Cidered Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Well that will teach me to rush! Picking up the Globebus from the storage site and I forgot to close the fridge which I had left ajar to prevent mould. I went round a bend and the door swung the wrong way and broke off. The resultant damage is that the plastic that the hinge lugs fit into in the door itself has cracked. Does anyone know of anyone who could fix this or do I need a new door? I'm near Stansted Airport. Cheers for any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 It could be companies that repair plastic shower trays might be able to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Fridge coming open enroute has happened to lots of us. Ours is a Dometic with a 3 position catch, open, vent, and locked. Forget to lock after a halt and the result is fridge contents on the floor. At least yours was probably empty? We have not managed to break fridge hinges, but many years ago I forgot to latch a drop down boot lid. After picking the plastic bits up of the ground I made a "temporary" repair with super-glue. Many years later it is still holding. You may wish to try a similar approach. To quote my dead father "We live in an age of cracked plastics." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 What make is it? If it's Dometic then it's easy to get parts for them no matter what age. If you check the make and Google xxx parts it's amazing what you'll turn up. I got a catch for 10yr old fridge and even rubbers for the hob cover! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cidered Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 Many thanks for helpful replies. Good to know I'm not the only one. Superglue tried and epic fail. Yes it is Dometic but it's one of the curved door ones which has laminated finish which matches the rest of the wood. Door doesn't seem to be made of parts which can be replaced apart from the shelves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 If you can do it in a place that does not stop the opening of the door and preferably where it can not be seen cut a piece of thin stainless steel plate as much as twice the length of the break and Araldite Epoxy resin it to the steel plate to the plastic. If you can not find some thin stainless steel, look at using old kitchen equipment, I keep things like dish washer doors and old utensils that I cut bash and bend to shape. I recently used an aluminium car exhaust heat shield that I found by the side of the when I was out on the bike to make a wind break for my Cadac Grill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Cidered - 2016-03-03 10:39 PM Many thanks for helpful replies. Good to know I'm not the only one. Superglue tried and epic fail. Yes it is Dometic but it's one of the curved door ones which has laminated finish which matches the rest of the wood. Door doesn't seem to be made of parts which can be replaced apart from the shelves. Don't worry about the decor panel, they are slid in to match the internal decor, and aren't part of the fridge as supplied. You should be able to take out the panel and transfer it to a new door. Personally, I think you need to get a new door. It is surprising what gets carried in fridge doors. Often it is water, milk, wine, or beer, all of which can be reckoned it about 1kg per litre, or 1kg per bottle for wine. So, the items in the door may weigh 2 - 3 kg, possibly more if well stocked. many fridges are sited near, or above, the rear axle, so are subject to quite hard shock loads. If the damage is glued together, the question is whether the repair will have the strength to resist those shocks when the fridge is loaded. If the repair were to fail under those conditions, not only would the damage to the door probably be terminal, but you would have no usable fridge on board, plus its contents spread all over the van floor. There is also the possibility that the laden door might cause damage elsewhere as it falls. So, my reaction - after spending quite a while saying naughty words - would be to source a new door, transfer over the decor panel, fit it, and chalk it all up to experience. As others have said, you're not alone, though you have had the additional very bad lock to damage the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 ....as Brian says, it is quite possible to carry a significant load in the door, and if a complete and proper repair can't be made, you may well experience yet another disaster. A new door will not be a cheap option, but will (if correctly mounted) be safe. It is, however, worth posting the model of your 'fridge such that we can have a look at the diagrams on one of the major parts supplier's website, just to assess any possibilities. On some of the fridge ranges, it is possible to damage the hinge mounts back into the carcase (not the door), and this is not at all easy to remedy, so it is worth checking these as well. The decor panel will, as already stated, be removable and remountable in a new door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinsburgh Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Did exactly the same about 3 years ago. The door was fully laden having just been to supermarket. Quite a mess all over the van floor! The bottom plastic locator for the metal hinge pin sheared off complete with a part of the plastic door surround. Super glue failed to sort it. A liberal dose of epoxy resin sorted it. No obvious sign of the repair and it has survived 20,000 miles since without any problem. Worth a try before the expense of a new door. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan w Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I had the same problem on my van. Tried epoxy glue which held for about 18 months then failed. Most fridge doors can be hung from either side, so my solution was to reverse the hanging of the door from right to left. i was lucky as this did not unduly effect use as i had enough space available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 There is a fair amount of on-line advice about Dometic fridge door-hinge repairs. https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=dometic+refrigerator+door+hinge+repair The best way to address a broken-hinge problem (other than replacing the complete door) will depend on the particular model of Dometic fridge involved and the extent of the damage. The following link http://beamalarm.com/Documents/dometic_ndr-1492_hinge_repair.html shows how a Dometic hinge repair kit http://www.manualslib.com/manual/472020/Dometic-3307896-005.html and a liberal amount of car-body filler was used to repair a badly broken hinge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cidered Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Wow you guys are so knowledgeable. Many thanks. Will pick up the van next weekend and see which solution works best. I will let you know how I get on. Thanks very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.