Ammonia Smell Knocked Me Off My Feet!

[87Itasca]

Hi all,

I finally got all my 12V appliances working with the engine OFF now, thanks to a replacement battery disconnect solenoid. So, the first thing I did was turn my Dometic RM2607 "Designer Series (ooh la-la) fridge on.

I had read here that cooling takes a full day oftentimes when the unit has been out of service for a while. It switched over to "GAS", I heard it light, followed by bubbling/gurgling noises coming from the back of the unit.

"Cool!" I thought, "I'll come back tomorrow afternoon and check on my (hopefully) ice cold Arizona Tea in here."

Not so.

Opened the side door today, and immediately smelled ammonia, pretty strongly. I went to the fridge, opened the door, and it hit me like a freight train. Intense burning of my airways and eyes. I stumbled back, lost my balance, and hit the carpet. I scrambled out the side door to catch my breath.

It's airing out now, I was able to go back in long enough to turn one of the fan motors to "exhaust" and shut the fridge off. It's rough in there. I hope it doesn't "absorb" into the fabric of the furniture and carpet.

The fridge wasn't cool at all, unfortunately.  So, it would seem my cooling unit is bad. It's likely been years since it was used last, but I hoped I might get lucky.

Now, I really like the way this fridge looks, and I really would like to keep it. I have found this online, would this be what I would need?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dometic-cooling-unit-RM2607-Amish-built-425-after-100-rebate-/390518771809

New fridges are crazy expensive, and if I could fix this myself for $425, that's not ALL that bad. Is this something I can service myself with hand tools, or is special refrigeration equipment required?

[Froggy1936]

Hi Please read my post in the projects Section Oct 12 2014 Read the whole article as I had to do it twice, THe second co I purchased from is spectacular With a lifetime warranty There product was much better than the first I cannot think of anything they missed  I highly recommend them And yes you can do this yourself. You were lucky that the leak was internal (inside the veh) As the system also contains Very highly flammable Hydrogen And if operating on propane and you get a leak on the back of the unit you could lose the whole rig Frank

[87Itasca]

Hi Froggy,

Thank you for the resource there. I'm on my phone currently, and will read it more in depth this evening on my Computer.

Out of curiosity, how is your cooling unit hooked to the fridge?

On regular fridges, you gave high/low pressure lines that go to the compressor/coil that would need to be cut/soldered when replaced. How do these hook to the unit to provide the cooling? Seems if there were threaded fittings, the unit would need to be charged with ammonia.

[Froggy1936]

Hi It is a sealed unit That you will be replaceing THey have extremely high pressure And are not serviceable without specialized equipment. You will not undo any fittings, The pictures I have posted will show the old & the new units . They work by induction As the aluminum plates in the fridge are just in contact with the cooling coils. It is a proven science . Making cold with heat . When you look at my project you will have a better idea of whats entailed The post is on page 4 about half ay down  Frank 

[Rickf1985]

That unit is going to continue to leak until it is empty so do not go in there and take a breath to see if it is clear!! Take a deep breath outside and run in and open everything and run out. Ammonia is deadly. You were very lucky to get that much of it and be able to get out. If you have any residual burning in your lungs get checked out right away and be sure to tell them what happened. The smell will not get into and stay in the furniture although you are going to smell it for a while but it will leave. You need to get that cooling unit out of there though.

[TerryH]

"Opened the side door today, and immediately smelled ammonia, pretty strongly. I went to the fridge, opened the door, and it hit me like a freight train. Intense burning of my airways and eyes. I stumbled back, lost my balance, and hit the carpet. I scrambled out the side door to catch my breath."

You, my friend, are a very fortunate individual. Results could have been deadly.

[87Itasca]

25 seconds of exposure like that could have killed me? Gracious. I went back in there a couple times to shut it off, turn on an exhaustive fan, open the doors, etc.

Smell is mostly gone now, thankfully.

[HandyDan]

That whole cooling unit will come out in one piece.  No cutting or soldering needed.  I pulled mine by following the directions of the repair facilities website.  The hardest part was pulling the fridge out of the wall.  Mine would not fit through the door, so pulling the cooling unit had to be done on the floor of the coach.  You can do it.  After getting my cooling unit rebuilt it has worked flawlessly.
Dan

[Froggy1936]

https://nortonsafe.search.ask.com/web?geo=US&prt=NSBU&locale=en_US&o=APN11912&chn=1000&ver=22&tpr=5&q=Ammonia+Toxicity+Treatment+%26+Management&ots=1460949372863  Heres the facts on ammonia  Once the smell is gone it is safe, No hurry to remove the fridge after smell is gone Read the conditions to see if you need medical care  Frank