We are having a new van built and have to pick between two fridges the Thetford N614E the Dometic RM4606. both have the tropical rating. Can anybody give me any up to date information on the performance on late models of these fridges in top end temperatures. I know Thetford used to have a poor reputation but have they improved enough to be a worthy competitor for Dometic. Landy
-- Edited by landy on Monday 26th of March 2018 10:23:01 PM
PeterD said
08:59 AM Mar 27, 2018
There is nothing wrong with Thetford fridges. They were maligned by one Geezer David who had a lot of followers. The malignant info spread rapidly and it looks like it is still surfacing. They are as good as the Swedish produced Dometic fridges and better than some of the German models.
The biggest problems with either those fridges is many van manufacturers do not install them to the manufacturers specifications.
patrol03 said
09:09 AM Mar 27, 2018
We have had three different brands of fridges over 4 vans over the years and the current tropical rated Thetford is the best yet. It is however, wired directly to the start battery, fused,anderson plug connection to the vehicle and wired with 6 B&S.
snibbo said
10:24 AM Mar 27, 2018
They are both good fridges. As soon as you get your new van pull it out and reinstall it the manufacturers specs. You will need to profile the van wall to create a venturi effect at the condenser and ensure there is good ventilation above the top of the fridge to the outside. My last two vans had the top vent too low. Hot air should be kept away from the sides and top of the fridge cabinet. They are good fridges if installed properly. I have had these fixes done to my last four vans. The van makers do not care.
Tom
Bill B said
11:00 AM Mar 27, 2018
Current van has a Thetford N614E and previous van had Dometic RM4601 (manual version).
Very similar performance.
Thetford appears to hold temperature more consistantly whereas Dometic would sometimes drop 2 or 3°c overnight.
As fridge is used to store insulin it has become important to monitor temperatures because insulin has to be stored between 2° & 8°.
Bagmaker said
12:30 PM Mar 27, 2018
landy wrote:
We are having a new van built and have to pick between two fridges the Thetford N614E the Dometic RM4606. both have the tropical rating. Can anybody give me any up to date information on the performance on late models of these fridges in top end temperatures. I know Thetford used to have a poor reputation but have they improved enough to be a worthy competitor for Dometic. Landy
-- Edited by landy on Monday 26th of March 2018 10:23:01 PM
you only have the two choices Landy??
landy said
08:26 AM Mar 28, 2018
Thanks every body for your comments that's a big help. After doing some google searches I was thinking Thetford was rubbish just shows you cant believe every thing you read. Landy
moamajohn said
01:20 PM Mar 28, 2018
Um,for what its worth Thetford have a Recall.
landy said
10:05 PM Mar 28, 2018
moamajohn wrote:
Um,for what its worth Thetford have a Recall.
I saw that John thank you. But not the model we are looking at for the tme being at least.
Landy
-- Edited by landy on Monday 26th of March 2018 10:23:01 PM
The biggest problems with either those fridges is many van manufacturers do not install them to the manufacturers specifications.
Tom
Very similar performance.
Thetford appears to hold temperature more consistantly whereas Dometic would sometimes drop 2 or 3°c overnight.
As fridge is used to store insulin it has become important to monitor temperatures because insulin has to be stored between 2° & 8°.
you only have the two choices Landy??
Landy
I saw that John thank you. But not the model we are looking at for the tme being at least.