- 2 days ago
A vanlife RV refrigerator swap gets a practical safety upgrade as an old Dometic LP gas/electric absorption fridge is replaced with a NovaKool 12V compressor model. Patrick walks through disconnecting the battery, bleeding the propane line, removing the original unit, cleaning the cabinet, and fitting the new refrigerator into the Airstream B190 campervan layout.
The install includes capping the gas line, reversing the door swing, adding a small oak filler piece, and using automotive gasket material for a snug fit. He also shows the 12-volt wiring, the outlet hookup, and the first power-on test once shore power, generator power, or the battery system is available. The new fridge is chosen for lower power draw, about 2.2 amps, and for eliminating the propane flame behind the refrigerator.
This RV conversion and campervan retrofit is useful for anyone researching absorption refrigerator replacement, 12V refrigerator install, van build upgrades, solar-powered camping, or safer off-grid RV cooling. It’s a straightforward DIY guide for Airstream and motorhome owners comparing propane fridge vs compressor fridge options.
SEO: vanlife RV refrigerator swap, Dometic absorption fridge replacement, NovaKool 12V compressor refrigerator, RV fridge install, campervan retrofit, 12 volt refrigerator, solar RV upgrades, propane to electric fridge conversion, DIY RV repair, Airstream B190 build.
The install includes capping the gas line, reversing the door swing, adding a small oak filler piece, and using automotive gasket material for a snug fit. He also shows the 12-volt wiring, the outlet hookup, and the first power-on test once shore power, generator power, or the battery system is available. The new fridge is chosen for lower power draw, about 2.2 amps, and for eliminating the propane flame behind the refrigerator.
This RV conversion and campervan retrofit is useful for anyone researching absorption refrigerator replacement, 12V refrigerator install, van build upgrades, solar-powered camping, or safer off-grid RV cooling. It’s a straightforward DIY guide for Airstream and motorhome owners comparing propane fridge vs compressor fridge options.
SEO: vanlife RV refrigerator swap, Dometic absorption fridge replacement, NovaKool 12V compressor refrigerator, RV fridge install, campervan retrofit, 12 volt refrigerator, solar RV upgrades, propane to electric fridge conversion, DIY RV repair, Airstream B190 build.
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TravelTranscript
00:00Hello, this is Patrick with New Jersey's Outdoor Adventures YouTube channel.
00:04Today, I'm going to show you how to replace an absorption-style refrigerator.
00:08I have the Dometic RM2351.
00:11That's a gas and electric-style refrigerator, propane gas or electricity,
00:15with this Novacool R3800 compressor-driven refrigerator,
00:20which will be a little bit more efficient, but it runs on 12-volt or electricity.
00:24The reason why I'm doing this is because the amount of heat
00:27that the absorption-style refrigerator throws off into the coach.
00:31Now, it has a ventilation system on the other side and one on the roof,
00:35but it does give off a lot of heat inside the coach.
00:39Also, I'm the type of guy, when I leave the house, I make sure that toaster's unplugged.
00:44If I leave a room, I blow a candle out.
00:46Well, I have a propane flame burning behind this refrigerator continuously when it's on,
00:51and I just don't like the idea of that.
00:54Another thing is, too, the propane gas that it burns,
00:57I have approximately a 6-gallon propane tank on board,
01:02and I leave this refrigerator on continuously.
01:05I fill that once a month.
01:07It costs about $30, but it's very difficult to find places to fill propane.
01:12I have to drive about 20 minutes to do so,
01:14so it's not a chore that I look forward to.
01:17So with this new-style refrigerator, I don't have to use propane anymore.
01:20I'll only use the propane for the water heater, the furnace, and the cooktop on board.
01:26And I have 90 watts of solar on the roof,
01:28and I absorb glass matte battery group 24 series lifeline battery.
01:32That's 80 amp hours.
01:34This refrigerator runs at 2.2 amps,
01:36so I will be adding an additional battery, not today,
01:39but in the future, I'm adding an additional 140 watts of solar as well.
01:43But first, what we're going to do is we're going to disconnect the battery.
01:46I'm going to shut the propane off.
01:50And when I go inside, I'm going to bleed out the propane.
