Norcold not cold enough

[SloPoke]

For the last three days, our Norcold 1210IM in our 2007 Allure 470 has not obtained a temperature below 50 degrees F. I know that it has been in the high 80’s around here, but it does not matter if on propane or AC and both are working. Tomorrow the wife and I will defrost it and see if that helps. I am looking for suggestions on where to look next.
Slopoke

[Mr_D]

Is the cooling fan working to draw cool air over the fins in back?
If not then you probably need a new cooling unit. Look for yellow powder on the fins inside the back of the unit. If you see that it's leaking and needs replacing.

[Stretch]

Might as well bite the bullet and. Swap out the Nocold for a residential reefer. Won't cost much more than repairing the Nocold. You will really enjoy water and crushed ice through the door. Having real frozen food is a real plus too.

[nothermark]

Originally Posted by Stretch

Might as well bite the bullet and. Swap out the Nocold for a residential reefer. Won't cost much more than repairing the Nocold. You will really enjoy water and crushed ice through the door. Having real frozen food is a real plus too.

Don't forget to add the extra batteries and inverter.

[Mike and Cha]

On ours the outside temp doesn't really affect it. We were out a few weeks ago and it was in the mid to high 80's, our fridge temp was about 34 degrees, and the freezer was at about 4 degrees. We had it on #7 at first and had to turn it down to #6. It may just need a defrosting, on ours it does go thru a defrost cycle and gets a little warmer, but not for long. Is this something new or have you always had issues with it not staying/getting as cold as you want.

[2 Stroker]

If the defrosting can't fix it this will, Samsung Refrigerator Install
I have not added any batteries just changed the inverter to the Magnum 2812
2 stroker

[Stretch]

Unless you spend a LOT of time off grid not necessary to ad batteries. Samsung and the rest use less power than than gas reefer (when on electric power). I think the older modified sine wave will work but pure sine wave is preferred

[phays]

Just replaced my Dometic with the Samsung RF18. No need to replace inverter as it runs just fine on the MSW inverter in my coach and Samsung says the MSW inverters are ok. I haven't had the opportunity to boon dock yet but I've got four 6 volt golf cart batteries and expect to be able to run the refrigerator over night with ease. The refrigerator max current draw is 1.2 amps at 110 volt which is about 12 amps at 12 volts.

[nothermark]

Originally Posted by Stretch

Unless you spend a LOT of time off grid not necessary to ad batteries. Samsung and the rest use less power than than gas reefer (when on electric power). I think the older modified sine wave will work but pure sine wave is preferred

I will agree if you already have 4 or more batteries. A lot of folks do not depending on their unit.

No matter how many they have if they are already stressing their battery limits they will need more. The residential units are a very significant power drain. That is why we will *not* have a unit with them even though we only occasionally overnight.

[dwhit]

I've had four ammonia refers...all of their performance improved remarkably after adding fans. Check archives.

[Smitty77]

OP - A few questions on the current problem:

1) Is this on electric or gas?

2) If gas, when was the last time you had the system cleaned and serviced?

3) As already asked, can you hear the rear fans kick on from time to time?

4) Have you cleaned the inside recently, and maybe moved the temp sensor around on the metal radiator grid?

5) What are the outside temps where you are?

You might get by with just a good service and cleaning of the LP part of the cooling. It's also possible that you have a bubble that has formed in the coolant lines.

As you can see, many feel that the Samsung route is a good way to go. We wanted to retain LP capability for Boon Docking, so we had the Amish Cooling Unit installed, added a few more fans to help with the cooling on the rear. And also had battery powered fans in the fridge too. Added the SS30 Halon Extinguisher to the back too. Worked very well of for us. But, once we had added our Solar Panel system, larger battery bank and MS2812 - we no longer had any concerns for battery power while off grid. So we budgeted in the Samsung upgrade into our upgrades. Very glad we did, as the extra space comes in handy while going from Costco to Costco!

Best of luck to you,
Smitty

[SloPoke]

Thank You, everyone, for your thoughts and ideas. The defrosting and moving the thermistor down did not cure the problem. Had the RV tech in the park come and look at the Norcold and came to the conclusion that I had a blockage in the boiler. I turn off the unit for 15 min and he took his sledgehammer and banged on it 5 or 6 times. He said that sometimes that will dislodge the blockage and get the ammonia solution flowing again. Just checked and the temp is around 42 degrees. This may have worked or at least given us some time to decide whether or not to replace the cooling unit or put in a residential frig. If we go the residential frig way, I need to find one that fits.

[CWTeel]

Quick question. I've read a lot on the residential refer replacement. I'm not sure mine will take one. 1999 intrigue? Looking at the cabinet, it appears that I have above space to the roof deck, however below my current RV refer there is a air plentum with duct work (heater?) even fudging a bit, I can only get 63 inches height? Samsung and others need 68 ish?? I'm I missing something? Thanks

[YC1]

I hope the RV tech inspected the drain tube. If they crack, warm air will enter the refer.