I have determined that the heating element on my Dometic RM 211 refrigerator on the A

[Markz]

What now, I can not find a replacement heating element?

[Borden]

Please let others know location to get replacement if it is possible for others to get one. Just post it into this post.

Thanks in advance

[David Tilston]

A RM211 requires a 95W heater. There are simmilar heaters availabe online for cheep:
https://www.dernord.com/products/der...39323735851044
https://www.dernord.com/collections/...nt-replacement

What are the dimensions of the heater you are replacing? Barrel diameter and length?

[Markz]

This is a 3-wire heating element. Dometic Part no. 2901943-000MC

AC/DC 95watt cylinder heating element

Dimensions: 3-3/4" long x 9/16" diameter.

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Markz

This is a 3-wire heating element. Dometic Part no. 2901943-000MC

AC/DC 95watt cylinder heating element

Dimensions: 3-3/4" long x 9/16" diameter. Attachment 142609

Yes, but the 12VDC part of the heater is basically useless. So a 120 VAC 100 W heater would give you the required utility.

This heater is 100W, 0.32", (8mm) Diameter and 3.94", (100mm) long, wire length 32cm.
https://www.dernord.com/collections/...nt-replacement

Having never pulled the heater, I don't know how it is mounted. Is it just stuffed in there? If so, this heater should work. At $13.99 seems like a deal.

[CharlesinGA]

No personal experience but everything I have read leads me to think that the 12v DC is useless for anything, It will somewhat keep the fridge cool but at the expense of charging the trailer battery (due to the usual 10 gauge wire supply from the tow vehicle) and most people just tow on propane.

Charles

[Austin W]

I used the 120 volt heater linked above. Because it was too small I took apart the original and placed the new one inside. Reused the heat shielding and wired with no 12 volt option and it works great.

[Dan Meyer]

How difficult is it to replace the heating element in the average RV 'fridge? If it is more than a one-banana job, I'd simply give up and run the unit on gas.

--Dan Meyer

[Austin W]

It’s a 2 banana job. The fear of 120 volt power is what needs to be over come. After that, the area is very accessible. Only basic hand tools are needed. I wanted to get my 120 volt system working because the fridge needs to run quite a few hours to get going before a trip. Also, when at a full service camp site is don’t need to use propane which is nice.

[Brian G.]

All Seasons Discount Parts
(574) 293-4591

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Austin W

I used the 120 volt heater linked above. Because it was too small I took apart the original and placed the new one inside. Reused the heat shielding and wired with no 12 volt option and it works great.

Having never tried it, I am glad that my suggestion worked. At $10.99, (currently on sale for $9.99) it's much less expensive than the correct part. Looks like you crimped the tube. Did you use any heat transfer compound inside the tube?

At 8mm wide, do you think two of them would fit side by side? The point being that it would be nice if the 120 VAC and 12 VDC versions could both be installed at the same time. I don’t think the tube looks like it is 16mm wide.

OK, just did the math, if the OD of the original is 9/16", then that is 14.3mm. The ID would be slightly less. So, no, the two heaters would not fit side by side.

However, another option would be this heater:
https://www.dernord.com/collections/...-diameter-12mm

It is 150W, so more than recommended. I'm not sure which would be better, 15W less then recommended, (80W) or 55W more, (150W). The whole point of this heater is to distill the ammonia out of the water. Too little heat, and the fridge would not cool enough, too much and the water would carry over. If the 150W heater is used, I would recommend some cooling fans on the top heat exchanger and maybe skip the heat transfer compound. This heater is 12mm wide, so should fit nicely in the 14mm tube.

[Austin W]

I’m sure some searching would find a 12v and 120 volt option, but I already had decided I didn’t want 12 volt. I see 12 volt as a battery drain liability rather than an asset. As for increasing the size, that might work better, however better is not always worth the effort. The heat transfer between metals seems sufficient. Same sentiment with using a higher wattage. I wanted the least yet affective and 80w seems to do it. The fridge is frosty and the freezer compartment makes ice.

[Austin W]

This would be great if it had a few more watts https://www.boatandrvaccessories.com...ab79ae53&_ss=r. If you search this site there might be an element that fits better for 120 volt than mine did.

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Austin W

This would be great if it had a few more watts https://www.boatandrvaccessories.com...ab79ae53&_ss=r. If you search this site there might be an element that fits better for 120 volt than mine did.

Maybe, but they are quite vague on specifications. Probably on purpose. I think I will follow your example, but with heat transfer compound in the original heater tube.

[Markz]

Fixed it!

Happy to report its up and running; so well I can use it as an ice box if desired.

Unable to find an OEM replacement, I was able to locate a heating element which is similar to the original used in my Dometic.

I used an Astral/Frigiking 38-00426 Heating Element which runs 140w-110/12v with a 5/8" diameter tube.

It posed some difficulty in that the fridge was designed for a slightly smaller heating element. To make room for the larger diameter unit, I used a grinder to slice open the cover and cut the sleeve that retained the original element length-wise. This allowed me to pry open the sleeve and widen it for the larger heating element to fit. I wired it up; re-stuffed the fiberglass insulation; and patched up the sheet metal.

Works better than new.

The original heating element is rated at 95w and this new element is rated at 140w. For now I am limiting the thermostat to 75% power.

Attachment 146374Attachment 146375

[Markz]

Correction:
I am limiting the adjustable power switch to 50% as it quite adequately is cooling the refrigerator on 1/2 power.

[Markz]

Now that I had the Refrigerator back to life I installed some fans to help it do its thing.
Accordingly, I installed a little blower fan inside of the refrigerator to keep air circulating across the cooling fins and another on the exterior vent to prevent the hot air building up inside the cabinet.
Reflectix surrounding the refrigerator further helps to insulate the refrigerator and prevent heat from coming into the kitchenette.
I find that these additions have had a positive effect on the efficiency of the refrigerator.

[theralphman]

Hi Markz. Has this heating element continued to work well for you?
I had replaced my heating element with a much cheaper Dimart cartridge heating element, it worked well for about a month and then heating element failed.