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Old 01-10-2015, 06:39 PM   #1
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New cooling unit vs residential fridge

I have an '07 Revolution with a Norcold. Had the recall fix and have had no problems. Was thinking of putting in a residential fridge before this one dies. I read about the arcticold.com cooling unit for Norcold
with lifetime guarantee. Much less $ and no modifications to coach. Claims to keep fridge at 30 degrees in 90 degree + outside. Anybody have any experience with this or the Amish unit?
Thanks
Gary Goldman
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Old 01-10-2015, 07:01 PM   #2
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I put the new cooling tube in.my Dometic after it died (died st 8 years). The new cooling coils work well, and the fridge does work much better. These absorption units will never work as well as a home unit, but also they work off propane which you will never get from a residential unit.only you can decide which will work better for you. It is based on where and how you use your coach.

Good luck!
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Old 01-10-2015, 09:28 PM   #3
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I am very pleased with my Amish Cooling Unit. It worked well to meet my needs; get rid of Norcold fire hazard cooling unit, not modify any cabinetry, keep cost down, have propane ability for boondocking.

I can recommend Amish Cooling Units and David Force for any consulting.
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Old 01-10-2015, 10:08 PM   #4
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All I'll say is that we have friends that had (notice the "had"0 a '07 coach with the Norcold. They also had the recall done and the refer still caught fire and totalled the coach. If you want to keep the Norcold, there is a company that makes a device that you install on the refer that will shut it down if the burner temps get to high. Sorry I don't have further info on it as I have a residential and don't worry about it. The fix is under 200 bux so it would be worth looking into.
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Old 01-10-2015, 10:14 PM   #5
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Here is information to go either way depends on your lifestyle.
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Old 01-10-2015, 10:15 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gruelens View Post
I am very pleased with my Amish Cooling Unit. It worked well to meet my needs; get rid of Norcold fire hazard cooling unit, not modify any cabinetry, keep cost down, have propane ability for boondocking.

I can recommend Amish Cooling Units and David Force for any consulting.
Yep, same here. I did the new cooling unit a couple years ago. If it goes out again I'll go to a residential unit as the door gaskets are going bad and they no longer make them. I can find them but have to buy a whole door unit and I might as well spend about the same amount and get a whole new refer
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Old 01-11-2015, 12:50 AM   #7
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Dutch Aire RV Cooling Units Our new to us Dynasty had the cooling unit replaced ( as part of sale ) with a new unit from Pines RV Refrigeration and boy does it get cold. Makes tons of ice and freezes the ice cream.
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Old 01-11-2015, 07:00 AM   #8
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The safety device for an absorption fridge is called the ARP and is available via ARPrv | RV Refrigerator | RV Fridge Control | Install by Cooling Unit | RV Fire Also at that site you will find explnations of why aborption fridges fail, sometimes catastrophically with fires.

I never heard of arcticool.com before you mentioned it, but I don't find the "30 degree" claim to be impressive. My stock Norcold 1200 does that in the fridge if I want, and keeps the freezer at zero as well. If yous doesn't, the problem is most likely the installation of the fridge, not the design of the cooling unit. Inadequate air flow across the back side, or lack of sealing or insulation, are common causes for poor fridge performance and the Norcold 1200 is particularly sensitive to those factors. Norcold provides very detailed installation instructions for the 1200 but even the factory often ignores them.

Multiple cooling unit companies are claiming to be better built than Norcold factory units (quite possible true) and at least one other is offering a lifetime warranty. Check out RVCOOL.COM - Manufacturer of Aftermarket Cooling Units for Norcold and Dometic RV Refrigerators.
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Old 01-11-2015, 08:33 AM   #9
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Dave Force is great. Amish CU was a definite improvement for me but installing the residential fridge was one of my best upgrades. YMMV
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Old 01-11-2015, 08:49 AM   #10
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Why fool around with spending money on "stuff" attempting to make a poorly built POS work better. It won't.

There have been as many people who have installed the Amish units that have had good results as those that have had lousy results.

The ARPrv device is definitely worth the investment IF you have a good running RV absorption type fridge. BUT it won't help a poor unit run any better. It will only possibly prevent it from torching your RV and making you crisper critters.

If you want a good working fridge then install a residential and be done with it.

Residential fridges have been used in RV's longer than most people realize. The were first introduced in the high end coaches and eventually found their way into other RV's because they WORK.

How often have you had to have your home fridge replaced or serviced as compared to your RV fridge?

Invest your money in something that works instead of something that you may THINK will work.

Dr4Film ----- Richard
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Old 01-11-2015, 09:08 AM   #11
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Is this only for double door fridges or does it pertain to ALL Norcold fridges? I have Norcold single door plus freezer door fridge. Should I be worried? I have had zero trouble with this unit and it cools just fine.
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Old 01-11-2015, 11:16 AM   #12
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I am in the why spend money on a Norcold camp. I installed our res fridge three years ago, and have been very happy. Put one in a friends Dynasty for him last fall and he can't stop thanking me.
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Old 01-11-2015, 11:39 AM   #13
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Mick, take a look at this thread will have all the units that need to be looked at 4 door plus 2 door.
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Old 01-11-2015, 12:52 PM   #14
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"Ggrvusa".....If you're handy, DIY type, you can install a residential unit for less than $1400.00. The Amish unit or any other replacement is about $1000.00., it's just not worth wasting your money on the propane units. As stated above, the Amish units are also failing. The refer was just a BAD design. Too much refer, not enough cooling unit.

Once you put a residential unit in, you'll wish you had done it a lot sooner. A residential unit is like grandkids, until you have one, you don't realize how special they are.
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