Norcold refrigerators - keep or replace

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by harleyjt

You do realize that GE appliances are now owned by Haier, a Chinese company? GE sold their appliance division some time ago.
jt

Almost every consumer item you can buy has some connection to China whether materials, production, or capital investment. I'm not sure it's possible to have a 100% China-free product.

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by doug427

very nice! do you happen to have the model number of the ge that you purchased??

gwe19jslss

[Doug427]

Thanks!

[RoadRelax]

We have the original Norcold double door with icemaker in our 2008 Winnebago Journey. I have read the supposed horror stories but never one substantiated. I consider the propane to be a backup. Unit has performed well here in the South with the expected drop in temp if in direct sun for extended time but AC reflects the same. It cools down via electric, if in a hurry my wife puts in frozen items that she wants to begin thaw. I turn it off when traveling (no night travel) and it stays cold to the next stop. It keeps ice cream rock solid and icemaker puts out enough for us and beer cooler. I have unit inspected and propane function checked as part of maintenance. Being in direct hurricane alley, if we evacuate I want all systems in working order and not just a noisy generator in the event its our primary residence for awhile. Given its age, it will inevitably give out. As we do not boondock and are not full timers, can't justify the expense of a residential replacement with its installation and size. After all these years surely the issues have been addressed.

[glenthompson]

The models you’re considering should have an inverter to keep the refrigerator going when not hooked to shore power. Engine alternator will keep the house batteries charged while driving. Consider upgrading to the largest battery bank it will take.

You mentioned a dc powered cooler for backup. How do you plan on powering that cooler? That same power source can keep a residential refrigerator running for some time.

A residential refrigerator was a non negotiable item on our shopping list for our current RV. After all the fires and other problems I don’t even like having a Norcold parked next to me. With the RR our produce stays fresh longer, ice cream stays firm, and I don’t have to defrost.

[mlpeloquin]

Counter depth home refrigerator with a inverter that has four times as much power as needed. Don't have to worry about start up surge tripping the inverter and they don't cost much. Four large six volt batteries should keep you cold for even long drives. If you want to dry camp, solar is necessary. The modern refrigerators use about an amp and they do not run full time.

That being said, Norcold 4 door in my fifth wheel only took me four years to make dependable. 32* to 38* in fridge with a setting of 3. It took fans on the inside to keep anything from freezing in the fridge and did a good job. On the outside I installed thin fans mounted to the top exhaust panel to keep the upper box trapping hot gas. Think about how the hot air vents. Straight up and continuously pushing up. against itself. Only when pressure is great enough does it get pushed back down and out the upper vent. Once I added the fans the fridge was very cold. This problem is only if your fridge in in a slide with side vents.

All this being said, I would never have another hydrogen/ammonia gas refrigerator. They cost a lot and the door seals do wear and crack off. New doors or a new fridge is the only way to replace the door seals.

[RRBattani]

If you decide to stay with the Norcold 1200, invest in the ARP fridge defender, and get rid of the Norcold recall module. Our recall module failed on a trip and made our refrigerator non working. I did my research and purchased the fridge defender and haven't looked back. Our Norcold cools better, and faster (the recall module wasn't allowing a full 12 volts through it), and no fear of the fire danger as the ARP module shuts the power down if boiler temps exceed 250* vs the Norcold recall module at 850*. I consider the ARP module a must have on an absorption refrigerator.

I am not in any way affiliated with ARP, just sharing my success story in not having to replace my cooling unit, or try to get a new refrigerator into our RV.

[2 Stroker]

My Samsung 197 has been running on the inverter for over 6 years, never turned off. As a lot of other we will be getting our 4th check from Norcold this coming year for about $300. The Norcold works fine until they quit or catch fire. My daughter had the Fisher Paykel install in there Monaco and they run it on the inverter also, as we are both in Arizona.
I would never go back to a Norcold.
2 stroker

[Joe O]

Originally Posted by Doug427

I'd written a long post with many questions previously and it was suggested to break it up into many individual posts. I'll start doing that here. I've decided to target mid-2000's era Winnebago Vectra / Itasca Horizon 40KD coach with a Cummins 400HP engine for purchase. All questions are related to that model.

I have it narrowed down to two individual units. I'll probably pull the trigger on one or the other after the holidays.



This post will deal with the fridge. I have heard good and bad on the Norcold units. The two coaches I am considering both have 4 door Norcold refrigerators. I absolutely need to have reliable refrigeration, not only for comfort and convenience reasons. My wife takes a crazy expensive injection every week, and it MUST stay cold. If it gets warm and goes bad, it's about $1500 a pop!


My plan is to have a good cold sand reliable fridge with a ice maker as the first line. The first backup will be a small version of the electric refrigerated coolers that mount below in the outdoor entertainment/storage area. The second backup will be a small countertop mounted independent ice maker with a small Yeti cooler stored underneath ready to go should it be needed. All of this can be more than paid for with the cost of only one injection going bad.



So the question becomes how reliable are the Norcold refrigerators? Do they get as cold as a regular fridge? I would like to keep it if possible as I understand they function well ever while driving without the generator running. With a home style refrigerator I would have to keep the generator running while driving to keep the fridge going, is that correct? I'd rather not have to do that, both for fuel and noise, and for wear and tear on the generator too. Do the Norcolds have an icemaker inside? Does it work well typically? How cold and reliable are they, typically?



Thanks!

Took my ammonia fridge out of my GulfStream and through it on the lawn. Bought a household fridge at Walmart same or more cubic ft. Added a cupboard beside it in because it was narrower. Didn’t add any batteries. Runs on inverter fine. Never looking back

[Ukulele doc]

No problem with our RV fridge 2006 Have it serviced occasionally and I use a small battery operated fan when in use. Uses 2D cell batteries which lasts for several weeks. Off the grid still works great on LP

I do cool it down and add ice and frozen blocks to jumpstart it in the summer if it’s been off, also don’t open it constantly helps. LP is very cost effective vs running my7.5 KW generator while traveling.

I would by the MH you want and if needed change it out.
Good luck on a new rig.

[Neptune66]

Replaced the overheated 1200 in a 2005 Neptune. Found charred ceiling structure. Installed Samsung RF18 71" tall. Installed frame rails, rerouted sink plumbing, reworked cabinet, maintained spacing required over furnace. Added anti-tip blocking through the top vent, and secured it to the new platform; doesn't move. Added rigid foam insulation to walls and top vent chase. The fridge has an internal inverter-powered compressor, draws a maximum of 3 amps on AC, and within the 20hr rate of the existing house battery, and runs fine on the MSW inverter. We can switch it between shore power or inverter; travels fine. Best mod ever (I have done a bunch to update this coach). Less propane use, 17+ cu feet, frozen and ice etc. Securing door is easy for travel. Pics avail if requested.

[KirkDB]

I wrote what I believe was a pretty helpful blog post when I went through the process of replacing my norcold 4 door with a residential. There’s actually a lot to consider when choosing a unit. Check out my post if interested:

https://rvexodus.com/2019/01/replaci...rigerator.html

[yasbush]

Just replaced our four door after 16 years of good service. Glad we did. All electric doesn't work for us. My older inverter probably would have needed an upgrade too.

[Rich Buteux]

Are you referring to a Nevercold box often put in RVs?

Get an RV built with a residential refrigerator and the battery and power system to support it for how you use your RV. Second choice and Dometic or an RV that can be converted to a residential refrigerator. You will normally need more batteries.

Remember absorption refers do not work well at higher altitudes where there are many wonderful RV destinations.