Roof vented domestic fridge service access

[Daveg]

I am being told that to service my fridge (it isn't working on gas) the technicians will have to disassemble cupboards (I assume the ones above and below). I am not convinced. I will ring a dealer on Monday to seek their advice, but wonder if anyone here can comment.

It is a standard Dometic 3 way fridge vented through the roof, rather than through a side vent. I would have thought that the manufacturers would have built it with sufficient slack in the various pipes and cables to allow the thing to be removed without major structural work.

Am I being naive?

The van is an LMC liberty finish 7100 Ti.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Dave

 

[Snowbird]

I have had to take roof mounted fridge freezers out of American RVs several times. Unplug, undo gas, a couple of retaining screws, one man outside pushing, one man inside pulling. Jobs your auntie.

PS, most servicing can be done in situ.

 

[scotjimland]

agree with Dave.. sounds to me like the dealer is trying to 'pad' the job out ..

 

[Daveg]

I don't think they are trying to pad it out. I do think they haven't come across a van which doesn't have a convenient vent in the side.

Mind you, if it did have a side vent I could probably have done the job myself with the help of you tube.

Dave

 

[Lenny HB]

They will have to remove the fridge to do the work and with only a bottom vent it won't be easy, they are normally a wedge fit and need to be removed slowly to avoid damage. A time consuming job just to get the fridge in and out.

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[makems]

I had to do this job a couple of months ago on site in Morocco.
Now I wouldn't normally attempt a job like this myself, but fortunately parked next to us was Colin of @Armytwowheels who is an ex RAF engineer.
In reality it was fairly straightforward, disconnect gas, remove four screws and then slide the fridge out of the housing. In retrospect this was the hardest bit as it was a very, very tight fit and required one of us pulling while the other pushed from outside through the lower vent.
Once the fridge was out it was simple to clean the entire flue and once this was done and everything reassembled it has worked fine ever since.
Total time taken less than an hour.

 

[dave newell]

LMC vans tend to use roof mounted outlet vents and inlets that come up from the floor. To remove the fridge for servicing you need to remove the panel above the fridge which then gives access to the wiring connections which are simple plug and socket connections, the gas connection is also usually up there and easily accessed. Then the retaining screws can be removed and the fridge withdrawn. They're not the easiest to remove due to lack of space to pull the fridge out to (well the models I've done anyway, Geist Matterhorn which is the same as the LMC Liberty Finish A 7405) but disconnecting it is not difficult.

D.

 

[Daveg]

Thanks to all.

I will pass on your comments to the technician if that's ok Dave.


Dave

 

[Zains Pops]

I have a Geist Spirit manufactured by LMC. It also has a roof vent and when I was looking for general service last month, the engineer gave up after 15 mins and advised that if the fridge needed repair at any time, then it would be major project to dismantle the kitchen unit. So if it goes wrong it seems that a trip to Dave Newell will be required.

 

[Armytwowheels]

Colin says he is pleased that all is still good with the fridge. Have you got the wingmirror repaired/replaced yet?

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[makems]

Colin says he is pleased that all is still good with the fridge. Have you got the wingmirror repaired/replaced yet?

Not had time to get any quotes yet.
I've found that it is a Mekra bus mirror produced in Germany and I have identified a couple of suppliers but not had time since we got home to ring anybody for prices.
camperUK who sold us the van hold stocks of the gold body colour back covers for about£60
It looks like there are Chinese copies of the complete mirror assembly available on eBay with plain black back covers for about £50. If it turns out they are compatible I will buy a pair and put them on. I will keep the original gold colour one as a spare.