Date:         Sun, 12 Sep 2010 18:40:37 -0500
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Kitchen out; Any suggestions?
In-Reply-To:  <20100912172619.U4NRO.1559753.imail@eastrmwml38>
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I'll chip in with Dave. The Dometic, while not as good as it could be,
is far from worthless.

It's free if you already have it.

It will run for three weeks without bothering you for ice.

It will keep things nicely cooled in moderate weather. In hot weather,
it needs all the shade it can get. In really hot weather, bring a
cooler for daytime backup. The versatility of the 3-way fridge fill
makes up for its performance shortcomings to an acceptable degree.
Coolers and ice are cheap, and make a good backup in really hot
weather.

During the part of the year that the family camps with me, the Dometic
is fine. I, on the other hand, go kayaking all summer long, and I
supplement the dometic with a cooler. I spend about 30 nights and days
a year in my westy, and I live in Alabama, so I have run into just
about everything you can imagin temperature-wise and situation-wise.

You can get better-performing refrigerators that fit in that space,
but you can't get one that runs on 12v, 110v and LP gas that I know
of.

Next time mine's out, it's the mylar bubble wrap for me.

For those inclined to go on extended stays in really hot weather, may
I suggest a Yeti cooler. The marine police down here use them. They
keep stuff cold for a week or so. Expensive, though.

Jim