01:53I'm going to turn on the cooktop to get all the residual propane on the line,
01:56so when I make that disconnection behind the refrigerator,
01:59I'll have propane gas spewing out.
02:02Now that I've disconnected the battery and bled the propane system,
02:06I'm going to open up the compartment here.
02:13And it gives us access to the 12-volt power supply.
02:16I'm going to keep in mind the green goes to the red, the positive,
02:20and the white goes to the black, the negative.
02:23And there's an electrical outlet up here, which the refrigerator is plugged into.
02:27The new refrigerator is going to have a plug just like this,
02:29and instead of a connection that screws in for the power,
02:36it's going to be either crimped or soldered together.
02:41So what I'm going to do is, for now, I'm just going to put a wire cap on here.
02:48I'm going to do the same to the other side.
02:59And then I just have to undo the drain here, this side.
03:05So those are all these connections done here.
03:09Now I have to disconnect the gas line.
03:12That's why we bled the propane out.
03:15So you've got to make sure you have one wrench on one side
03:18and another wrench to hold back.
03:20Otherwise, you'll twist the line up.
03:28It's actually pretty loose.
03:35And what I'm going to utilize this for in the future
03:38is I'm going to put an outside grill connection.
03:42But for now, I'm going to put a cap on the end.
03:46Now that we have the cap,
03:48you can see the style cap we're using here.
03:51I'm just going to put this in.
03:54And it goes right up against the flare here.
03:57You can see that's your connection.
03:59And this just clamps it together.
04:04And we're pretty much going to do the same exact thing.
04:07We're going to hold back with one.
04:10Tighten with the other.
04:12Just have to adjust this side.
04:14It's different than what we just recently adjusted.
04:20And before you leave the propane on for a long period of time,
04:24you do want to check your connection.
04:25Make sure it's not leaking.
04:27You can use a gas leak detector solvent that you put on it.
04:32But that seems tight enough.
04:34Let's head on inside.
04:35And now we're going to pull the refrigerator out.
04:38Now, because I use my Airstream every day,
04:40I'm going to have to empty the contents with the refrigerator out.
04:48I should be able to do this quick enough
04:53that these items don't get too hot.
05:02Now, looking at the front of the refrigerator,
05:04there's some caps here that were removable,
05:06and there's just a screw behind there.
05:09So I'm going to take a screwdriver
05:11and pry these little rubber caps off.
05:17There's two there, and there's two on this side.
05:23I can already tell the ones in the back
05:25are going to be a little bit challenging to get to.
05:30But they're on an angle.
05:32Whoever put it in made it work for them.
05:38The reason why I picked the R3800,
05:43because I measured the physical hole of the refrigerator,
05:47and that was the closest match.
05:48And there's going to be a little bit of gap.
05:49I'm going to fill it in with some wood later.
05:54So these Phillips head screws are just screwed right into the face frame.
05:59And this one, I've got to take this tray out.
06:04Let's see if we can reach in.
06:07Nope, it still won't work.
06:08So I'll grab a longer screwdriver.
06:13Get that in.
06:15These are in there pretty tight.
06:17This is oak.
06:27Okay.
06:29One on the bottom.
06:33Boy, that one's in really tight.
06:42Now I've got to be mindful of a place to put this refrigerator
06:48so I can clean the compartment out.
06:50It's in a compartment here,
06:52and I'm sure it's all dusty and dirty.
06:55So let me just move these cushions out of the way.
07:01Okay.
07:06Move this cushion up.
07:09Grab a blanket so I don't mar the edge of the wood here.
07:16I have no idea how heavy this is.
07:19I'm hoping that the new one's a little bit lighter.
07:24Okay.
07:25There's a little bit of gasket here,
07:26I guess, so the wind doesn't come through.
07:34Oh, wow.
07:35It's filthy.
07:40Now I'm going to be able to get it out of this hole
07:43and onto that blanket.
07:45So I guess what I'm going to do
07:46is I'm going to stand in the shower
07:49so I can clear everything.
07:52And you've got to be careful.
07:53There's really sharp edges I just felt from the bottom.
08:00All right, she's coming.
08:02Oh boy, it sticks heavy.
08:12You don't want to destroy your coach.
08:18One of the connections is stuck here in the back.
08:23Okay, we're clear in the front.
08:36There we go.
