Community Forums

**Spdracr39** · 07-13-2019, 06:50 AM

I have been studying residential vs 2 way refrigerators. My Norcold 1200RLIM is acting up and I can't decide what course is best for us. We aren't fulltiming yet but plan to in a couple of years. I like the idea of boon docking but never really do it because there isn't a good option for that in our area. In our 5'er I often run the fridge on propane when we are in 30 amp sites to help manage electrical usage and I also start it up on propane the day before a trip to get it cool in advance. I haven't had but 15 amp power at the house in the past. I typically travel with it running on the inverter. In our Motorhome ( which I haven't used yet due to reno) I will have a 50 amp power pedestal at the house and will make more of an effort to stick with 50 amp sites. I also think boon docking would be easier in the Bus. We have plenty of room in our 5'er fridge with a single door 9ish Cf unit so the 12cf double door Norcold is plenty large. We don't use ice so I don't care about that feature. I already have 4 6v batteries and a 2000 watt inverter. The current fridge is the original 2004 model.

Hit_the_Rhod · 07-13-2019, 07:01 AM

I've never heard of an RV that was totaled from a fire that started in a residential fridge . . . .

But I've heard and SEEN lots of RV's that have burned where the fire was attributed to a propane fridge,

so for us, the choice was clear, HOUSEHOLD FRIDGE ONLY!

Besides, I like frozen ice cream, cold drinks, and our inverter never has to work too hard to keep the fridge going!

Let the flaming begin! (well, unless you have a household fridge, then you will have to get your flames from the grill instead of the RV!)

MSHappyCampers · 07-13-2019, 09:12 AM

I would replace the cooling unit with one of the compressor-type from JC Refrigeration!

Sandy Swede · 07-13-2019, 09:29 AM

On both of our coaches, the cooling unit was replaced with the Amish unit. If the compressor replacement units had been available, I would have replaced with those. The replacement cooling units from JC Refrigeration will probably work fine for many years to come, but always in the back of my mind is doubt raised by a gas absorption refer. Bottom line, my vote is to replace with either a residential (unless you plan to do a lot of boondocking) or replace with a compressor cooling unit.

jarata · 07-13-2019, 09:36 AM

A residential refrigerator is going to effect your abilty to boondock

Sweetbriar · 07-13-2019, 10:20 AM

Residential and add a few hundred watts of solar to the roof. The cost will be a wash compared to staying with propane of replacing the cooling unit while the solar will extend your stay time when you do choose to boondock.

vito.a · 07-13-2019, 10:31 AM

The determining factor in a 2004 model (because of ceiling height) is do you have a propane furnace under your fridge?
If you do have a propane furnace directly under the fridge, then installing a residential refrigerator is more complex (although possible) and maybe one of the JC refrigeration units is a good choice.
If you do not have a propane furnace under your refrigerator, then it is a no-brainer to install a Samsung RF-18. The residential fridge will only use 1 amp when the compressor is running and that's less than 50% of the time. You go from a old 12CF to a modern French door 18CF refrigerator with LED lighting.

This comes from a person that replaced three Norcolds before I decided there was a better way.

funmoneypit · 07-13-2019, 11:02 AM

I voted res fridge as we now have one. After 3 rv's with the no-cold we now love our res fridge. It cools down so much faster. It is so much more efficient. If you are boondocking there are ways to conserve. You can turn it off when you go to bed. The new ones are insulated well and will hold temp pretty good if you leave the door closed. Turn it back on in the morning.

Not sure about the comment regarding the fridge over the furnace. That is exactly how our new MH is setup. Maybe he is referring to a larger fridge.

Ivylog · 07-13-2019, 11:45 AM

I made the mistake of not going residential sooner because the myth about dry camping with one...yes, you may need to add 2 more batteries.

A 15 year old 1200 is probably showing its age so I would not put any more money into it. I put in a 21cuft Whirlpool that was 1/2” too tall to fit perfectly BUT it is not counter depth...had to take the driver’s window out which is very easy. A Energy Star refer uses less than 100W when running 40% of the time which works out to 95-100 AH/day.

**Spdracr39** · 07-13-2019, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vito.a

The determining factor in a 2004 model (because of ceiling height) is do you have a propane furnace under your fridge?
If you do have a propane furnace directly under the fridge, then installing a residential refrigerator is more complex (although possible) and maybe one of the JC refrigeration units is a good choice.
If you do not have a propane furnace under your refrigerator, then it is a no-brainer to install a Samsung RF-18. The residential fridge will only use 1 amp when the compressor is running and that's less than 50% of the time. You go from a old 12CF to a modern French door 18CF refrigerator with LED lighting.

This comes from a person that replaced three Norcolds before I decided there was a better way.

No furnace but there are some things under there like the hose inlet for the central vacuum and the propane detector. easily relocated to somewhere else I would think. Sounds like its time to start measuring......

Skiddy · 07-13-2019, 08:42 PM

i am also wondering what I should do. turned my norcold off to defrost it a couple weeks ago. went out to turn it back on yesterday. smelt something funny, stuck my head inside and the smell of ammonia about knocked me out

Sorry for the tag along and highjack spdracer39

**Spdracr39** · 07-13-2019, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skiddy

i am also wondering what I should do. turned my norcold off to defrost it a couple weeks ago. went out to turn it back on yesterday. smelt something funny, stuck my head inside and the smell of ammonia about knocked me out

Sorry for the tag along and highjack spdracer39

No problem. The ammonia is at least a for sure replace. Mine just won't cool (not even one degree) the lower refrigerator portion and throws the noco error. I have some additional diagnostics to do but I am not confident in it and plan on replacing anyway. I have decided on a residential style so the only decision left is an amish compressor style unit to the existing or a new residential. I really don't want to modify the cabinet space but after all the work I have already learned how to do I'm sure I can learn a little carpentry work.

Stan&Jacquie · 07-15-2019, 06:11 AM

No brainier.....go residential. Colder, safer, consistent cooling, not dependent on outside temp. But will tax your battery bank so you do have to upgrade commensurate with your needs.

speed racer · 07-15-2019, 07:23 AM

In my case I had the door seals going bad. Had already replaced the control board, heating coils and thermoster . I woke up one morning and the frig was not working. When I went outside to check I had the bad smell. I was wintering in Florida so I had to do something fast. I have a 2005 dolphin with the furnace under the frig with only 63 inches of height clearance. At that time Home Depot had an 11qf top freezer frig on sale for under $400 That was just under 62 inches tall. I put two pieces of 3/4 inch ply wood on the floor of thee opening and that made the height perfect. Then I built a pantry along side of it to fill in the space left by the Norcold 1200.

This frig is not advertised as a counter depth but the cabinet is only 21 inches deep and in my case it came threw the entry door with the doors still on it.

PS;If ant one desides on this frig ad wants the ice maker opt. let them instsall the ice maker it's a little tricky.