Fridge / Cooler A New Freezer/fridge Option

W

William Bezilla

Newbie
Hi All - I recently picked up a Bouge RV 30 qt 12V/120V refrigerator freezer. Just finished up a 3 week trip from North Carolina to Wyoming and back and was quite happy with the performance. Much cheaper than the Dometic. Used it as a Freezer going out and as a fridge coming back sometimes in the tow vehicle sometimes in the galley - It did great in both locations. Happy camping
 
Nice to know there are options. I have a dometic cf35 which is long in the tooth --- and to be honest, if I don't have to buy from LCI again -- thats all the better. That company, in general, has not done much good for the industry....

I LIKE the internals --- the danfoss compressors are solid...its just a shame dometic was the "integrator"

We call it a refrigerator freezer too --- refrigerates on top, freezes on the bottom...
 
Sweeney said:
...and my CF35 died today....suspect...any feedback on how well the Bouge frige works?
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Still working well for me. There is a Bouge RV forum on Facebook if you want to See what others are experiencing.
One major difference is that it not be a fridge and freezer at the same time. They have this feature as well as Bluetooth monitoring on some of their larger models but not the 35.
 
campdude, does the 45 fit in the cooler spot? I'll check these guys out. (EDIT: I did...the 45 is too big to fit in the cooler spot...Alpicool is another brand that popped up in my search. I'll be looking at them too)

@willaim - I prefer simple solutions -- bluetooth stuff just adds more to break. I actually wish they still made the Waeco with analog controls :) The CF35 is a refrigerator freezer model --- meaning what you put on the bottom freezes, what is up is refrigerated :D

Danfoss compressors are amazingly reliable. Its the electronics that are causing problems -- thermistors that are a common failure point, and LED displays that "go dim" over time. I really HATE giving Dometic any more money -- those people are responsible for so much junk in the RV market. The sad part is, they gobble up the smaller companies. I'm really surprised there hasn't been anti-trust accusations....

I found a supplier for the thermistor on ebay for the part. The thermistors are a known failure point, and I've identified it as the point of failure with 99% certainty. I know how these are bult internally --- lots of expanding foam and bury the part inside. A can of spray foam, and a little bit of a mess is coming my way
 
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Just a little note about the Dometic. I still have the original I got from Camp-inn in 2014. Three or four years ago it stopped working and when I told my daughter she suggested I lay it on its side for a couple of days and then the other side for a couple. That fixed it and it has worked ever since. I don't know if it got a bubble in the line or??? Anyway worth a try before throwing it out.
 
I recently purchased the Dometic CFF35. Did a lot of shopping first. Here's some thoughts and info...

BougeRV and Alpicool as well as many other low price fridges (all over Amazon) use a cheap Chinese compressor rather than the Danfoss/Secop compressor. Regardless of price I wanted no part of something made that cheaply.

I looked into Iceco because they too use a Danfoss/Secop compressor and they are less money than the Dometic. They actually have a warehouse/showroom 30 miles from where I live. I really thought I hit the jackpot because it would be so easy to deal with them given their proximity. Long story short, their customer service is absolutely AWEFUL! Multiple times I was told an engineer would call me back about a question I had. It didn't happen.

I sent an email to corporate and finally somebody called. He was not a happy camper and I'll just say he had no business dealing with the public. The nicest thing I can say is that he was a jerk. At that point I didn't care what the Dometic cost, I was done with Iceco.

Now that's just my experience. I know all these companies have their own horror stories if you listen to enough people. So there isn't a simple, one size fits all, answer. But I will add that most of those low price fridges, besides having cheap compressors are also companies based in China with very little North American presence/interface for customers. Personally, I'd rather pay more for a well established company as well as having a Danfoss/Secop compressor. YMMV.
 
pbaker2225 said:
Just a little note about the Dometic. I still have the original I got from Camp-inn in 2014. Three or four years ago it stopped working and when I told my daughter she suggested I lay it on its side for a couple of days and then the other side for a couple. That fixed it and it has worked ever since. I don't know if it got a bubble in the line or??? Anyway worth a try before throwing it out.
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That has more to do with the vapor locking in the compressor --- the refrigerant isnt' distributed properly. This is good advice! I actually may need it when I'm done because I know I'll be turning mine upside down when I do my repair. Likely I'll have a problem this will solve :D

In my case the display is reporting -37 degrees or 116 degrees....its an electronics malfunction. Likely a part called a "Thermistor" which tells the electronics what the temperature in the chill-chest is has failed. These are not an uncommon failure point. Sadly, the way the fridges are built you have to literally cut the part out of a thick spray-in foam that surrounds the chest.

