[jsmith948]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

For those who remember "ice boxes" and the first refrigerators with the compressor mounted on top, domestic refrigeration has come a long way. Back in the 40's and early 50's the concept of refrigeration in homes was in its infancy. Absorption refrigeration was also an "up and coming" technology, but didn't catch on in S&B homes. It did, however become the "industry standard" for RV use. Through the years absorption refrigeration has evolved into a very reliable and efficient means to travel with food that requires being stored cold.

Just as absorption refrigeration has "evolved" for RV's, compressor refrigeration has "evolved" for the S&B home. There are some significant differences between the two and frankly, compressor refrigeration for RV's is in its infancy. There are some problems that so far have not been solved. Ambient temperature, vibration, power source, ice maker technology (extra power for the heating part to release the cubes) and reliability are significant "hurdles" that have not yet been conquered. In years to come, I'd suspect that S&B technology (the current level of domestic refrigerator in RV's) will evolve into "built for RV use" models. Right now, that's not the situation and RV manufacturers are using the "lowest bid" models that will fit the available space in the kitchen. It's pretty much a "you get what you pay for" situation in which there isn't a specific model suited for the environment, so Keystone (and others) are installing the cheapest brand that will meet most of the requirements and they're adding "don't do's" to the owner's manual warning RV'ers about the limitations, some of which are "impossible to overcome" types of limits, such as towing in Arizona during July with a Samsung refrigerator..... Ain't happening on a regular basis, if even the first time.....

This kind of evolution will continue to give RV'ers a better product, but just as "grandma's refrigerator" is a relic, in years to come, the Samsung domestic refrigerator will be a "relic" and newer models will be much improved.

Until then, absorption refrigeration is "already there" in terms of reliability and convenience, even if you can't stand in front of the refrigerator, door open and "graze the food choices"...... For me, I'll let someone else suffer through the "growing pains" of trying to adapt a S&B technology to RV use.....

The Dometic refer in our Cougar sure beats the tin lined, fiberglass insulated ice box (one compartment for food and an upper compartment for a 25# block of ice) that we had in our old cab over p/u camper. Happy to have it!!

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