Fire Last Night-Warning About RV Refrigerators

[JLTraveling]

I wanted to share what happened last night to hopefully spare someone a great deal of heartache. We're currently in an RV park about 14 miles from Disney. Last night we were in the TT watching Twilight Zone, when someone started pounding on our window screaming for us to move our van. We ran outside to discover the fifth wheel two sites over engulfed in flames. We had to move to let the second fire truck run a hose--one was already onsite on the other side, along with an ambulance and a couple of officers.

Thankfully the owner was at work, and the fire dept was able to suppress the fire before the trees fully finished catching, and the neighbor across the street saw it almost immediately and pulled out the propane tanks, and the propane leak in our own trailer was found and fixed a few weeks ago, and the wind conditions were just right to prevent spread....the whole park could have gone up so easily. As it was, there were two little dogs in the RV that didn't make it

At any rate, it was traced to the refrigerator. I strongly urge everyone with a camper to search the web for recall information--both Dometic and NorCold refrigerators are under recall for nearly a decade's worth of model years. The problem is that the cooling unit can leak ammonia or even burst, and under the right conditions, it can ignite.

Our fridge blew out in November, but thankfully only spewed ammonia all over the TT. A week in a motel, a few days to air out, and a new refrigerator, and we were okay. The neighbor wasn't so lucky.

Now, the recall repair is to install a secondary housing around the cooling unit, which supposedly prevents fire. It didn't work. Neighbor had it done a few months ago. What we decided after ours blew was simply to replace it with a regular household fridge. It's working great, and we were able to get a much bigger refrigerator into the same space, since we didn't have the cooling unit on the back.

I'm no expert by any means, and everyone has to do what is right for them. But I really hope that all of you will investigate the recall and consider replacing your RV refrigerators. I wouldn't want anyone to go through what happened here last night!!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

ohmygoodness!
This post is so ironic or something because I swear DH JUST NOW took the paper (we got in the mail a few weeks ago) to check to see if our fridge was one of those recalled. It's under the "possibly affected" list of serial numbers so soon as I get off waiting on hold for disney dining (LOL) I have to call them and see if ours is on the recall list.
wow... how horrible and those poor pups.

 

[Judy Judy Judy]

We just took our tt Saturday because we got a recall in the mail, it took them all of 10 minutes to fix whatever.

I feel so sad for these folks that lost their pets, they can't ever be replaced, Godspeed to them, this is so sad.

 

[FlaFortCampster]

I wanted to share what happened last night to hopefully spare someone a great deal of heartache. We're currently in an RV park about 14 miles from Disney. Last night we were in the TT watching Twilight Zone, when someone started pounding on our window screaming for us to move our van. We ran outside to discover the fifth wheel two sites over engulfed in flames. We had to move to let the second fire truck run a hose--one was already onsite on the other side, along with an ambulance and a couple of officers.

Thankfully the owner was at work, and the fire dept was able to suppress the fire before the trees fully finished catching, and the neighbor across the street saw it almost immediately and pulled out the propane tanks, and the propane leak in our own trailer was found and fixed a few weeks ago, and the wind conditions were just right to prevent spread....the whole park could have gone up so easily. As it was, there were two little dogs in the RV that didn't make it

At any rate, it was traced to the refrigerator. I strongly urge everyone with a camper to search the web for recall information--both Dometic and NorCold refrigerators are under recall for nearly a decade's worth of model years. The problem is that the cooling unit can leak ammonia or even burst, and under the right conditions, it can ignite.

Our fridge blew out in November, but thankfully only spewed ammonia all over the TT. A week in a motel, a few days to air out, and a new refrigerator, and we were okay. The neighbor wasn't so lucky.

Now, the recall repair is to install a secondary housing around the cooling unit, which supposedly prevents fire. It didn't work. Neighbor had it done a few months ago. What we decided after ours blew was simply to replace it with a regular household fridge. It's working great, and we were able to get a much bigger refrigerator into the same space, since we didn't have the cooling unit on the back.

I'm no expert by any means, and everyone has to do what is right for them. But I really hope that all of you will investigate the recall and consider replacing your RV refrigerators. I wouldn't want anyone to go through what happened here last night!!

That is heartbreaking.

Did you say the neighbor just had their's fixed and it still caught fire???

Thank you for sharing this info and TG you and yours are alright. Central Florida is so, so dry right now (it is our dry season), this could have been so much worse.

 

[FlaFortCampster]

Here's some more info and again THANK YOU JLTraveling.