Its a messy job - once I have the part in hand I'll absolutely diagnose it before I tear into it --- will keep everyone posted
 
JohnC said:
I recently purchased the Dometic CFF35. Did a lot of shopping first. Here's some thoughts and info...

BougeRV and Alpicool as well as many other low price fridges (all over Amazon) use a cheap Chinese compressor rather than the Danfoss/Secop compressor. Regardless of price I wanted no part of something made that cheaply.

I looked into Iceco because they too use a Danfoss/Secop compressor and they are less money than the Dometic. They actually have a warehouse/showroom 30 miles from where I live. I really thought I hit the jackpot because it would be so easy to deal with them given their proximity. Long story short, their customer service is absolutely AWEFUL! Multiple times I was told an engineer would call me back about a question I had. It didn't happen.

I sent an email to corporate and finally somebody called. He was not a happy camper and I'll just say he had no business dealing with the public. The nicest thing I can say is that he was a jerk. At that point I didn't care what the Dometic cost, I was done with Iceco.

Now that's just my experience. I know all these companies have their own horror stories if you listen to enough people. So there isn't a simple, one size fits all, answer. But I will add that most of those low price fridges, besides having cheap compressors are also companies based in China with very little North American presence/interface for customers. Personally, I'd rather pay more for a well established company as well as having a Danfoss/Secop compressor. YMMV.
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The Ampicool won't fit int he space --- its too wide. CI only gives us a ltitle over 24 inches, theirs is about 3 inches too wide.

The bougeRV 30 quart looks like it will fit but uses questionable sources of compressors.

The IceCo JP30 looks like an exact replacement. In fact, Its nearly identical cosmetically -- to the CF35, and uses the danfoss compressor. This one is looking like the best choice IF I can't fix my dometic.

Next up is Whynter FMC-350XP - look like JP30 and CF35 -- just found this one a second ago --- need to learn some more - 25 inches width...I think this one will be too wide --- too bad -- I like the look and the integrated handles....(EDIT: 4-Jan-21)

Is the iceco "showroom" near you - was that customer facing or a distribution center? I'm not making excuses for some one being a jerk - kindness only takes a tone in your voice and attitude in your heart. If you were talking to a manufacturer product manager, his context isn't retail. He at the very least should have referred you to a preferred retailer. But I'm only speculating.

Your situation was probably the same as mine with Demotic. They (rudely) referred me to my dealer....who took 3 weeks to diagnose and final get approval to replace this part - the approval sadly probably coming from the same person I talked too.

Manufacturers are not set up to deal with "onesies" and sadly rely on a "Dealer" network which in normal times is woefully deficient, especially in the "RV" market. This combined with the fact "user serviceable" not trusted by manufacturers any more, and "right to repair" is under attack by large corporate interests who would rather sell you a new one....
 
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Sweeney said:
Is the iceco "showroom" near you - was that customer facing or a distribution center? I'm not making excuses for some one being a jerk - kindness only takes a tone in your voice and attitude in your heart. If you were talking to a manufacturer product manager, his context isn't retail. He at the very least should have referred you to a preferred retailer. But I'm only speculating.
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It turned out that the "showroom" near me is a distribution center. They don't really have any dealer network although you might find an online retailer that sells them. But the "showroom" only sells refurbs. If I wanted a refurb, I could go and pick one up when they had one I wanted. But, if I wanted a new one I had to order it and have it shipped.

Also, FWIW, they offer a shorter warranty on the refurbs than the new ones. So, even after taking one back and running it through the refurb process, their confidence in the product drops. Yeah, no thanks.
 
JohnC said:
It turned out that the "showroom" near me is a distribution center. They don't really have any dealer network although you might find an online retailer that sells them. But the "showroom" only sells refurbs. If I wanted a refurb, I could go and pick one up when they had one I wanted. But, if I wanted a new one I had to order it and have it shipped.

