Norcold Recall - Full 2-Page Ad - Motohome Magazine

[Dr4Film]

In the most recent issue of MotorHome magazine June 2010, located in the very center of the magazine, there is a full 2-page ad from Norcold attempting to alert and find owners of Norcold cooling units that may have a possible defective and life threatening unit. Obviously the “heat” has been turned up a notch as I’ve been subscribing to this magazine for years and have never seen an official ad from Norcold other than notices published by third party sources.

I have had my unit retrofitted with the recall in January with their lame attempt at preventing a fire in the outside compartment of the refer. It is a thermal limit switch with a metal collar that is attached to the lower region of the insulated canister that houses the heating elements. The switch is a bimetal electromechanical device that shuts off power to the entire Norcold refer if the temperature exceeds a safe level. It is attached in close proximity to both heating sources, above the LPG flame burner and below the electric heating elements. Therefore it “should” help if the refer is running with 120V or LPG.

Well, in thinking about this, what is considered a “safe level”? Is it set to shut off before a fire has had the opportunity to start? Where it has been positioned, it appears to be a protection device aimed more if the refer is running with the LPG system versus on 120V.

So, with my very low level of confidence in the complete safety of this Norcold recall being able to prevent a life threatening fire possibly taking my entire home, contents and my life, I have invested what I consider to be a small pittance in a fire suppression & extinguishing system for both the Norcold refer and the engine compartment. The refer compartment is protected with a 1 liter Halon system that with snuff the fire out instantaneously as fire needs oxygen to continue. The engine is protected with a 3 liter foam/wetting agent system that is designed stick to all surfaces that it covers and the fire suppression agent will not destroy all of the electrical wiring, hoses and cables that are located back there however a chemical extinguisher would. Don’t even think that those small lame chemical fire extinguishers will put out a fire in either one of these locations. Those are probably OK for using on the BBQ grill outside of your RV. I also purchased a few small “Cold Fire” units to have inside for when the LPG stove top is used, one for the bedroom, one for just inside the entry door of the RV and one for my “Toad”.

Now I can sleep better at night not having to worry about whether I will lose my life, home or contents because of a manufacturer’s refusal to acknowledge that these defective units need to be completely removed and replaced with thoroughly proven reliable units that will not cause a fire resulting in loss of life, home or contents.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[Elkhartjim]

Is the the same re call that has been going on or a new re call or is this about fire suppression? My weary eyes had some difficulty reading the small print of your post.

[Ray,IN]

Is this the same recalls? Recall Info

[Dr4Film]

Same Norcold Recall, however have you ever seen a center magazine 2 page ad placed by them anywhere? NOT.....

My point is that I believe Norcold is feeling some genuine heat resulting from all of the fires caused by their less than quality units. No deaths but it's only a matter of time. Millions of dollars of collateral damage though from RV fires over the years.

I actually heard one report of a Norcold 1200 LRIM unit that had the recall safety thermal switch added and when the unit went south, it nearly caused a fire in the insulated flue where the 120V heaters were located.

I am not taking ANY chances at all, therefore the addition of the refer compartment Halon fire suppression extinguisher laying horizontal with the sprinkler head adjacent to the burner and insulated flue.

In addition, not willing to take any risks with the highly volatile diesel fuel used in the engine compartment as I have seen the results of people stopping to fuel up, drive away and find that their engine is on fire, or while tooling down the road enjoying the beautiful mountainous scenery unaware that their engine compartment is on fire until someone comes up and signals that you have a BIG problem.

There are other areas of the coach that would need to be protected but I started with the two priority ones, refer and engine compartments.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

[H. Miller]

Where were the Halon systems obtained?

[Jim Stewart]

It seems that Norcold is fearing the Legal Ramifications. The age of the units under recall assume that many of the units may have changed ownership hands. Tracking of resales are hit and miss at best for notification of recalls. Knowing this steps up the responsibility of the manufacturer to go above and beyond the norm for such a recall.

