Community Forums

cristelectri · 04-09-2019, 04:12 PM

We got home after being out of town and the fridge was beeping. It was the high temp limit switch on the fridge. It was after midnight when we got home from the airport so I just unplugged it. The next morning I removed the access panel on the exterior of our 2008 Newmar Dutch Star and reset the switch, but noticed an ammonia smell, that made me think there was a leak, therefore explaining why the limit switch kicked off. After reading some of the other articles about Norcold I've decided to replace it with a residential counter depth fridge. I'm not putting any additional battery's in for the new fridge because we may move our coach once a year and the outlet that feeds the fridge and ice maker is on a separate 120V circuit and if I did happen to leave I would just run the generator for the fridge.

My issue is that most of the fridge's are around 70 inches tall and I have a cabinet that is located beneath my Norcold fridge, one side is storage and the other side has my toe kick heater. This means I cant have a unit that actually sits on the floor.

I have 32" wide x 63" tall opening to deal with after removing the old Norcold. Obviously the easiest place to cut would would @ the top and have the new fridge sit on the existing platform, but I would rather cut the bottom and lower the platform to just above the toe kick heater.

All suggestions are welcome!!

W.J. Demo · 04-09-2019, 04:27 PM

Have you looked at JC Refrigeration? They have a kit that replaces the cooling unit in the 1200 with a compressor driven cooling unit. Less costly and no coach surgery when compared to replacing with a full residential unit.
https://jc-refrigeration.com/

Ivylog · 04-09-2019, 05:15 PM

Your 08 D Star probably has a MSW inverter so going wit the 18 Samsung is the best option...it has DC compressor so the MSW power when dry camping or traveling is not a problem. It’s a French door unit with a bottom freezer that will fit through a 25” opening after taking the 3 doors off. I think your opening is 33” wide. not 32”.

GREGORYJ · 04-09-2019, 06:37 PM

Here is a previous discussion on the residential type cooling unit conversion from JC Refrigeration. I believe there is also now a choice to order one with a 12 volt compressor.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f54/all-e...-386761-2.html

vito.a · 04-10-2019, 11:58 AM

If you did not have the height available at all, then the JC Refrigeration conversion is an option. However, it costs more than a new Samsung RF18 and you still have a small 12CF refrigerator.

I would lower the fridge platform as low as possible to retain the heater and then trim the remaining height from the top. The Samsung measure 70.5" tall and the Norcold cabinet cutouts are 65". You need to gain 5.5" additional height and that should be easily available in a 2008 model.

This is a link to a detailed install I did:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/samsung-refrigerator-install-in-2004-monaco-signature-356096.html

My wife says installing the Samsung is the greatest thing we've done to the motor home.

JRhann · 04-10-2019, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W.J. Demo

Have you looked at JC Refrigeration? They have a kit that replaces the cooling unit in the 1200 with a compressor driven cooling unit. Less costly and no coach surgery when compared to replacing with a full residential unit.
https://jc-refrigeration.com/

I just did 5he JCFrig 120 volt conversion this is the real deal... unless you just want a new outward appearance do this mod... I couldn’t be happier... I’ll update if this feeling changes but I’m sure it won’t...

Jeff Hannie JRHann
Fleetwood Bounder 39Z

astrnmrtom · 04-12-2019, 08:00 AM

I went with a Fisher Paykel because I had limited space. It's smaller than the Samsung - just 67.5 inches tall. Unfortunately it costs just over $2K. I did lower my refrigerator cabinet shelf which wasn't hard at all.

Check out page 5 of this post for my photos. In one you can see my heat register under the shelf.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/out-...-386374-5.html

Ilvmygt · 04-12-2019, 08:19 PM

We replace our 14 cf Dometic with a 14.6 cf GE refrigerator which is 62 inches tall. It runs just fine on a MSW inverter. It draws 90 watts running. When defrosting if draws a more.

grindstone01 · 04-12-2019, 08:35 PM

I would just search for a residential refrig that is close to your current opening size. Our new Haire refrig when installed had a 1" gap on the top and for the legs on the bottom. I got some light oak trim from the hardware and glued/nailed the trim in place which was a close match to the maple cupboards. I even cut out the one end for a custom fit over the door hinge.

Jpool · 04-12-2019, 09:14 PM

I plan to replace our Norcold that has the same dimensions and little additional height with a GE 15.5 QF top frig. The GTE16DTHBB in black at Lowe’s measures 63 7/8” but if the wheels removed will fit perfectly. It will also with the doors removed fit through the side emergency escape window with about 2” to spare.

CoachC · 04-12-2019, 09:56 PM

We replaced our 1200 series Norcold with a Maytag 18.2 Cf 2 door model. Runs fine with MSW inverter. No problems so far. 65.81" tall 29.75 wide. The popular 3 door GE model would not fit in our kitchen slide out.
Way better than the Nevercold with much more space and great lighting. I could buy 3 of these for the price of one new Norcold. This Maytag is also very quiet.
Batteries don't seem to get below 88% while driving. Shore power or generator needed to charge batteries after about 2 - 4 hours depending on ambient temperatures. We have a 2000W MSW inverter and 4 6v house batteries.

Best of luck and safe travels!

speed racer · 04-13-2019, 04:52 AM

I replace mine with a 10.9/11QF. Wirlpool top freezer with ice maker. I got it from home depot for just over 400dollaer and it fit through the door and it was 1,5 inches shorter than the opening. had room to build a 7.5 inch pantry along side of it. The condenser coils are on the back of it so there is no need to have air flow under it.

BigLar368 · 04-17-2019, 05:14 AM

This is our residential fridge swap thread:

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/my-r...ad-334006.html

We also had limited room up top and I did not want to do away with our heater underneath. The popular Samsung fridge would not physically fit without cutting out the bottom and loosing the heater. We went with a Whirlpool fridge. It worked fine for a while but has since had problems but has nothing to do with the inverter just cheap parts they use when building the fridge. Over all it's light years better than the Norcold. Hope this helps.

FatChance · 04-17-2019, 07:54 AM

When I replaced our Norcold in our 2004 MADP, I could not fit a Samsung due to the furnace under the refrigerator. I was able to lower the refrigerator cabinet floor a little and maintain sufficient clearance over the furnace and was able to then fit a Haier (used to be GE) 15cf bottom freezer refrigerator from Home Depot in the space. The Haier has the same modern compressor technology as the Samsung so it is OK with MSW power. We have been very happy with the upgrade.