Any Tips on Defrosting Norcold?

[RickO]

With full time use in very humid climates and a person who will remain nameless (DW) that tends to leave the doors open too long... I get ice/frost build up frequently in my Norcold 4 door w/icemaker.

My manual tells me to defrost the unit by powering it down and to NOT use a hair dryer or scrape. This just isn't practical for full timers.

Any ideas why use of hair dryers are bad to use? Any other tips?

[Clifftall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickO With full time use in very humid climates and a person who will remain nameless (DW) that tends to leave the doors open too long... I get ice/frost build up frequently in my Norcold 4 door w/icemaker. My manual tells me to defrost the unit by powering it down and to NOT use a hair dryer or scrape. This just isn't practical for full timers. Any ideas why use of hair dryers are bad to use? Any other tips?

I've been using a hair drier for years. Be careful not to aim it at the plastic part of the freezer and not to let water drip on the drier. I suppose they discourage it for those reasons. It usually takes 10-15 minutes and done.
Also handcuff your DW ( LOL ).

Cliff

["007"]

The Norcold has a defrost cycle about every couple of days, it will drop any frost off your fins and water will drain to black cup in back of fridge and dry up from the heat in that area. Frost in your freezer should not cause a problem.
The hair dryer used on plastic walls of fridge could crack the wall causing the box seal to lose the cold your trying to keep in there.
Here's a thread that has some information in it if you are having problem keeping your fridge cool in this hot weather.

[RickO]

Thanks to both of you! I suspected the ban on hair dryers was driven by common sense... and maybe their lawyers.

The problem with frost hasn't really been with the fridge but rather a build up in the freezer which does get out of hand after a while.

Now, for a new but related problem:

I know about the defrost cycle the fridge goes through and how the water is supposed to drain and evaporate from the cup behind the unit. The defrosting part has been working but we've always had an issue with occasionally getting water in the bottom of the fridge and on the coach floor when we travel.

I just opened the access door to the back of the fridge and found the tube leading to the evaporator cup. But... the tube has a black plastic plug in it and when I removed it a great deal of water poured out...

Am I correct in assuming that this is probably something which should have been removed during manufacturing and wasn't???

[TXiceman]

The black plastic cap is supposed to have a small hole in it. Just clean it out and leave the plug in place. If there is not home, drill about a 1/8" hole in it.

We have defrosted the frig and freezer for years with a small hair drier. It is a common sense thing to not leave it on too long or too hot. We just keep moving it back and forth over the surface.

Generally we had to defrost the frig and freezer about every month when we were full time in the trailer.

Ken

[paz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickO Thanks to both of you! I suspected the ban on hair dryers was driven by common sense... and maybe their lawyers. The problem with frost hasn't really been with the fridge but rather a build up in the freezer which does get out of hand after a while. Now, for a new but related problem: I know about the defrost cycle the fridge goes through and how the water is supposed to drain and evaporate from the cup behind the unit. The defrosting part has been working but we've always had an issue with occasionally getting water in the bottom of the fridge and on the coach floor when we travel. I just opened the access door to the back of the fridge and found the tube leading to the evaporator cup. But... the tube has a black plastic plug in it and when I removed it a great deal of water poured out... Am I correct in assuming that this is probably something which should have been removed during manufacturing and wasn't???

We had the same problem a while back. TXiceman is right - the plug has a hole in it, and it is supposed to be there. I guess the purpose is to keep bugs from getting up into the hose, but over time it will get clogged with crud and cause a backup in the drain pan below the fins. I check the drain pan for excess water accumulation every time I defrost the freezer. It might also be a good idea to pull the plug out and clean it every couple of months.

[RickO]

That makes sense. I'll just add a quick check and cleaning of the cup and hose to my defrosting process.

Thanks guys!

[MaverickBBD]

After some experimenting on how best to defost my 4 door Norcold I came up with the following. The freezer compartment with the ice maker seems to frost up the most. So I can't blame it all on DW. As I wake up hours before she does, I do it early in the morning. I take the ice bucket out of the one compartment to be defrosted and put it in the other freezer compartment along with a "blue ice" container. Then I take two more "blue ices" and put them in the frig. compartment. Open the door of the compartment to be defrosted and put a towel in the bottom. Power the fridge off and leave the door open. Within an hour or two I am able to take the plastic spatula (the one the wife insists I use on the non-stick frying pan) and take the sheets of frost that have not already fallen off the walls out of the compartment. By hour three the compartment is hand dried, fridge on, compartments back to normal and DW is awake and having coffee.

[ralper]

I have a Dometic side by side 12 cu ft refrig/freezer. My refrig has no frost build up. The freezer is another story. I use up most of what is in the freezer. I put what is left in the refrig. I shut off the refrig/freezer. I put two bowls of hot water in the freezer one top and the other in the bottom and shut the door for a while. I remove, by hand, the loose frost. I renew the bowls of hot water and let them stay in there a while again. I have already put a towel in the bottom of the freezer. Most of the frost is melted with this method. Then I use a hair dryer being careful not to melt the plastic. Yes even with a crew cut I own a little travel 1200 watt hair dryer. I does come in handy for things other than hair !!!!

[Roadking]

Several years ago I found a small micro-pump at a swap meet and bought it with no idea of what to do with it. The pump is variable speed and uses 1/4 inch tubing for intake/exhaust. Turns out it works great to defrost my freezer and takes less than five minutes.

I empty the freezer and fill a container with about 1 gallon of hot water. Then I use the pump to spray the hot water on the iced surfaces (sides, back, top, around the ice maker ect) of the freezer. Once all the frost build up is melted I reverse the hose connections and suck the water from the bottom of the freezer and from the ice maker. The interior is wiped with a sponge and the freezer is returned to operation.

Been doing this once every two or three months for the past several years. Works great!!!

[LindaH]

No matter which kind of RV refrigerator we'd had...Norcold or Dometic...I've always used a tub of hot water (I use the same tub that I use in the sink for washing dishes).

Run hot water from the tap (or boil some water if your tap water isn't hot enough) into the tub, put the tub in the freezer, shut the door (the refrigerator should be turned off, of course). Wait about 15 minutes. Whatever small amount of ice is left remaining on the sides can easily be taken off with a plastic (NOT metal) spatula.

[RJay]

I find that when the ice buildup in the freezer gets to thick the ice maker stops making ice.

I just defrost the freezer, the refrigerator takes care of itself. I turn off the refrigerator and use a spoon to scrape off the loose ice crystals. I then use a hair dryer on low, not focusing it in any particular place, keeping it moving and I keep it outside of the freezer box. In about 5 minutes I'm done.

[quickone]

I have a 4 door Norcold that is 3 years old and the ice build up on the fins in the back of the refer is out of control . In a week they are completely out of site with frost build up. My DW Defrosted with a blow dryer last week and in 7 days its back to where it was . It also froze all the food and water on top shelf (closest to fins)

Any suggestions

Quickone

["007"]

quickone, take a look at this thread has some information about a plug in black pan rear of your fridge. Plug should not be removed and if plugged clean out hole so water will drain out when fridge naturally defrosts during its defrost cycle.
The plug will hold some water in tube so hot air can not enter the box thus creating more frost.
If your door seals are not tight heated air will add more frost to fins in back of box as you do when you keep doors open to long. When you close your doors close until you hear a snap.
Using a hair dryer with to much heat can crack the plastic sidewalls of fridge and let more hot air in box.
There also is a link for trouble shooting your fridge problems in thread.

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