Fire Last Night-Warning About RV Refrigerators

[ftwildernessguy]

(I know I'm not Scott, but) it is essentially impossible for a normal bullet to create an explosion or fire since lead does not spark (despite what we always see on tv!). The bullet would have to rip shrapnel from the tank and that shrapnel could then cause a spark, which could cause an explosion, but that seems pretty unlikely. Now, if an armor piercing round is a steel bullet then I would say absolutely.

The real problem we had, aside from the spark to ignite, is that LP gas is a liquid under pressure, and would be required to vaporize in order to ignite. The round would have to pierce the tank and create a spark as the liquid vaporized. My feeling was it would occur too quickly and the liquid would not ignite. My buddy felt the vaporization would occur quickly enough that the spark from the round striking the tank would ignite the gas. Even so, I think you would end up with a flame shooting out of the tank, not an explosion.

 

[JLTraveling]

Thanks to all for your heartfelt expressions of concern. It was certainly a scary situation, but the important part is that all involved are okay (except for the poor doggies, I still feel heartbroken over them. The owner is a single woman who lived full-time in the RV, and her dogs were truly her kids).

I wanted to respond to a few questions and concerns that were expressed here. Again, I strongly suggest replacing the RV fridge (whether or not you've had the recall repair done) with a household fridge. If you have an RV tech do the switch, he/she will secure the new refrigerator for travel, as well as ensuring that the gas line is properly capped. You'll need to rig a latch for the fridge door, but there are a ton of easy to follow plans online. If you're just traveling between sites with electricity, pack the fridge and freezer full of either dry ice or those frozen gel packs (pack it tightly) and your food should stay cold for around 12 hours or so.

If you'll be boondocking with a household fridge, have an inverter installed, and you can run it off the battery. We haven't personally tried this yet, but according to several RV forums, it works great!

If you're traveling or storing the rig with the fridge empty, prop the doors open and secure them to prevent moisture/humidity buildup.

As bigdisneydaddy mentioned, the repair is simply the installation of a small metal shield that is "supposed" to contain the fire. Again, our neighbor had this done, and her rig still burned in a matter of minutes. I'm not a refrigerator salesperson, or any sort of expert, but I really hate that this "repair" is being advertised as an actual solution to the problem.

Even a regular inspection doesn't solve the issue. The problem is that the cooling unit can develop small stress fractures from the inside (not visible on inspection). Eventually, one or more of the stress fractures gives out and boom! Best case scenario, a rig full of yellow pudding-looking ammonia. Worst case scenario, a rig full of flames.

I don't mean to be a fearmonger. Obviously the vast majority of RV refrigerators, even those on the recall list, will last just fine. I just want to make sure people are aware of the possibilities. Best to all

 

[BearwithMouseEars]

Just as an FYI to the latest Dometic recall. It is true they are only putting a metal shield in to keep the liquid if the tube ruptures from spraying directly on an ignition source i.e the propane pilot light . I find it morally disheartening that Dometic was allowed to do this instead of replacing the entire cooling unit to save a buck . There have already been cases of this shield idea failing .
And in case anyone wonders what dometic says is the workaround if your afraid to use your frige on propane after you find this out? Why they recomend only running the frige on shore power of course .
Scott

 

[Cindy F]

I can not imagine. I hope the dogs died of smoke inhalation I've been scared to leave my dog in the camper without us, I guess this just about settles it. He will continue to go to the kennel.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

So running on electric solves the issue, which is not any different than replacing the fridge with a home style fridge, except by keeping the rv fridge you are saving a few hundred bucks.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

The real problem we had, aside from the spark to ignite, is that LP gas is a liquid under pressure, and would be required to vaporize in order to ignite. The round would have to pierce the tank and create a spark as the liquid vaporized. My feeling was it would occur too quickly and the liquid would not ignite. My buddy felt the vaporization would occur quickly enough that the spark from the round striking the tank would ignite the gas. Even so, I think you would end up with a flame shooting out of the tank, not an explosion.

You have to have the right concentration of the LP in the air for it to ignite. Several factors such as that make it pretty much impossible to shoot at one and get it to go off. IIRC mythbusters did an experiment a little while back and proved it was all but impossible.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

So running on electric solves the issue, which is not any different than replacing the fridge with a home style fridge, except by keeping the rv fridge you are saving a few hundred bucks.

ANY machine be it gas or electric has the potential to start a fire. I know of several large fires started by household refrigerators. Nothing is without risk.

 

[bxtx]

(I know I'm not Scott, but) it is essentially impossible for a normal bullet to create an explosion or fire since lead does not spark (despite what we always see on tv!). The bullet would have to rip shrapnel from the tank and that shrapnel could then cause a spark, which could cause an explosion, but that seems pretty unlikely. Now, if an armor piercing round is a steel bullet then I would say absolutely.

SOunds like a question for MythBusters.... oh d'uh, read all the posts first... looks like they've already done it... sorry, I'll get back in my box now.

 

[MadFF]

I got a recall notice from Dometic, but as far as I can tell the serial# on our fridge does not match the #'s on the recall list. Recall information about the fridges has been an ongoing discussion on the OpenRoads forums for awhile now. Makes me nervous... I will go out and double check my fridge number again!

 

[Tigger1966]

I have installed hundreds of the recall kits and all they are is a metal shield and a couple of sensors that are suposed to cut the power to the controll pannel if over heated.
One question on the fire. Why would someone who was setup to live in the unit br running the fridge on gas? Most all newer units have an automatic change over unless you force it to gas mode.
Also on installing a household unit. This will work fine if you spend most of your time connected to shore power or if you have a generator to run while traveling. But the inverter option isn't viable for most people since to get 10 amps of 120 volt power from the inverter you will use over 100 amps of 12 volt power. That's a lot of batteries that some of us don't have the room to store.
Or in my case the GVW capacity. I have added a lot of options not available on a 1980 Honey. Just one of the perks of working for a dealer.