Dometic Tec Tower

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robert Clark
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Robert Clark said:
Ok brainboxes (you know who you are)

If a 240v appliance uses 103kw of energy in a year, how many amps per hour will it consume at 12v if run through an inverter?

Guess The Amps

Thank you
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The 1 amp per hour average will be over 24 hours but your solar panels don't work well at night of course. :) If for simplicity we assume you only get decent power from them over say 8 hours of each day then the solar needs to generate at least 3 amps over that period, which depending on the battery voltage is around 40W. However, batteries are not 100% efficient by any means so it might be safer to assume you need more than that pushed into the batteries. An efficiency of 85% is typical so in round numbers the solar needs to push out around 50W for those 8 hours of sunlight.
These figures sound about right. Our compressor coolbox takes 2.5 amps when it kicks in but it only runs for about 5 minutes then sits quietly for about 15 minutes once it has reached the desired temperature inside. If I load it with beer and wine then it will run continuously for an hour or more until everything is chilled. I found with the original 90W panel we had, the batteries were getting low after a couple of days in a cloudy Brittany. Since I added a second panel of 100W we have been fine and this is with a power hungry Webasto heater running as well.
My feeling is if you have at least 200W of solar you will have no problems, especially if you don't have a Webasto. My brother's MH with 200W of solar has a compressor fridge and he did three weeks off EHU recently in Spain although that included a bit of driving every few days.
 
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All you experienced Dometic users on this thread. When in Spain my 230vac element failed and was replaced by a Dometic engineer under warranty. He had difficulty and it was not until a few days later when we were 150 miles south that we identified that he had broken the spigot on the drain tray. This sticks out through the back and has a hose attached which he must have strained it when struggling. So I contacted Dometic UK to get it replaced when I get back this week. They denied responsibility. All by email. I have tried to phone to get a muppet to speak to without success, the UK number is answered by a service and they simply tell you to email. So does anyone have a proper number for Dometic? Please?
 
I saw a Pheonix at Dusseldorf last year with a compressor fridge, which I'm pretty sure was actually a fridge freezer. I think it may have had an efoy as well.

But I do think a compressor fridge should be doable and has quite a few advantages. The issue is going to be when you do not have reliable sun, why dont you fit a 12v generator as well? gasparini perhaps?

Polch would do all this for you.

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Hi
Ive not read all the thread here so I may be repeating, if so, sorry.

It's dead easy to separate them. We did with ours as we found that every time we put the oven on in a hot climate (+28-30 deg c) the fridge cut out. Not good! We removed the oven as it was not much use anyway as it's to high to be useful or safe. We replaced it with a microwave and that setup worked really well. They are separate units as it's only the UK market that have ovens fitted!
 
sallylillian said:
All you experienced Dometic users on this thread. When in Spain my 230vac element failed and was replaced by a Dometic engineer under warranty. He had difficulty and it was not until a few days later when we were 150 miles south that we identified that he had broken the spigot on the drain tray. This sticks out through the back and has a hose attached which he must have strained it when struggling. So I contacted Dometic UK to get it replaced when I get back this week. They denied responsibility. All by email. I have tried to phone to get a muppet to speak to without success, the UK number is answered by a service and they simply tell you to email. So does anyone have a proper number for Dometic? Please?
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Did he work for Dometic? If so I am sure that they would resolve this

If he was or worked for an independent company that serviced Dometic products they would expect the service company to pay

Which would seem fair
 
OldWomble said:
Hi
Ive not read all the thread here so I may be repeating, if so, sorry.

It's dead easy to separate them. We did with ours as we found that every time we put the oven on in a hot climate (+28-30 deg c) the fridge cut out. Not good! We removed the oven as it was not much use anyway as it's to high to be useful or safe. We replaced it with a microwave and that setup worked really well. They are separate units as it's only the UK market that have ovens fitted!
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Hi @OldWomble I would like to replace my oven with a microwave. Can you explain how you did it?
 
eddievanbitz said:
Did he work for Dometic? If so I am sure that they would resolve this

If he was or worked for an independent company that serviced Dometic products they would expect the service company to pay