08:38Now I have access
08:41to get to this compartment
08:42to clean it out.
08:45As you can see,
08:46this compartment's pretty filthy.
08:48That's the vent we saw outside,
08:51the 12-oh connection,
08:53the propane line,
08:54and the electrical outlet.
08:58And there's the vent up top
08:59that goes all the way through the roof of the coach.
09:02Now you can see it's all sealed off
09:05so the fumes don't come inside.
09:09And there's a drain for water.
09:11But the amount of heat
09:13that builds up in this compartment
09:15is tremendous.
09:16So a lot of people put fans on the inside.
09:18I'm just going to replace
09:19with the compressor refrigerator.
09:21It's going to run a lot more efficiently.
09:24It'll run right off the solar and the battery.
09:26So let me get this thing cleaned up.
09:30Now that I have wrestled the old one
09:32out of here,
09:34you can see them side by side.
09:36Now, the new one,
09:38the Novacolt on the right,
09:40that's just a black panel insert
09:42which you could slide out
09:44and replace with whatever style you want.
09:46The one on the left
09:47is the old Dometic absorption refrigerator.
09:50This panel I had made up
09:52and it's just a piece of aluminum.
09:54You can see the form factor's
09:56about the same size,
09:57but the new one's actually bigger.
09:59And the reason is,
10:01is inside,
10:03it's a lot deeper.
10:06It's got a freezer up top,
10:08a little bin there,
10:09and plenty of storage on the door.
10:12But it's a lot deeper.
10:13And the dial to turn it on and off
10:15is right here on the side.
10:17And there's the freezer portion here.
10:20On the old one,
10:24it didn't go back as deep.
10:29But it did have some nice metal shelves
10:31and the door pockets were definitely deeper.
10:34The freezer portion's all frozen up.
10:36I've had this thing on
10:38for nine months straight.
10:41So it costs quite a bit of money
10:43to leave it on,
10:43$30 a month.
10:46But you can see in the back,
10:47the reason why
10:48an absorption-style refrigerator
10:49has the whole burner element
10:51in the back of it.
10:53And I highly recommend,
10:54I didn't shut this off,
10:55the whole refrigerator off,
10:56and let it cool for a long period of time.
10:58So this thing,
11:00it really hurt when I grabbed it.
11:02It was very hot.
11:03But you can see,
11:04you basically have
11:05a propane flame burning
11:07behind your refrigerator
11:09going up this stack here.
11:12And that goes through the roof
11:14or you'd have another vent
11:15on top and bottom with a fan.
11:19So I just feel a lot safer
11:21not having the propane on
11:2424-7 with the flame.
11:26On the back of this refrigerator,
11:29the reason why I chose this model,
11:31not only because it fits,
11:33but it has one compressor.
11:35Therefore,
11:36it only used 2.2 amps
11:38versus the dual compressor,
11:40which was a little bit bigger,
11:42is 4.4 amps.
11:43And this is on 12-volt DC.
11:46But you can see
11:47the electrical cord here
11:49in the back
11:50and the 12-volt connections here.
11:53That's how simple it is.
11:55And all these parts are replaceable.
11:57You can buy them on Novacool's.
11:58You can download the parts book
12:00on Novacool's website
12:01and then you can buy the parts
12:03from one of their resellers.
12:05You can see here
12:06the information for the refrigerator.
12:13A wiring diagram.
12:15But definitely
12:17a lot bigger on the inside.
12:20This thing's heavy.
12:21The new one's a lot lighter.
12:23So now what I'm going to do
12:24is I'm going to wrestle that
12:25inside the door here
12:26and get it down the aisle
12:30and put it in the new spot.
12:33Getting the new refrigerator in
12:35was a lot easier
12:36than the old one
12:37that we took out.
12:38Now that it's inside,
12:40I did my final measurements
12:41on the cabinet
12:42and I was able to determine
12:43about an inch and a half.
12:45The width is perfect
12:46but the inch and a half
12:47in height is the difference.
12:49So instead of having
12:50a trim piece up top here
12:52that you're going to see
12:52the difference in the color
12:53of the stain,
12:54I made this little thing
12:58out of oak
12:59which will match the cabinet
13:00pretty closely.
13:01I stained the front.
13:02I didn't need to stain
13:03the other sides.
