Norcold refrigerators - keep or replace

[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!

[Lt Dan]

Originally Posted by Doug427

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!

We had a four door Norcold in our 2006 Itasca and it was not always very reliable. I replaced the cooling unit with the Amish Pines Refrigeration unit and installed a Fridge Fix fan inside to keep the air circulated. It worked great when parked, but always when on the road the temperatures would rise to up to 50 degrees inside the compartment. I experimented with outside fans and was working on an "air scoop" on the outside to pull more air in when we decided to trade it off. One of our absolute requirements when we changed was to have a residential refrigerator. If you do a lot of boondocking, then the Norcold might be the way to go. If not, then if it were me I would immediately replace it with a more reliable, better cooling residential.

[creativepart]

We've had motorhomes with both kinds - RV fridge that ran off of AC and Propane. And we currently have a residential fridge.

We vastly prefer the residential unit.

The RV Fridge was difficult to keep cold. It took 24-hours to chill initially and then if fully loaded and used normally for 3-meals a day would start to hover around 40 degrees. It was worse on very hot days outside.

Our current RV came with a Whirlpool 3-door residential fridge. It has none of the problems that the RV fridge exhibited.

As part of the residential fridge package our RV came standard with 2-extra house batteries, a 2000 w PSW Inverter/Charger and even a 100w solar panel and 30-amp solar charge controller.

Obviously, when on shore power, generator or while driving the RV there is no problem running the fridge. The only concern is when dry-camping without power. But our 400aH battery bank can easily handle overnights. And, IF there is Sun during the following day we're more than good for another 24 hours.

People that have never had a residential fridge will tell you to stick with an RV fridge.

You don't own the RV yet. Live with what you got and decide later.

[Spdracr39]

I went residential and have never regretted it. Even though it would have been unlikely I couldn't have slept at night knowing that Norcold was in there just waiting to burst into flames. (disclaimer: I know that is an exaggeration)

[scenic route]

Our last coach had the NorCold 1200 4dr that kept ice cream solid and if not careful, would freeze the produce in the veggie drawer on '5' setting...even in 110 deg. temps. The thing sat for 4 hours on it's side(yes, I put the RV in a ditch) and the last thing we did at the junkyard a week later, was eat the frozen Klondike bars out of the freezer. The fridge that wouldn't die...it's probably in another coach somewhere.

Our present coach had the same model and preformed just as well...until it didn't. We were on our 'shake down' trip when it went toes up. We would have spent the $3K for a new cooling unit but one of the doors fell off, so we couldn't justify investing in the 14 year old unit. We had the latest version of the 1200 installed because we wanted the ability to boondock for extended stays with minimal power usage. Again, we keep it on the '5' temp setting and it preforms as well as the other two...hopefully, longer than the 2nd one. Fingers crossed for many future Klondike bars...may the 'Frost' be with it.

[Doug427]

Thanks to you all for the responses. I guess the question is, if the Norcold that is in the coach I buy proves to be one of the "can't maintain temp" examples vs. the indestructible example, and I replace it with residential, how do I go about running the residential unit when I am driving without running the generator? I don;t think I'll be boondoggling (sp?) very much, but when I do I guess I'd have to run the generator. It's driving that concerns me. I have to have that fridge working for the wife meds.

[HJLowell]

Our 4 door 1200 Norcold worked flawlessly for 19 years . Then it didnt work at all.
We now have a new 4 door Dometic that stays at 34 to 36 constantly.
Makes lots of ice.
It switches to propane when AC current is not available.

As a backup just in case.
A 12 volt or AC via the inverter optional powered Dometic
Chest freezer, cooler in a bay by our entrance door.
Cost was about $1,100. 5 years ago.
We carry lots of home grown frozen meats and extra Graders Schwans or Smiths Ice cream. [emoji6][emoji106][emoji16]

[38Chevy454]

Residential frig swap was the best thing I did getting rid of the Notcold in my previous motorhome. Same 4 door 12 cu ft model that is in many. Just would not keep as cold and much too long for recovery. I'm not British, so do not drink warm beer. Enough said.
As for running the frig, just put an inverter which will run the frig when not plugged into shore power. The popular replacement for the 12 cu ft Notcold is the Samsung 18 cu ft. Same width, but a little taller. So you will need to do some cabinet mods to make it fit. Also note that RV frig is sealed cabinet, along the front so it can vent the exhaust gases from propane mode. So you also need to seal up the open side vent and roof vent on your motorhome when you changeover.

[scenic route]

Residential fridges are said to keep their temps longer, so for short trips, I don't see a problem CG to CG. But you would have to use your genset to maintain fridge temps on longer trips.

I had about $2500.00 of diabetic medicine aboard when our fridge went out. A small cooler and store bought ice save the day for about 3 weeks...what a pain, but all was well.

[Doug427]

Originally Posted by scenic route

Residential fridges are said to keep their temps longer, so for short trips, I don't see a problem CG to CG. But you would have to use your genset to maintain fridge temps on longer trips.

I had about $2500.00 of diabetic medicine aboard when our fridge went out. A small cooler and store bought ice save the day for about 3 weeks...what a pain, but all was well.

She's on Embrel for RA. darn, that stuff is expensive as all get out. Have to have a back up plan.

[Doug427]

Originally Posted by 38Chevy454

Residential frig swap was the best thing I did getting rid of the Notcold in my previous motorhome. Same 4 door 12 cu ft model that is in many. Just would not keep as cold and much too long for recovery. I'm not British, so do not drink warm beer. Enough said.
As for running the frig, just put an inverter which will run the frig when not plugged into shore power. The popular replacement for the 12 cu ft Notcold is the Samsung 18 cu ft. Same width, but a little taller. So you will need to do some cabinet mods to make it fit. Also note that RV frig is sealed cabinet, along the front so it can vent the exhaust gases from propane mode. So you also need to seal up the open side vent and roof vent on your motorhome when you changeover.

Great info on the Samsung if needed. Thanks!

[clifford j]

I hated warm beer and soft ice cream. My Norcold 1200 4 door hit the road all by itself. I now have great cold beer and hard ice cream with my Samsung RF18. And also now have more cubic foot refrigeration in the same space. OH, and a happier wife.

CLIFFORD

[scenic route]

Originally Posted by Doug427

Have to have a back up plan.

Yep, a nice Yeti or equivalent would be a good idea. The cooler I bought in that emergency was cheap...time to go shopping.

[TXiceman]

Truthfully the absorption refrigerators of late are pretty much junk. One of them is now makins a 12 VDC and/or 120 VAC compressor fridge. The older RV fridges were as reliable as all get out.

We installed a small residential fridge in our previous RV and now have a 22 cu ft residential fridge with four 6 volt batteries, a 2000 Watt inverter and a solar panel on the roof. If you do not boon dock, I would not get an RV fridge.

Since refrigerated medicine is critical to your lifestyle, your plan to have a compact back up fridge is the best way to go.

Our last 4 door No-Cold was a real pain. I got it cooling by replacing the thermister, moving it one fin to the left, adding two 4" computer fans in addition to the two already there and wired them in series to run at half speed. I also installed a 3" computer fan in the interior to circulate the air. After this, it did a fair job of cooling.

Ken