Title: Dometic refrigerator safety recall
Post by: gregm on October 15, 2008, 02:30:21 pm --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just received a letter from Keystone concerning a problem with certain Dometic fridges manufactured between June 1, 2003 and September 30, 2006 for installation in recreational vehicles. Keystone installed these refrigerators in vehicles that it manufactured from June 1, 2003 to April 30, 2007.

The Problem:
A fatigue crack can develop in the boiler tube of the identified refrigerators, which can permit the release of pressurized coolant solution. If this solution is exposed to an ignition source under certain specific circumstances, it can result in a vehicle fire.

The potentially affected refrigerators have the following model numbers: NDR1062, RM2652, RM2662, RM2663, RM2852
RM2862, RM3662, RM3663, RM3862
The possibly affected units have serial numbers beginning with the following combinations:
320XXXXX through 352XXXXX 401XXXXX through 452XXXXX 501XXXXX through 552XXXXX 601XXXXX through 639XXXXX
If you own one of the above units, it requires immediate service and continuing use could pose a potential safety hazard.

Keystone, in cooperation with Dometic, will provide owners of all covered refrigerators a rework for the potential defect at no charge for parts or labor. The rework consists of secondary burner housing, a thermal fuse and a melt fuse.
etc. etc.

To verify if your unit is affected (and mine is) and for more information on what to do including shutting off the gas supply to the fridge you can call 1-888-446-5157 or go to www.dometic.com/recall (http://www.dometic.com/recall).

You can still run the fridge off electricity.

Guess I'll be making an appointment at my local dealer.

 

[dtum]

Had ours in for the recall last year.

Just wondered about using a household frig...how do you stop it from moving around and, I guess, you can't use the propane in doing this. Correct?

 

[Shan-man]

Even if the fridge is not part of the recall you should check the flames of all propane devices periodically. I have had my RV water heater catch fire in the past, and the central heaters in most older RVs are breeding grounds for insect nests which can catch fire also or disrupt airflow.

 

[dtum]

Have to agree 100%. Ours will go in for the propane inspection after it gets out of it's winter moth balls (and snow balls).

 

[MBMacs]

It's weird this thread was posted, you just never know. Yesterday Peg went to get something from our trailer and we had a propane leak. Trailer was full of propane, and the tank which was 3/4 full Thursday afternoon was near empty. We had been keeping the heat on, set to 55 to keep any issues at bay with some freezing in the area. Going to go to Camping World Monday am and see about getting an appointment to have some service done and get this and the H2O heater checked as well. Would have thought the thermocoupler would have shut the lpg off if the heater pilot would have went out. Totally lost as to what is leaking here. Thanks for the thread and the friendly reminder to be safe.

 

[des1954]

I live in an RV community where the homes are built with RV ports to park your MH under. Last year, almost to the day, one of our neighbors with a new Monaco Dynasty lost their RV & their home to a fire caused by the RV's fridge. While rare, it does happen - old or new.

When we were camping at FtW in January, we noticed that every time we flushed the toilet, the stench was unbearable... even though we dump, flush, and put the "no-stink'em" juice in every time. DH climbed up on the roof to find that mud daubers built them a nest in the vent stack. Once that was cleaned out, no more stinky toilet. It's always a good idea to give everything a once-over before you leave for that trip. We know better, and the one time we didn't, well....it was a stinky day for sure!!

 

[mrsscooter]

Is there a site that lists all of the models/years affected in the recall? We have a Dometic, but its about as old as the camper.....like 18yrs. Just curious....

 

[4mickey2]

i always worry when my pets are left behind in the camper. it stinks to loose your camper. but, for me it would be way worse to loose my pets (kids).. i feel so ad for the folks.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Here's some more info and again THANK YOU JLTraveling.

Title: Dometic refrigerator safety recall
Post by: gregm on October 15, 2008, 02:30:21 pm --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just received a letter from Keystone concerning a problem with certain Dometic fridges manufactured between June 1, 2003 and September 30, 2006 for installation in recreational vehicles. Keystone installed these refrigerators in vehicles that it manufactured from June 1, 2003 to April 30, 2007.

The Problem:
A fatigue crack can develop in the boiler tube of the identified refrigerators, which can permit the release of pressurized coolant solution. If this solution is exposed to an ignition source under certain specific circumstances, it can result in a vehicle fire.

The potentially affected refrigerators have the following model numbers: NDR1062, RM2652, RM2662, RM2663, RM2852
RM2862, RM3662, RM3663, RM3862
The possibly affected units have serial numbers beginning with the following combinations:
320XXXXX through 352XXXXX 401XXXXX through 452XXXXX 501XXXXX through 552XXXXX 601XXXXX through 639XXXXX
If you own one of the above units, it requires immediate service and continuing use could pose a potential safety hazard.

