The Amish let me down!

[MSHappyCampers]

When we bought the Windsor in 2012 the first thing I did was to replace the Norcold 1200 cooling unit with one of the Amish-built units, even though the Norcold was working fine at the time.

I've done a lot over these four years to get it to perform as we wanted, including putting fans in the top vent and at the bottom, and a FridgeFix fan bar inside. It has been working great for the last year or so, but a couple of weeks ago we started to get ready for a trip and it would not cool at all! Got the "NO CO" message on the display!

We always leave it on, and leave a few things inside so we don't have to load and unload so much. Everything in it was spoiled!

I didn't have time to check it out before the trip, so we just struggled by with a cooler sitting on the floor. Today I opened the outside vent door, and the bottom was covered with yellow residue!

The unit came with a 3-year full warranty, and another 2 years of pro-rated warranty. I'm waiting for the replacement figure, but it will probably be about $600.

I don't think I want to put that much additional money into another cooling unit, so I guess it's time to start looking for a residential fridge. OK guys, I'm listening. I know it's time for you to say "I told you so"

Annette definitely does not want the Samsung RF-18 because of the freezer on the bottom! I've got to find a side-by-side model with freezer on one side and fridge on the other. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[schrederman]

I can say this from my experiences with Samsung. My washer/dryer set, and televisions have been good so far... but the refrigerator has not. This is one of 2 things I've bought with an extended warranty. The repair guy said we've exercised our warranty twice and the repairs would have equaled the original purchase cost of the unit in parts alone... including the warranty. Sears included a 5-year parts and labor warranty to entice us to buy the unit.

[MSHappyCampers]

Does anyone know anything about the Arcticold cooling units? They are advertising a lifetime warranty!

[Old-Biscuit]

Who did you buy the 'Amish Cooling Unit' thru???

Was this a NEW Cooling Unit or a Rebuilt/Re-manufactured one?


RV Cooling Unit Warehouse and David Force are suppose to be stand up business/guy


As for Articold .........??

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Who did you buy the 'Amish Cooling Unit' thru???

Was this a NEW Cooling Unit or a Rebuilt/Re-manufactured one?


RV Cooling Unit Warehouse and David Force are suppose to be stand up business/guy


As for Articold .........??

This was a new cooling unit from David Force. You're right, David is a great guy to deal with, but he is limited by the manufacturer's warranty. I talked with him today and he is checking on what the replacement cost would be.

[Lifemember]

I should have waited another three weeks and bought the ARP controller from you that you said you never hooked up.

[jondrew55]

The residential in my Discovery is side by side freezer. Thinking its a whirlpool but I'm not sure. I'll update when I get out there

[dix39]

Please let us know how it works out because I'm in the process of installing one of their cooling units right now.

Good luck with the warranty and finding a replacement

Thanks for posting this.

Steve

[Dr4Film]

Joe,

Back in April 2012 I almost fell for an Amish Cooling unit for the NotSoCold. I even had made an appointment with David to have it installed. BUT instead after discussing it with a close friend I came to my senses and had the Samsung RF-197 installed .

It has been 4 years of joy having a residential fridge with 50% more storage space to use.

If you end up buying something other than a Samsung RF18 make sure that it will run on a MSW Inverter otherwise you will need to install a dedicated PSW Inverter for the fridge with an Auto-Transfer Switch for the times when you are hooked to shore power or the generator is running.

Unfortunately, I don't have any recommendation for what brand and model to buy. You will have to do some research and lots of reading to see what's out there.

Good luck!

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Lifemember

I should have waited another three weeks and bought the ARP controller from you that you said you never hooked up.

Yup, looks like I may have one too many!

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Dr4Film

Joe,

Back in April 2012 I almost fell for an Amish Cooling unit for the NotSoCold. I even had made an appointment with David to have it installed. BUT instead after discussing it with a close friend I came to my senses and had the Samsung RF-197 installed .

It has been 4 years of joy having a residential fridge with 50% more storage space to use.

If you end up buying something other than a Samsung RF18 make sure that it will run on a MSW Inverter otherwise you will need to install a dedicated PSW Inverter for the fridge with an Auto-Transfer Switch for the times when you are hooked to shore power or the generator is running.

Unfortunately, I don't have any recommendation for what brand and model to buy. You will have to do some research and lots of reading to see what's out there.

Good luck!

Dr4Film ----- Richard

I sure wish I could use the RF-18, but Annette says she will NEVER have a model with the freezer on the bottom!

Thanks for the reminder on the inverter!

P.S.- How do you find out if a fridge will work OK the the MSW inverter? I don't see any mention of that in the information I have looked at from the manufacturers. I would hate to depend on what some tech support person tells me without seeing it in writing!

[Bob&AnnaMari]

Joe,
Are you basically a post to post camper like we are or do you dry camp some? I ask because I do not have our Samsung connected to any inverter and have not had any issues with food spoilage on our travels. While we have only taken one long trip since the conversion, part of that was through Las Vegas when it was well over 100 and into Utah where it was not much cooler. The temps reported on the fridge showed some elevation, but the milk was still cold and everything was OK.

If you need dry camping capability for short periods you could use the generator when you need cooling. But, you would have to do that late in the day and early next morning. Just something to consider.

And just a reminder to measure, measure, measure. Our Samsung works just great for daily use, but I failed to notice that the left door has to open completely when you have to remove the middle shelf. Well, guess what; the door does not open all the way in its installed mounted position and I have to unbolt the retention brackets and roll the unit out about 6 inches to open the door fully. I only need to do that when I have to inspect the cooling assembly behind the back cover so I doubt I will ever have to do it again. But, right after my install my cooling unit did not work correctly and i had to do some troubleshooting back there. My point here is that you need to measure for maintenance as well as operation. I missed that point.

Bob

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Bob&AnnaMari

Joe,
Are you basically a post to post camper like we are or do you dry camp some? I ask because I do not have our Samsung connected to any inverter and have not had any issues with food spoilage on the trip. While we have only taken one long trip since the conversion, part of that was through Las Vegas when it was well over 100 and into Utah where it was not much cooler. The temps reported on the fridge showed some elevation, but the milk was still cold and everything was OK.

If you need dry camping capability for short periods you could use the generator when you need cooling. But, you would have to do that late in the day and early next morning. Just something to consider.

Bob

Thanks Bob, that is another thing to consider. We don't currently do much dry camping, other than stopping for the night at a Wal-Mart, but my biggest concern there would be if and when we ever want to sell the MH, the potential buyer may want to boondock!

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Dr4Film

Joe,

Back in April 2012 I almost fell for an Amish Cooling unit for the NotSoCold. I even had made an appointment with David to have it installed. BUT instead after discussing it with a close friend I came to my senses and had the Samsung RF-197 installed .

It has been 4 years of joy having a residential fridge with 50% more storage space to use.

If you end up buying something other than a Samsung RF18 make sure that it will run on a MSW Inverter otherwise you will need to install a dedicated PSW Inverter for the fridge with an Auto-Transfer Switch for the times when you are hooked to shore power or the generator is running.

Unfortunately, I don't have any recommendation for what brand and model to buy. You will have to do some research and lots of reading to see what's out there.

Good luck!

Dr4Film ----- Richard

Richard, how did you get the new fridge into your MH?