Lawyer: Did you do everything possible to find and notify the owners of your product?
Defendant: Yes

Lawyer: What did you do?
Defendant: We sent multiple letters to Owners of Record.

Lawyer: Do you have a list of all Owners of your product?
Defendant: We have a list of Original Owners and Resale Owners that Notified us.

Lawyer: Did you notify Resale Owners that did not register with you?
Defendant: No!

Lawyer: So, people have died because of the defect in your product and you did not think it was necessary to seek them out and notify them of the Danger.
Defendant" Silence!

Lawyer: I rest my case!

[Retired and Happy]

How is it that I got many letters from Ford about a possible cruise conrtol fire, but nothing from Norcold? Someone knows I own this MH. Or maybe I own a good Norcold, but a bad Ford?

[Gary RVRoamer]

Many Norcold 1200's already have built-in detection for an overheated cooling unit. I know my 2004 1200 LRIM does. Those are not subject to the recall.

And if you have a different model (not a 1200) it may not be subject to the recall at all. Check the list of models and serials in the Recall link above.

[Knotdodger]

Why are those of us that are replacing our trailing arms on our Monaco products not replacing our Norcold refrigerators before our motorhomes catch on fire?

[George Schweikle]

What probably happened was due to CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) requirements. Once a supplier of a product to the public advises the CPSC of the probability of personal injury or property damage, they have a specific time to prove they have notified a certain percentage of users. I suspect that Norcold wasn't able to prove that they reached this percentage, and had to initiate a more intensive public campaign. This is the same as the smaller notices in various magazines about home products: coffemakers, refrigerators, hair dryers, etc

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr4Film Same Norcold Recall, however have you ever seen a center magazine 2 page ad placed by them anywhere? NOT..... Dr4Film ----- Richard.

[Dr4Film]

Quote:

Originally Posted by H. Miller Where were the Halon systems obtained?

Hal,

The 1 liter tank in the refer compartment is Halon. The engine compartment due to its size required a different suppression extinguisher solution, therefore it is a combination of foam, wetting agent and something else. This will stick to all surfaces vertically and horizontally to make sure there is adequate coverage and suppression. That tank is 3 liter in size. The chemical makeup is such that it won't destroy the electrical wiring, hoses, belts, etc. that is commonly found with those lame chemical extinguishers supplied with the coach. Those are OK for a BBQ fire but usually that's where you want some extra flames anyway, right? Maybe those would be useful in some other applications so I don't plan to dispose of them.

I purchased the entire package including some small hand held units for inside the coach from a distributor called Mac, The Fire Guy. Just Google him and it will bring up information and contact numbers.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

[mythplaced]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Stewart It seems that Norcold is fearing the Legal Ramifications. The age of the units under recall assume that many of the units may have changed ownership hands. Tracking of resales are hit and miss at best for notification of recalls. Knowing this steps up the responsibility of the manufacturer to go above and beyond the norm for such a recall. Lawyer: Did you do everything possible to find and notify the owners of your product? Defendant: Yes Lawyer: What did you do? Defendant: We sent multiple letters to Owners of Record. Lawyer: Do you have a list of all Owners of your product? Defendant: We have a list of Original Owners and Resale Owners that Notified us. Lawyer: Did you notify Resale Owners that did not register with you? Defendant: No! Lawyer: So, people have died because of the defect in your product and you did not think it was necessary to seek them out and notify them of the Danger. Defendant" Silence! Lawyer: I rest my case!

Jim, you re hired!

[Roadking]

In the past year I've seen the remenants of a MH and a 5'r that burned to the ground. The MH fire occured about 3am and the MH was fully engulfed and owners narrowly escaped out of the bed room window. IN the 5'r the owners were in the club house having dinner and others in the park noticed the fire. Pets did not survive. In both cases the owners were subsequently told by the fire investigators the origin of the fire appeared to be near the rear of the fridge.