Keystone, in cooperation with Dometic, will provide owners of all covered refrigerators a rework for the potential defect at no charge for parts or labor. The rework consists of secondary burner housing, a thermal fuse and a melt fuse.
etc. etc.

To verify if your unit is affected (and mine is) and for more information on what to do including shutting off the gas supply to the fridge you can call 1-888-446-5157 or go to www.dometic.com/recall (http://www.dometic.com/recall).

You can still run the fridge off electricity.

Guess I'll be making an appointment at my local dealer.

Hmm, our letter is similar and is about Dometic refridgerators but a few things are different. First of all our letter says April 1997- May 2003. Maybe they only send out letters to the people it pertains to? I mean a different recall for different dates and we get this letter with these dates because we've had ours longer than 2003?

Also the model numbers on mine says:
NDR1062, RM2652, RM2662, RM2663, RM2852, RM2862, RM3662, RM3663, RM3862, RM3863
and says possibly affected units have serial numbers beginning with the following combinations
713- 752
801- 852
901- 952
001- 052
101- 152
201- 252
301- 319

Just wanted to post since some of the dates/numbers are different on my letter

 

[AURAVAD]

We had one catch fire, did not even know when it happened.
I was getting the camper ready for the 2007 Auburn football season.
I plugged it in on a Saurday and went in and made sure everything was working. Went in Sunday and Monday and did some cleaning. Went in Thursday night to start loading the fridge and noticed first thing that the lpower lights on the fridge were out. Assumed we blew a fuse, when my husband came home I told him about it, said he would go check. He came back about 20 minutes later and said we needed to find a hotel for the weekend, I was like what! He said he opened the Refrigerator door and there was a hole out the back of it from a fire. Needless to say we had to have the fridge and part of the floor and wall all replaced. We have an Airstream and we are very lucky to still have it.

PS...Only 3 more weeks till our first Fort trip...WooooHooooo!

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

It is unwise to risk your safety in order to remove LP tanks from anything on fire. Contrary to what you see on TV they rarely explode. All LP tanks have an overpressure valve that will release the gas when the cylinder reaches higher pressures due to heat. While the venting looks spectacular and will add to the fire, it is intended to prevent the cylinder from exploding (or BLEVE if you will)
It is a common issue that every fire dept in the entire country has training on.

 

[BradyBz12]

As it was, there were two little dogs in the RV that didn't make it

OMG this is our worst nightmare (our 2 dogs stay in the TT when we're not there) and I will never again give DH a hard time for turning off the propane when we leave them. Ever.

I'm also going to check out our fridge on the recall list asap.

So glad you and your family were ok.

 

[disney4dan]

It is unwise to risk your safety in order to remove LP tanks from anything on fire. Contrary to what you see on TV they rarely explode. All LP tanks have an overpressure valve that will release the gas when the cylinder reaches higher pressures due to heat. While the venting looks spectacular and will add to the fire, it is intended to prevent the cylinder from exploding (or BLEVE if you will)
It is a common issue that every fire dept in the entire country has training on.

Thanks for the advice, as I probably would have been one of the few to try and separate the tanks. Having done this a few times for refills, it would take some time (when seconds count) and appears to be un-necessary.

To the poster who had the question on which years/make/models are under recall, there is a "sticky" post on RV.net which I think is on the travel trailer page.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings/forum/26.cfm

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Thanks for the advice, as I probably would have been one of the few to try and separate the tanks. Having done this a few times for refills, it would take some time (when seconds count) and appears to be un-necessary.

To the poster who had the question on which years/make/models are under recall, there is a "sticky" post on RV.net which I think is on the travel trailer page.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings/forum/26.cfm

The big ones (300lbs) really shoot the flames up when they vent, The vent on all types are supposed to close when the pressure in the cylinder stabilizes.

My other trailer (2003 Fleetwood) had the recall done on the fridge. All that was done was a sheet metal shield is placed around the burner area so that the plywood isnt directly exposed to an flame. In my opinion it would have been of very little use had an actual fire started there. All things being equal I doubt it was any safer than the original configuration.
I do think this whole issue speaks towards frequent inspections of the unit. The instructions are excellent (at least the ones that I got were) on how to inspect and clean the burner area. It was a simple procedure that anyone could easily do.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Hey Scott, I have a question. When I was on active duty, a buddy of mine and I used to have a discussion re. propane tanks. If you shot one with an armor piercing bullet, would it explode?

 

[Shan-man]

(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.