Community Forums

sailor_lou · 05-28-2014, 04:18 PM

First off, thanks to all for the many details and pics of all your fridge conversions. It made the job easier knowing some of existing TS construction practices before I started. I removed the passenger front seat and using some of your advice removed the cooling unit from the Norcold so I was able to take that out myself. This way the only help I needed was carrying the Samsung into the rig. I was surprised how light it was without the doors and shelves.

Overall the job went as expected except for one minor glitch. Since the door on my Envoy does not taper down on the top like some of the other TS models, it was pretty much a straight shot in. However, when I made my measurements I didn't notice the outside door latch extends into the opening. So with the fridge about halfway in we came to an "all stop." We were able to back it out about a foot and while I held it, my buddy who was working the inside was able to remove the four latch screws and get that out of the way. After that, it slid right in.

The only thing I did differently than most of what I've seen is I set it as low as I could and still provide room for the kitchen supply and drain lines. I needed about 4.5" of clearance for the pipes so I used angle on the left (forward) and the front (inside) to support the platform the fridge sits on. This placed the bottom of the fridge about 5.25" off the floor and allowed me to make a small cabinet above the fridge. I plan on using the old drawer front for the new cabinet and have it swing upward. It's not very tall (5" or so), but my wife was pretty pleased because she can fit her electric frying pan in there with a bunch of other small kitchen stuff. Using the angle on the front also allowed me to make the front trim piece removable should I need to get access to the cleanout. The down side to lowering the mount is the bottom of the fridge is about 12" below the outside inspection hatch so getting to the removable cover is not an option. I did remove the icemaker solenoid and remounted it to the back of the fridge in the opening so I can get to it when I winterize in the fall.

I still need to rewire the outlet to the inverter, but we are heading up to NH for ten days so that will probably wait for now. It's only a 3.5 hour trip so I'm sure it will not warm up too much in that time frame. If it does, I'll run the genset.

Thanks again to all who blazed the trail before me, your info was extremely helpful.

Lou
05 TS Envoy 38DS04

D Lindy · 05-28-2014, 04:53 PM

You forgot 1 important thing, did you buy a jack hammer to scoop out your nice and HARD frozen ice cream? Love our Maytag French Door fridge!!!

OldHatt45 · 05-28-2014, 05:24 PM

Lou,

Don't want to be one of those "I told You So" kind of people, so I won't say it. LOL
Glad that Everything went smoothly for you! From the Picture, your install looks GREAT!!!! Now you get to enjoy nice cold ice cream like Lindy said.

Drew

rhusak · 05-28-2014, 06:10 PM

Lou..
I am so jealous... Did you use a Samsung or what brand did you use?
Wish I was 1/2 as handy as you.. I might tackle it myself then one of these days..
I am totally ready to dump the nevercold! I will never forget the look on my wife's face when the door came off when she opened it! That was right after I finally got the little black box to reset after I washed the coach!
If I weren't so far from you.. I might pay a visit and who knows .. Maybe talk you into a bit of work!!
Ron Husak

osok · 05-28-2014, 06:17 PM

Congrats on being the owner of a real fridge. Your job looks excellent and fridge looks like it belongs there.

sailor_lou · 05-28-2014, 06:25 PM

Thanks, it still needs a few finish items, but it's mostly there.

The ice cream jackhammer is on order, although I must admit our Norcold always kept the proper temps and was still working fine when I removed it. We just wanted the larger fridge. Ron, we went with the Samsung based on all the recommendations. BTW, all you need to do is make a trip out here to the N.E. and we'll get you hooked up.

Lou
05 TS Envoy 38DS04

rhusak · 05-28-2014, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailor_lou

The ice cream jackhammer is on order, although I must admit our Norcold always kept the proper temps and was still working fine when I removed it. We just wanted the larger fridge. Ron, we went with the Samsung based on all the recommendations. BTW, all you need to do is make a trip out here to the N.E. and we'll get you hooked up.

Lou
05 TS Envoy 38DS04

Lou..
I was only kidding.. But come to think about it.. A trip to the North East would be fun...
I am very envious of your mechanical and woodworking skills..
Ron

delcirose · 05-28-2014, 08:22 PM

Lou,
Just popped on and noticed that you have got the new refrigerator in, makes me happy knowing that your Norcold is not going to be responsible for burning you down. Was curious when you got it out what shape the venting area was on your coach, was it as bad as mine? Or did it have sheet metal for a baffle at the top instead of wood like mine? In any case there is now one less chance that the old Norcold is going to be the cause of a fire.

Tom

PushedAround · 05-28-2014, 08:32 PM

Very nice job. I kept thinking about putting in a residential fridge, and when our windshield broke it gave me the perfect opportunity to install one. Our fridge draws so little power that I leave it on for the season. Gives me a place to hide some beer while we are home.

sailor_lou · 05-29-2014, 05:59 AM

Tom,

It had the usual TS wood baffle, but hardly any discoloration (light brown spot about the size of a quarter). I did notice the Norcold had a metal baffle that was spring clamped to the top of the exhaust pipe that would have helped redirected the heat. I don't know if that was a custom piece or on all the models. The other thing that might have helped is that our rig is primarily used for vacations and long weekends (by both us and the P.O.), so the total operational hours of the fridge are probably pretty low.

It only draws about 1 amp when running (not including the operation of the ice maker or defrost cycle) so the normal power consumption is less than what I saw with the Norcold on shore power. Since we never boondock the loss of the propane cooling is not an issue for us.

Lou
05 TS Envoy 38DS04

becks · 05-29-2014, 09:04 AM

Nice job Lou, wish I had thought about putting the top cabinet in mine. I do have some needed info for you on the 197. If you would send me your email address I'll forward it to you.

delcirose · 05-29-2014, 09:12 AM

Lou,
Thanks for the update on the venting situation. I am always interested in hearing what others have found with their venting when they removed the Norcold. My Norcold had a metal baffle installed also but it did not seem to make any difference with the heat transfer to the wooden strip used at the top to diffuse the exhaust gasses out through the hole in the roof. This is the very thing that makes me so concerned and I just don't want to see anyone else loose a coach to a fire in this area.
We sometimes when traveling stay in a location for a month at a time and tour with the car. When we do we pick up the cost of electricity so I have noticed just how much less electricity the Samsung uses compared to the Norcold. We also used a lot of propane to try and keep things cool in warm climates.
I was also able to swap the two outlets in the bedroom next to the head of the bed off the Inverter panel and put the circuit that goes to the Refrigerator in that position. Now when going down the road the Refrigerator runs off the house batteries with no negative effect on the house battery system. At night when in a position that we need to dry camp I can just turn that breaker off and have not suffered any negative effects with keeping the Refrigerator cool enough to maintain both compartments of the refrigerator within reasonable tolerances. This helps to keep the generator run time down to the minimum when needed.
Hope your vacation in Nh goes great...

aliza46 · 06-10-2014, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by becks

Nice job Lou, wish I had thought about putting the top cabinet in mine. I do have some needed info for you on the 197. If you would send me your email address I'll forward it to you.

I also would like the info on the 197, as we are about to do the switch out. my E-MAIL aliza462005@msn.com thank you!