13:04It's an inch and a half tall
13:06and it's the same width
13:08as the cabinet.
13:08So I could slide this in
13:10and the refrigerator
13:11will sit on top of it
13:13so it's supported
13:15all the way around.
13:16This has a little bit
13:17of elevation to it.
13:18And this goes down here
13:22towards the floor
13:24and then I could screw
13:26that right in place.
13:27Already pre-drilled
13:28all the holes
13:29just to speed up
13:30the process here.
13:41What's nice is it's
13:42underneath the refrigerator
13:43so if it's not exactly
13:45perfect it's very hard
13:46to see.
13:49Alright.
13:50Then what I did
13:51was I bought some
13:53automotive gasketing.
13:56And the refrigerator
13:57is going to fit snug
13:57in this compartment
13:58but instead of having
13:59some air gap here
14:00when the refrigerator
14:02slides in
14:03it's going to rub up
14:03against this gasket
14:04and that goes around
14:06the top and the sides.
14:07And I'm pretty sure
14:09it's going to slide in.
14:10Hopefully there's not
14:11too much resistance.
14:13So what we're going to do
14:14is grab the refrigerator.
14:15There's a little ledge
14:16in the back
14:17I found that makes it
14:18a lot easier
14:19to carry.
14:21I just pivoted off
14:22my hip.
14:24And I don't want to
14:25pinch these wires
14:26that are hanging down.
14:28Okay.
14:30You can see with this
14:31gasket
14:32it's a very, very
14:33tight fit.
14:36I'm just going to
14:37work it in
14:38as best as I can.
14:42Get up over that ledge.
14:45There we go.
14:54Perfect.
14:56Now that's in.
14:57The cabinet's a little
14:58bit out of square
14:59but I think
15:00once I screw
15:01the refrigerator
15:01in it's going
15:02to be fine.
15:03What I'm going to do
15:04is I'm going to use
15:05the old screws
15:07and I'm going to
15:08pre-drill the holes.
15:13Okay.
15:14Oh, and I already
15:14changed the swing
15:15of the door.
15:16The door
15:17would become standard
15:18it swings this way
15:19and it just really
15:20wasn't conducive
15:21for the floor plan.
15:22So I just reversed
15:23the hardware.
15:24It is reversible
15:25so I could swing it
15:26this way
15:26so it's easier
15:27to get this stuff.
15:28So I'm just going
15:29to make sure
15:29I'm all the way in
15:34I'm going to drill
15:35out these holes
15:40pretty close
15:41to where other
15:44holes were.
15:46Okay.
15:47So that side
15:48I'm going to have
15:49to do after
15:49this side's done
15:52grab the screws
15:53that we used
15:53before
16:06and I've got
16:18to take
16:18this here
16:20to snug
16:21and this one
16:22up
16:28the bit's
16:29a little big
16:29so it doesn't
16:30fit all the way
16:31in the hole
16:35and it's nice
16:36and snug
16:38now I'm going to
16:39do the same
16:40on this side
16:40and then
16:41next we're going
16:42to make the
16:43connections outside
16:45okay
16:46back outside
16:47now we just
16:47have to make
16:48our physical
16:48connections
16:49so I remembered
16:50green was
16:51the positive
16:53and white
16:54was the negative
16:54so what we're
16:55going to do
16:55is connect
16:55these two
16:56together
16:56but I'm not
16:57going to use
16:57the wire nut
16:58I'm actually
16:59going to use
17:00something a little
17:01bit different
17:04this is going
17:05to slide
17:06into here
17:08and there's
17:08a solder
17:09connection
17:09on the inside
17:11and what you
17:12do is just
17:13slide this
17:14end in
17:16just like
17:16that
17:17and kind
17:18of smoosh
17:19them in
17:19together
17:20and they
17:21mend
17:21together
17:23then what
17:24you do
17:26is you
17:27light it
17:29and it's
17:30a heat shrink
17:30and the blue
17:31portion
17:32grips the
17:33wire
17:34and prevents
17:34it from
17:35slipping
17:35through
17:35and the
17:36middle
17:37connection
17:37is actually
17:38a solder
17:38connection
17:40so what
17:40it's doing
17:41it's soldering
17:42the wires
17:42together
17:43so I can
17:44see it
