Review on Dometic 3850644422 Heating Element 120Vac by Bill Wieser

Said to be a direct factory replacement for the original (OEM or similar) but I have changed mine 4 times already on a 2013 model year unit in an RV parked environment. I ended up cutting one apart to diagnose the problem after checking the voltage, current and resistance inside the device and when applied to the power connector. The resistance wire is fairly thin and evenly wound; are similar in clay to ceramics, homogeneous and without cavities. BUT the spacing between the strands (essentially a tightly shaped "U-bend" down and back) is very small and the turns (appear) to line up, as evidenced by interstitial charring. This (seems) shortens the overall length of the conductor, which I believe leads to possible overheating (because the input current remains constant) and eventual failure. Two coils are available for the Dometic range: approximately 40 ohms and 80 ohms. I haven't tried the 80ohm element yet, but if you have the same problem as me then further experimentation is needed as simply swapping from coil to coil doesn't solve the problem: although delivery, price and availability are excellent as always are.