A Sobering Discovery

[PeterFTH]

If you want your Norcold to work properly, of course you want to know that the burner is clean with a nice blue flame, and both the electric heating elements are working. The main reason Norcolds get inefficient is the two cooling fans in the back. No way to access them without removing the refrigerator, and personally I have other people do that sort of thing. The third time one of the two fans had failed, rendering the entire cooling operation borderline - (Freezer maybe 28-30 degrees? )So, the answer is to supercharge the cooling cycle - you have to tap into the thermistor that calls for the factory fans to come on ... there are portions of the absorption cycle that will not be efficient with fans running. From that thermister take a wire to the bottom where you can access it, and a pair of wires to the top of the refrigeration unit. YOU HAVE TO DO THIS WIRING WHILE THE REFRIGERATOR IS OUT. OK, on the roof under the vent cover, cut out the mesh and put an "L" bracket with as many muffin fans bolted to it as you can. I got 6 on mine. They don't draw an ampere between them. I put some SS screening on top to keep varmits (or critters, depending on what part of the country you are from) by bending it in an arc and it stays up there by it's own spring tension. Freezer usually at 10, refrigerator always around 40. You can get a wireless temperature sender/receiver from Accurite and know the temperatures in your unit. Anyway, muffin fan power! Peter

[Sck1950]

What's the cost to go to 12v with JR?

[Badbrad1961]

Would be nice to know what RV the original poster owns.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by Badbrad1961

Would be nice to know what RV the original poster owns.

The OPs information.

A few clicks on my smart phone.

[G jeffers]

Well I've been reading this and went outside and checked my norcold and my model is N842IM. I have been looking for a recall on mine and can't seem to find anything on a recall for my model. Does this mean I can relax a bit because fire scares the hell out of me.

Thanks Gary

[GeneHowland]

I did the same kit last month and am really pleased to have taken the leap! I discovered my ice maker water line and heater had been crystallized by the heat from the ammonium absorption cooling system.

[GoldenRetrieverAgility]

Hi AJSFLA.....We installed a JC Refridgeration replacement cooling unit that is helium based (non-flammable). It was fairly easy and the new unit fit exactly into the same footprint as the old Norcold.
We are VERY pleased with it's performance thus far. This unit runs on either propane or 120V.



Best of luck,


Bob and Maggie M.
2005 Country Coach Inspire DaVinci w/CAT C9
#51335
Post Falls, ID

[NeilV]

Just be mindful that new residential refrigerators and air conditioners are blowing up world wide with growing frequency due to the new refrigerants being either Propane or Butane Gas based.

Service techs are being blinded, losing limbs and dying while servicing these new residential units and the owners manuals in the fine print are starting to include warnings as to the minimum room size they can be used in to reduce the risk of a catastrophic event. I believe that most RV's do not meet this requirement or are only at the cusp of acceptability.

Even small dorm room sized electric refrigerators using the current replacements for Freon such as R600A have killed the students using them in their dorm rooms.


This makes the helium based systems being discussed a much safer alternative.

[RRBattani]

The day we were preparing to leave for Florida, I fired up the Norcold 1200, and 15 minutes later no display, no power to the unit.

After much troubleshooting I discovered that the Norcold recall module had failed. After many calls to rv service centers, the concensus was they needed my motorhome for more than a week to "troubleshoot" the failure, and was told Norcold warranty would not pay for any troubleshooting. They would only pay for the failed recall module if in fact that was the only failure. The troubleshooting estimate was between $800, and $2400.00.

Plan B was to remove the pile of crap, and install a residential unit. Too much work for me in January.

Plan C was decided upon, as bypassing the recall module would allow the refrigerator to operate. Not trusting it without the module in place, I purchased the ARP fridge defender with one fan.

Let me just say that all of out outings last year, the "NOCold" would never cool below 48 in the fridge, and about 30 in the freezer. We were looking at our options then.

After installing the Fridge defender, our most recent trip to Texas last month, with temps in the 80's The Norcold would cool the freezer to 8, and the fridge to 34 on 4 or 5 setting.

I am extremely happy with the performance of the Norcold now, and the added safety of ARP module gives peace of mind.

The only thing I could figure is that the recall module had been failing for some time, not allowing proper voltage to the main power board.

I will run this configuration for now, and when the absorption unit does fail, I will most likely install the JC refrigeration dc unit. Until then, I am just happy it works good for now.

For anyone with a functioning Norcold, I highly recommend the ARP fridge defender. I am not affilliated with ARP in any way, just highly satisfied with their product.

[David 70]

Originally Posted by georgelesley

When we had JC Refrigeration put an Amish cooling unit on our Norcold 1211 a few years ago we also had him install extra cooling fans at the top of the coil and an automatic halon fire extinguisher in the outside compartment near the bottom of the coil and burner.

Since the refrig is between the only exit door and our bedroom we also have a large fire extinguisher in the bedroom. We consider the tiny emergency exit window in the BR to be useless if actually needed.

A fire extinguisher nearby is a good idea but be aware that the chemical in most extinguishers depletes the oxygen from the air and if you get close to it you will not be able to breathe. I found that out the hard way. Luckily I did not have far to go to get away but the powder was between me and the door. This was not in an rv of any kind but still the same.

[blahargoue]

It's important to keep in mind that the majority of the Norcold 1200 fires are caused by an overheated 120 volt electric element and not the propane flame.

[OldHatt45]

This discussion is very interesting.
I am one of those that converted to a Residential Fridge (a Samsung Counter depth 3 door unit. RF197).
I replaced a NorCold 1210 LRIM (4 door unit) when it died on me.
My RV was built by a good company (Travel Supreme) who unfortunately went out of business. They built really good coaches. All this said, when I replaced my NorCold, and I pulled the NorCold out, there was scorching in the Fridge compartment. And at the time I did my replacement, it was at the height (I think) of the "fire scare" with all the recalls. Given that I don't do a lot of boondocking a Residential unit was right for me. In researching residential units I found that the Samsung had some nice features. They don't (or didn't) require a Pure Sinewave inverter. Mine has a dual cooling system. The RF197 only draws 0.9 amps when it's running after initial startup (108 watts @ 120 VAC), so those things are what convinced me, in addition to price. The price when I bought was about $1,000.00.
I also realize that different folks have different objectives and don't have any problem with anyone else's decision. The only thing I look at is, "Is it Safe?" Being really nervous about Fire in an RV (or anywhere else for that matter) I will only say that if you are not using a Residential Fridge, PLEASE be careful and check your RV for any signs that your particular Fridge is working correctly and check to make sure that there is no sign of heat damage already. I don't want to read any more articles about fire destroying an RV and any loss of life.

Drew
2003 Travel Supreme 40DS02

PS: I documented my Installation and if anyone would like a copy, just post on this thread and I'll upload a copy of the doc.

[vandelhearts]

Hi everyone.. anyone know about Atwoods? I have an Atwood Helium 7cf 2-door fridge/freezer about 4.5 years old, elect & propane. thanks Folks!

[rag_ftw]

Just curious if your fridge moves in and out on a slide or is it stationary?