Does anyone carry spare fridge parts as backups?

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Does anyone carry spare fridge parts as backups?

January 17, 2022, 01:16:26 am

Trying to head off a problem should my '02 MB Dometic fridge not start up. Bigger problem is being in Baja and not having parts available without a hassle. What spare parts should I carry? I'm on shore power.

Stock water pump working fine at the moment and bought a backup pump. Read where some here install shut off valves to the pump water line and kitchen faucet lines. Can someone tell me the diameter for these valves? Home Depot for parts?

Appreciate all recommendations. Safe travels!

Re: Does anyone carry spare fridge parts as backups?

Reply #1 – January 17, 2022, 02:23:41 am

If you’re really worried, replace the fridge. 20 years is a good long run for a rv fridge and preemptive replacement can make sense if you plan to keep you rig for a while..

Otherwise, I don’t carry any spare fridge parts. It’s not essential for travel, and you can make do for a while using ice and treating it as a cooler.

Rich

Re: Does anyone carry spare fridge parts as backups?

Reply #2 – January 17, 2022, 05:09:23 am

Yep. Have always carried a spare control board and fuses, a service manual and parts manual. I’ve needed the spare control board for the furnace but never for the fridge.

Water valves not necessary. Leaks are small and turn the water pump off. You could make an argument for a valve in the toilet line but you should be carrying a complete replacement toilet valve setup.

Re: Does anyone carry spare fridge parts as backups?

Reply #3 – January 17, 2022, 08:54:15 am

Some carry Dinosaur replacement boards for all appliances. Toilet replacements. Spare serpentine belt. Water pump. A 20-year-old rig boards are on borrowed time.

Re: Does anyone carry spare fridge parts as backups?

Reply #4 – January 17, 2022, 10:46:25 am

Quote from: Don Malpas - January 17, 2022, 08:54:15 am

Some carry Dinosaur replacement boards for all appliances. Toilet replacements. Spare serpentine belt. Water pump. A 20-year-old rig boards are on borrowed time.

Beter still, replace the refrigerator’s board with a Dinosur board and carry the original board as a spare.
Both our water heater and refrigeator have Dinosur boards, with the originals carried as spares.
Through the years, our spare boards have been in handy, helping our fellow LDers, when their refrigerator or water heater quits while camping.
What ususally happens with very old refrigerators isthey rot out and the chemicals escape or they plug up internally, preventing the coolant from circulating,. There is little you can do to prevent this except to keep the refrigerator level while parked and in use..

Larry

Re: Does anyone carry spare fridge parts as backups?

Reply #5 – January 17, 2022, 11:06:46 am

"...keep the refrigerator level while parked and in use..."

My fridge NEVER gets shut down except for cleaning, maybe once a year. That's 24/7 for eighteen years over two fridges.

Re: Does anyone carry spare fridge parts as backups?

Reply #6 – January 17, 2022, 10:51:51 pm

Thoroughly impressed by the responses. Thanks for that.

Don't have a Dometic manual or my model number. Looks like it could be control board Micro P-711, but guessing.

Any help on this?

Re: Does anyone carry spare fridge parts as backups?

Reply #7 – January 17, 2022, 11:46:26 pm

The model number should be on a sticker inside the main space of the fridge, either on a side wall or just above the door opening. You may also find a sticker on the back of the fridge, inside the access door aft of the driver's door. Once you know the model, check with Dinosaur Electronics--they can tell you which of their control boards is a correct replacement. As others have said, the Dinosaur boards are much better made than the original Dometic boards.

That said, Rich's advice has merit: "If you’re really worried, replace the fridge." Twenty years is a long time for one of these fridges. If your budget can handle a new one, that's better insurance than any number of spare boards. As Larry said, the most likely failure modes in a unit that old are leakage or internal clogging, neither of which is fixable with spare parts.

Re: Does anyone carry spare fridge parts as backups?

Reply #8 – January 18, 2022, 04:25:29 pm

Quote from: Andy Baird - January 17, 2022, 11:46:26 pm

The model number should be on a sticker inside the main space of the fridge, either on a side wall or just above the door opening. You may also find a sticker on the back of the fridge, inside the access door aft of the driver's door. Once you know the model, check with Dinosaur Electronics--they can tell you which of their control boards is a correct replacement. As others have said, the Dinosaur boards are much better made than the original Dometic boards.

That said, Rich's advice has merit: "If you’re really worried, replace the fridge." Twenty years is a long time for one of these fridges. If your budget can handle a new one, that's better insurance than any number of spare boards. As Larry said, the most likely failure modes in a unit that old are leakage or internal clogging, neither of which is fixable with spare parts.

Thx Andy. My fridge is in Baja, I'm in Colorado. Until I have my MB up North, I can't chance installing a new fridge. RV parts hard to come by down South. I"ll try Todd for a model number hopefully same model for years.

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