes in my travels, the obvious starting point is almost always where the engine is located.
Had Dometic refrigerators from 2001 through 2024. The only problem I had was from a nearby lightning strike which took out the eyebrow card. I did not install ARP but did install Protang suppressor in the compartment. Current refrigerator is Furrion 12 VDC.
I’ve witnessed two fridge fires and they were both dual electric/propane. The propane caught the unit on fire. Found in time to prevent loss but scary nonetheless.
We have 3 RVs. One had a Dometic gas/electric that we only used on electric [all-electric coach, but Travel Supreme wouldn't install anything else in 2004, despite our repeatedly asking them WHY you would install a gas/electric RV fridge in an all-electric coach?!?] that ran continuously for 19 years before failing. Replaced with a 110 residential, works great. Our 2013 travel trailer has a Dometic gas/electric that has been used on both sources, but primarily electric, and has run continuously since 2013. No problems. It also has an electric bar fridge in the outdoor kitchen, same story. We recently [two years ago] bought a 1997 Safari Trek. As far as we know, it is the original fridge, a Norcold, and has run continuously for the last two years, no problems.