WITHOUT FRIDGE DEFEND YOU ARE NOT PROTECTED
Dometic & Norcold reliability and fire safety, can you live without it?
WITHOUT FRIDGE DEFEND YOU ARE NOT PROTECTED
Dometic & Norcold reliability and fire safety, can you live without it?
This video teaches how to install the Fridge Defend by ARP temperature sensor on right-hand fridge similar to DM2652
NOTE: There is no need to get the sensor as high on the boiler as possible. This video was made when RV manufactures installed the refrigerators so one could access the boiler up to 4 inches above the heaters. We now recommend installing the boiler sensor just above the electric heater element. Be sure to insulate the sensor so that it reads temperature from just the boiler tube, not electric heaters or flue tube.
The Dometic temperature sensor (thermal switch) install video shows how easy it is to install the Fridge Defend by ARP temperature sensor. This video shows a typical Dometic temperature sensor install, please see the ARP install instructions because this page in only a visual to aid the installer.
Also follow this link to see another Dometic ARP Install Video.
CAUTION: This is the install video for a right hand Dometic boiler assembly, click this link for the Dometic Left Hand Boiler.
This capture from the above video shows the thermal fuse (also called: Thermofuse; Recall; Thermal Switch) and clip install alignment and the tubes found within the boiler housing. Note that the clip is glued to the sensor so that the clip will slide around behind the black boiler tube. It is easy to identify the boiler tube, the electric heater holders are welded to the boiler tube (see next image). Also note that in this photo the flue tube is red. Sometimes there are boiler tube crimps; generally the sensor is positioned above these crimps. If there is not room to do this, please reference the instructions for install of the sensor on the boiler tube crimps.
The next figure shows the general process to align the ARP temperature probe and clip to install on a Dometic right hand type boiler. By placing a small amount of super glue in the probe holder on the clip one can attach the probe to the clip making it possible to use one hand to snap the clip onto the boiler. Also, before snapping the sensor onto the boiler it is easier to move the sensor if silicone grease is applied to the clip and the boiler tube. In addition, if the wire is offset in the temperature probe, position it so that the offset is to the outside of the clip. This makes it easy to insulate between the wire and boiler tube in the last step.
This following image shows the sensor snapped onto the boiler tube, but the sensor is too close to the flue tube. As seen in the video the sensor has to be rotated and moved away from either the electric heaters or the flue tube. It is best to put the sensor no higher than the top of the electric heater access door so the sensor can be accessed if needed at a later date. The sensor should never be any higher on the boiler tube than the 2nd from top absorber coil.
Once sensor is installed and positioned correctly, please insulate the sensor very well. It is important to insulate between the flue tube and the sensor very well. Also, insulate between the sensor wire and the boiler tube. Make sure that the electric heaters are insulated from the probe and wiring. Finally, by adding insulation to the boiler housing you will improve the efficiency of your fridge.
As shown above, it is critical to move the sensor away from the flue tube. Otherwise the flue tube will overheat the sensor and one will get false trips of the Fridge Defend. Therefore, move the sensor away from the flue tube, then fill any air pockets with typical fiberglass insulation, click the next link to see photos of this procedure.
Click here to view how to insulate the sensor.