Norcold replacment

[Gloria002]

Want to replace Norcold with a "home refrigerator" what do you think?
We have a 36 ft 2003 Journey

[dons2346]

If you can find one to fit, go for it. The new home refers are very energy efficient and with a good inverter and battery bank, no problem.

[336muffin]

A couple of months ago I asked a lot of questions about this subject. Thanks to all that replied with answers and opinions. I weighed the pro's and cons and we decided to change out the Nocold cooling coils for the improved "Amish" coils from RV Cooling coil Whse. David Force was a very good person and company to deal with. He answered all of my calls or returned my voicemails I left extremely prompt and curteious. Even before we made our decision to purchase he answered all my q's.
My wife and I decided to take matters in hand ourselves and within a few day's we had everything back together (we both work ). We took our time and it went smoothly. I, however am not reccomending this to everyone.
Is it worth it...yes! Would we attempt this again......yes! We're at Tom Johnson's BBQ Rally now and the Ice Cream is cold and firm in our freezer! We've been here for10 days and the fridge is working fantastic! Our Nocold is the 1200IM and is set on the the 3rd position and the temp in the fridge is 31-36degrees! Outside temps were in the mid 90's for the first three days and have dropped now into the mid 80's.
Our problem was the fridge would lose it's cool when traveling, on the way here no temp change at all.The "plug" at the rear of the box had lost it's seal and was leaking. We found dirt at the mating surface between the cooling coils and the fridge box. Added four fans and a switch that I can control when I see the need for this. This option helps tremendously! I can tell in the last ten days that this will be much more efficient in the future. We are extremely happy we made the decision to pursue this option. I'm not saying that a residential fridge is bad....but for our camping style this was the best choice for us.

[shortimers]

If you want to replace it you need to look at counter depth units. They are the right depth. The width and the height are different from unit to unit. We replaced our 1200 with a 20.7 cubic ft GE Profile. It works great and we love it.

[Elkhartjim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gloria002 Want to replace Norcold with a "home refrigerator" what do you think? We have a 36 ft 2003 Journey

This thread will give you lots of information. Samsung RF197 installed in 2006 Diplomat 40PDQ

[Sammie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gloria002 Want to replace Norcold with a "home refrigerator" what do you think? We have a 36 ft 2003 Journey

Gloria022, There are plenty of people who have made this conversion from Norcold to a "home refrigerator". If you will look on the Monaco Forum section of this website, you will find a ton of posts with pictures and information of what you might consider doing. Just keep in mind that it's not just an easy changeover as you may need to upgrade your inverter/charger and also add extra house batteries if you plan on doing any dry camping.
I recently replaced my Norcold 1200 cooling unit with the Amish Built cooling unit. I made this decision because I was sick and tired of hearing about all the recall fixes and related problems with the fixes. I elected to do the work myself thinking that maybe I could learn something along the way.
After completing the project I have been extremely happy with the results and find that I can keep freezer temperatures at 0 to 10 degrees and fridge temperatures at 32 to 38 degrees with a setting of #5 on the control panel.
I made a short picture slideshow to document my work and to show others whats involved if you want a do it yourself project.

Sammie

Norcold 1200 to Amish Cooling Unit Conversion.mpg - YouTube

[Brigadoon]

One comment. Unless you dry camp often, you will not need to get an inverter and extra batteries. We chose to not to go with the extra expense of a new inverter/batteries and the loss of space for additional batteries. We have been traveling for 3 1/2 months with a couple more to go and have found no need for the inverter battery setup. Our residentual fridge will loose no more than 4 degrees in about 7 to 8 hours of no power (which takes it up to 39-40*). This is better than our old Norcold when it was running continuosly.

When we were traveling in hot regions we run the generator to operate the house airs so the fridge was running and maintaining 35-36* reguardless of the outside temps. Even if you are not traveling with the generator running, you can flip it on for 15 minutes and your fridge will cool back to it's set temp in short order.

Now if you like to dry camp you absolutely have to go with the inverter, but it is not a requirement otherwise. If you do not dry camp you can save yourself a ton of money not buying an inverter and batteries.

[Gloria002]

After asking about changing to "home refrigerator" we did it. Have gotten the old one out and now would like to know what what different things you have done to secure the new fridge in place? Don't want to lose it going down the highway!! Thanks for all the answers and opinions as they are all ways interesting. gloria

[Batman_777]

The MH we have will auto switch from gas to electric and back as needed. My concern with an electric only is not having the gas backup when traveling without the genset or some situation without power. Also, will a residential fridge fit?

Oh... wait... There's no way to get a residential fridge through the front door. You'd have to pop the windshield.

[cjensen91910]

When I changed over to a Whirlpool unit I screwed the bottom structure of the new unit down where the old unit was screwed down. I needed to build a new set of trim pieces inside and I installed a piece of gasket material all around for a good air seal. Had to use some expanding foam under the bottom of the new unit to finish the seal, put a finish trim over top of the space at bottom to hide the foam. Looks fine and works well. I don't dry camp any more so it's great for me.

[Brigadoon]

Some counter depth refrigerators will fit through a 25 inch or larger door opening if you remove the fridge doors and hinges. That's what we did. You can read about it here: Out goes the Norcold in with the Maytag

[Gary RVRoamer]

There are several makes & models that will fit into the same opening as, say, a Norcold 1200. Just shop around the web and review the specs for various fridges. I've read about people using Samsungs, Maytags, Whirlpools, and more. It doesn't have to be a 22-25 cubic foot model like in your house. Your current Norcold is at most 12 cubic feet, so even a little apartment size residential fridge will be an upgrade in size as well as convenience.

Here are some references:
An RV Life | Residential Refrigerator Upgrade

[HD4Mark]

Might not have to pop the windshield. Our Samsung would not make it past the TV through the door so we put it in through the side window.