17:45oozed all
17:46the way
17:46through
17:51that made
17:52a really
17:52good connection
17:53there
17:55okay
17:55now we're
17:56going to do
17:56the same
17:56thing
17:57here
17:58get another
17:58one
18:02put that
18:03in
18:04put this
18:05one
18:05in
18:10okay
18:12mend them
18:13together
18:18it's a little
18:19windy now
18:22I still don't
18:23want to store
18:23anything in this
18:24cabinet
18:25you definitely
18:26can't store
18:27anything in the
18:27cabinet
18:28when you're
18:29using a
18:30propane style
18:31refrigerator
18:32okay
18:33that one's
18:34set
18:35and then what
18:36I could do
18:37is I could
18:38use where the
18:39drain hooked
18:39in before
18:40and just wrap
18:41these wires in
18:42this is the
18:42propane line
18:43with the cap
18:44we put on
18:44earlier
18:45and that's
18:45going to plug
18:46the refrigerator
18:47in
18:48while the prongs
18:50got bent
18:52right into there
18:53so now when I
18:53start the generator
18:55the refrigerator
18:56is going to be
18:56powered off
18:57of the generator
18:58power
18:58or if I plug
19:00the motorhome
19:00into shore
19:01power
19:01it's going to
19:01be powered
19:02but the rest
19:03of the time
19:03it's going to
19:04be powered
19:05off the battery
19:06system on board
19:07and the solar
19:08charging system
19:09but it's such a
19:10simple design
19:11back here
19:12and you can see
19:13the little cleats
19:14that I made
19:15to raise the
19:16refrigerator
19:16off the ground
19:17to fill that
19:18gap a little bit
19:19better
19:20but it's fully
19:20supported
19:21on both sides
19:22of the frame
19:23all the way
19:23to the edge
19:23of the frame
19:24so now I'm
19:25driving on the
19:25highway
19:26there's going to
19:26be very little
19:27movement
19:27on the
19:28refrigerator
19:29which you
19:29don't want
19:29let's go back
19:30in and we're
19:31just going to
19:31trim it out
19:32real quick
19:32and that's
19:33turn it on
19:34for the first
19:35time
19:36okay now that
19:36we're back
19:37inside I can
19:38open it up
19:40got a little
19:41light inside of
19:42it so we know
19:42we have 12
19:43volts because
19:43I just reconnected
19:44the battery
19:45and then I can
19:45spin the little
19:46dial
19:48and I'm going
19:49to put it
19:49all the way
19:49to the max
19:50and see how
19:51quick it cools
19:52I hear the
19:53compressor just
19:53kick on
19:55and the
19:55freezer is probably
19:56going to get
19:56cold the fastest
19:57now that I have
20:00all four screws
20:01in the front
20:02I can put my
20:03little plastic
20:04caps in place
20:08and it's got a
20:09latch here
20:09and a travel
20:11latch so it's
20:12very important to
20:12put both on
20:13that way your
20:14refrigerator doesn't
20:15open and
20:15transport
20:19and that's it
20:20I hope you
20:21enjoyed this video
20:22this is Patrick
20:23with New Jersey's
20:24Outdoor Adventures
20:25YouTube channel
20:26please like this
20:27video comment
20:28share subscribe
20:29I'd love it
20:29I'll see you soon
20:30the cost for the
20:31install was free
20:34because I did it
20:34myself the little
20:36cap cost me $2.24
20:38and the refrigerator
20:40shipped from a
20:41distributor down
20:42in Florida
20:42was about $1,500
20:45and the additional
20:46battery that I'm
20:47going to put in
20:47with the parallel
20:48cables that's going
20:49to cost me $450
20:51and the additional
20:52solar panels on the
20:53roof are going to
20:54cost me about $700
20:56so it is quite a bit
20:57of an investment
20:58but I did want to
20:59get another battery
20:59and I did want
21:00additional panels
21:01this was just
21:02replacing out a
21:03refrigerator not
21:04original to the
21:05coach the refrigerator
21:06was 10 years old
21:07and I was worried
21:09that it was going
21:09to break right
21:10before I was going
21:10to go on a trip
21:11and I was always
21:12worried about a
21:13fire I'll see you
21:14soon
21:15you