Also, FWIW, they offer a shorter warranty on the refurbs than the new ones. So, even after taking one back and running it through the refurb process, their confidence in the product drops. Yeah, no thanks.
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Kind of what I thought. I'm not a fan of refurbs either --- I'll fix my own stuff but it went back to the manufacturer for a reason. Likely it was "rented" - bought, used for a trip, returned. Or, misconfigured (low battery cut off set wrong) or something --- But the shorter warranty...deal breaker. These fridges are REALLY simple...not much to "refurb" --- clean it out, blow out dust, inspect for damage and put it in a box. Its not like there are moving serviceable parts....
 
Sweeney said:
Kind of what I thought. I'm not a fan of refurbs either --- I'll fix my own stuff but it went back to the manufacturer for a reason. Likely it was "rented" - bought, used for a trip, returned. Or, misconfigured (low battery cut off set wrong) or something --- But the shorter warranty...deal breaker. These fridges are REALLY simple...not much to "refurb" --- clean it out, blow out dust, inspect for damage and put it in a box. Its not like there are moving serviceable parts....
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I think a lot of products get returned because of buyer's remorse as well as buyer stupidity. Many people don't really know what they want, don't know how a product works before they buy it, and do next to no due diligence (does this product meet my needs?) beyond asking the internet, "what should I buy"? So I do think many times there really is nothing wrong with what gets returned and then sold as a refurb. However, that still requires me to have a lot of faith in the company making that determination.

OTOH, products definitely do, at times, have legit issues. However, given the disposable world we now live in, I have my doubts how well anything really gets repaired. And when the warranty period gets reduced from new, that tells me all I need to know.
 
JohnC said:
I think a lot of products get returned because of buyer's remorse as well as buyer stupidity.
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Many do. Most people buy legitimately....I worked at radio shack back in the late 80's. Radar Detectors sales would spike in about March through June. A manager I worked for used to take the refunds...but with a "10% rental fee" on refunds. This was not policy, but MANY times we sold a detector knowing it would be returned in about 16 days....the money returning to the hands of a well-tanned former pale-face :)

I'm jaded about much of this. I saw a LOT of 'Rentals' of all kinds of things.

I dunno - I kind of feel bad for the customer service people at companies. Customer serivce in general is horrible these days. Past decade at least. Companies prioritize profit over doing the right thing. which puts people in a horribile situaton of saying "no" - Ultimately killing their smiling dispositions.

All that said, Rude is no excuse.
 
Sweeney said:
We call it a refrigerator freezer too --- refrigerates on top, freezes on the bottom...
Click to expand...

we've had a dometic since shortly after we got our 550 in the early spring of 2014. It's been used in the trailer north of 260 nights, been cross country multiple times, handled roughly and has pretty much been rock solid. It's also served us a number of times as an aux fridge for drinks when we had a crowd over (remember those days?)

We usually set it on 38 degrees and it keeps the temp between 36 and 38. Sometimes if I'm squeezing the battery life I'll raise the temp to 40. At those temps nothing spoils and nothing freezes, even at the bottom. The stick of butter on the upper shelf stays hard.

This little fridge may die on the next trip but it'a sure been a good buy even if it does. Thankfully I've never had to contact dometic customer service ...
 
fernlane said:
we've had a dometic since shortly after we got our 550 in the early spring of 2014. It's been used in the trailer north of 260 nights, been cross country multiple times, handled roughly and has pretty much been rock solid. It's also served us a number of times as an aux fridge for drinks when we had a crowd over (remember those days?)

We usually set it on 38 degrees and it keeps the temp between 36 and 38. Sometimes if I'm squeezing the battery life I'll raise the temp to 40. At those temps nothing spoils and nothing freezes, even at the bottom. The stick of butter on the upper shelf stays hard.

This little fridge may die on the next trip but it'a sure been a good buy even if it does. Thankfully I've never had to contact dometic customer service ...
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I love my CF35 - we keep it at 33 - meats in the bottom, the higher you its warms up a bit. My experience is there is a significant temperature diferential. But that works for us. My only complaint is the green LEDs are a too dim. But now I see how easy that 8 segment LED is to replace, I'll drop in a white one - fix that problem right away. I just need to get the temperature probe replaced now...I think that will get me back in business.
 
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