Which would seem fair
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In principle yes, but an over simplification of the issue due to my lack of detail in the post which I will share now for some clarification.
Firstly I called what I understood to be the local Spanish Dometic agents, frankly I did not look at the signage on his van, but the repair was under warranty for parts and labour but not the call out to the campsite which I was told when I called. He presented me with an invoice for the call out after he completed the work which I have attached here. He had an amazing stock in his van 3 or 4 different types of 230vac elements for example.
So as you can see I paid Dometic for the call out.
Now to the issue, my wife has had water collecting from time to time in the bottom of the fridge which she always assumed was condensate off of items in the fridge. After the engineers visit she became aware that it was much more than usual, but by then we were 150 miles south. So I traced the problem checking for blocked drain tube etc and then found water dribbling from the back of the tray. Subsequent removal revealed the broken spigot. So was this partly broken and the engineer finished it off, or did he do it completely, I do not know and I have tried to be as honest with Dometic as possible. Either way it was not my fault and the fridge is in warranty still. The part is only £9.99 and I could fit it myself. On Friday I have a Dometic agent visiting me with the part and I have agreed to pay him for the work etc if they do not consent to warranty. Why not do it yourself you say, well its still in warranty and I do not want to invalidate it by doing the work myself. So there you have the sorry saga.
So I would like a telephone number as so far Dometic in 3 emails have said they are referring it to a local office for approval please bear with us, this has been going on for a month now. The 0344 number listed just gets you their service who say you have to email.
Eddie do you have a number you could share by PM? Thanks in anticipation.
 

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DBK said:
Have you tried writing to them at Blandford?

https://www.dometic.com/en-US/us/fi...mary/dometic-uk-ltd-dometic-house-the-brewery

Alternatively, it can't be far from where @old-mo used to live though I'm not sure if they are still there. A call from Mo in his mankini would get their attention. :)
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I am still in Spain and back Thursday, I have just emailed the registered UK managing director and co secretary using their names in the email address format that seems their way so I shall see. I had always assumed they would just sort it and when you are politely asked to bear with them you sort of do until you realise that its been a month. So its too late to post from Spain now.
 
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sallylillian said:
In principle yes, but an over simplification of the issue due to my lack of detail in the post which I will share now for some clarification.
Firstly I called what I understood to be the local Spanish Dometic agents, frankly I did not look at the signage on his van, but the repair was under warranty for parts and labour but not the call out to the campsite which I was told when I called. He presented me with an invoice for the call out after he completed the work which I have attached here. He had an amazing stock in his van 3 or 4 different types of 230vac elements for example.
So as you can see I paid Dometic for the call out.
Now to the issue, my wife has had water collecting from time to time in the bottom of the fridge which she always assumed was condensate off of items in the fridge. After the engineers visit she became aware that it was much more than usual, but by then we were 150 miles south. So I traced the problem checking for blocked drain tube etc and then found water dribbling from the back of the tray. Subsequent removal revealed the broken spigot. So was this partly broken and the engineer finished it off, or did he do it completely, I do not know and I have tried to be as honest with Dometic as possible. Either way it was not my fault and the fridge is in warranty still. The part is only £9.99 and I could fit it myself. On Friday I have a Dometic agent visiting me with the part and I have agreed to pay him for the work etc if they do not consent to warranty. Why not do it yourself you say, well its still in warranty and I do not want to invalidate it by doing the work myself. So there you have the sorry saga.
So I would like a telephone number as so far Dometic in 3 emails have said they are referring it to a local office for approval please bear with us, this has been going on for a month now. The 0344 number listed just gets you their service who say you have to email.
Eddie do you have a number you could share by PM? Thanks in anticipation.
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Hi PM me your number and I'll get my contact to call you. Dometic won't even take orders by phone or fax, and even appointments have to be made by email

He will contact you and has authority to sort things
 
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Hi I have spoken to Stuart Jones who will be contacting you to try to resolve this for your

Eddie
 
Thanks Eddie, much appreciated, I will wait for his call?

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eddievanbitz said:
I believe that Carol Coveney has emailed this morning as well, she is head of customer services
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Yes she has, I PM'd you, they offered to pay for the part after 3 emails to Carole, one to the MD and eliciting your help, £9.99, I pay the labour and the call out, what £80 or so. Somehow doesn't seem quite fair! Or worth the effort I put you too, but it shows I should have just told them it was leaking without any additional narrative or thoughts on what had happened, no one would have been any the wiser, but that's honesty for you.
 
sallylillian said:
Yes she has, I PM'd you, they offered to pay for the part after 3 emails to Carole, one to the MD and eliciting your help, £9.99, I pay the labour and the call out, what £80 or so. Somehow doesn't seem quite fair! Or worth the effort I put you too, but it shows I should have just told them it was leaking without any additional narrative or thoughts on what had happened, no one would have been any the wiser, but that's honesty for you.
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Another great example of a customer focused business.
 
Lenny HB said:
One day someone will design a fridge for a Motorhome that works, we will all probably be long gone by then.:)
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Norcold works a treat, Fridge & Freezer, filtered water ice maker! What more could a man want?

Oh and a second beer fridge that pulls out on a slide from an outside locker, that can double up as a chest freezer for longer trips!

Just sayin! ;)

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eddievanbitz said:
Norcold works a treat, Fridge & Freezer, filtered water ice maker! What more could a man want?

Oh and a beer fridge that pulls out on a slide that can double up as a freezer for longer trips!

Just sayin! ;)
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Will it fit in a normal size European Motorhome?:D
 
Update:

Spoke to N&B dealer today who said that no compressor fridges are available to order.
 

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