Keep the Norcold "recall box"?

[Gary RVRoamer]

Had an interesting call this morning and thought I would share it. The question arose during a discussion about the ARP fridge boiler monitor, a device that is widely recommended by many IRV2 members for extra protection and sometimes improved performance for absorption fridges.

The recommended installation of the ARP retains the Norcold provided "recall box" which totally and permanently shuts down the fridge in the event of a boiler overheat. Normally the ARP detects the beginning of an overheat and manages the situation by temporarily shutting down and then restarting, so the Norcold recall box doesn't trip. But the Norcold recall box is also known to shut off for spurious reasons, including voltage fluctuations in the RV 12v system and water spraying in through the exterior fridge vents, as when washing the RV. Sometimes the recall box can be reset using a magnet, but if not, what do you do? We all know it may take weeks to get a service appointment and Norcold doesn't make it easy to get replacement recall boxes. So do you go weeks with warm beer, wilted lettuce and no ice cream? A fate worse than death, some may say!

Some RV techs will just shrug their shoulders and say you have to wait for a replacement box. Others may simply bypass the recall box and the ARP to get the fridge working again, but that leaves the fridge vulnerable to an overheat and the owner at risk for fire. It makes more sense [to me, anyway], to leave the ARP in the power circuit and bypass the Norcold recall box. Norcold won't approve of that and probably the RV tech will follow Norcold's lead, but as the owner of the fridge you can make that call. In my opinion the ARP provides fully adequate protection against overheating, so can get your fridge working again while you wait for the other recall box to be replaced.

So what would you do?
1. Nothing - wait for the replacement recall box and use a picnic cooler in the meantime

2. Bypass the recall box and leave the ARP controller in place and working, and use the fridge normally. Install a new recall bocx when available.

3. Bypass both the ARP and the recall box and use the fridge normally. Install a new recall box when available and reconnect as before.

4. Forget the recall box and just let the ARP handle boiler safety monitoring?

For those who haven't heard of ARP, you can read more about it at https://www.arprv.com/

[MSHappyCampers]

Gary, I don't see why the recall box would be needed with the ARP, but maybe they don't want to remove it for legal reasons!

[HicksRA]

The thermocouple on my recall box went TU right before I was leaving for an extended trip. It was going to take weeks to get the recall box replaced. Norcold will only send it to a certified tech, not the owner.
I opted for an ARP unit and simply cut, stripped and twisted the two thermocouple wires together and it's been that way for 2 years now.
Double safety would be better (if the recall boxes had any amount of reliability), but I feel I'm quite adequately protected by the ARP alone.
That's just my opinion. Others' may vary.

[krivanj]

HappyCampers is right on if you care about your insurance covering a loss because the Norcold caught fire. I would guess if the investigator saw it out or discontinued, no insurance would pay off.

[powercat_ras]

I would keep the recall box in line for the reasons mentioned above, but you can install insulated spade and socket crimp connectors in the leads on both sides of it arranged so you can quickly by-pass it if need be if it opens up and a magnet does not reset it. Based on another thread on this forum, even Norcold engineers have acknowledged that the recall box is not effective on preventing the boiler tube corrosion that causes leaks that can vent hydrogen gas and cause a fire, I suppose if all the working fluid leaks out and there is no fire, then eventually the boiler tube gets so hot that the recall box shuts off the heat. The ARP box WILL shut off the heat below the temperature that causes the boiler tube to corrode. It's a great product. Wish Norcold and Dometic would license the patent and build it into their new products.

[capecodbob]

After having problems with my Norcold and doing much research I installed a new cooling unit from RVcool myself. Has neen working flawlessly sinse last July and warrenteed for LIFE !
Norcold 1200 Replacement Cooling Units by RVCOOL

[TMan59]

Here is our story with the Norcold 1200.
Bought our 2001 Windsor 3 years ago.
A year ago I had read enough about the recall, got concerned enough that I figured we should do it.
Now to this point the fridge had worked flawlessly.
Had Norcold recall box installed.
Fridge works at times, other times, not so much.
Become a expert at resetting the fridge so it will work, at times, well until it doesnt again.
Read about the ARP unit.
Buy ARP unit, have it installed and am running both boxes.
Kind of same deal, adjust insulation, finally disconnect the Norcold recall box but leave it in for insurance claim just in case, just not hooked up.
Really like ARP unit, can see the temp, its nice.
Fridge works sometimes, by now regardless.

Buy Amish cooling unit, have it installed, 5000 miles ago, have no issues with fridge.

[moderator edit]

Edit:
Shoot, didnt answer the op question, what would I do?
Leave the dang thing alone and realize I had a better chance of winning $500,000,000 in the lottery than I did of this thing catching fire.

[Brockx]

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

Had an interesting call this morning .............

So what would you do?

2. Bypass the recall box and leave the ARP controller in place and working, and use the fridge normally. Install a new recall bocx when available.

For those who haven't heard of ARP, you can read more about it at https://www.arprv.com/

Gary to me #2 is the Win / Win route

Originally Posted by capecodbob

After having problems with my Norcold and doing much research I installed a new cooling unit from RVcool myself. Has neen working flawlessly sinse last July and warrenteed for LIFE !
Norcold 1200 Replacement Cooling Units by RVCOOL

Bob, I have added fans that helped considerably, long plan is replace with a residential. I really kind of hate doing a total replacement (Residential). Are you real happy, icemaker, LP and 110V both OK ? Did you retain the Norcold recall box for insurance reasons?

[Smitty77]

While I admit I moved on to a Residential Samsung (Note at the end on why.), I was one of the Norcold 1200 abused owners for about 5 years. (Coach was built in Sept of 2003, but we did not buy it until about 6 1/2 years ago.)

In that time, for safety and better efficiency we did:
-Added the Amish Cooling Unit (Proactively before being needed.)
-Added optional rear fans, with a switch to turn on/off for in extreme high temperature weather conditions
-SS30 Halo Extinguisher added to rear of fridge cabinet
-Fire/Smoke alarm also added to rear of fridge cabinet
-Did the first recall from Norcold
-Added internal cooling fans to assist in air flow
-Passed on the second and then the final Norcold recalls, as I had zero confidence in them. What a farce, people are losing their RV's, Boats and are at risk of losing life, and also pets lives. And yet Norcold never stepped up to the plate to take care of faulty build quality. I'll make it a point to avoid any and all products associated with a company that does not 'do the right thing'.

I was about to order the ARP, as I feel it is a great product that does many of the things that Norcold could have done. For those with Norcold 1200's, I do recommend all of the above steps, your call on when to do the change to the Amish Cooling Unit. We found that ours due to better design and more actually tubing/coolant, allowed us to run our Norcold at about 3 numbers lower then the OEM tubing supported.

ARP bypass? Why not, as it is doing a much better job then just a simple 'off' of the Norcold recall. So you get better efficiency and safe running at all times, not just when 'off' maybe needed.

Why the residential fridge, after all of the money and effort to want to retain the LP functionality for extended boon docking? Well, after about 9-10 months of using our installed Solar System and larger battery bank (1200W of Solar, feeding 800AH of Lifeline AGM's battery bank.), I felt we had more then adequate reserves to handle the residential fridge. So the need for LP boon docking support, was replaced with the wife desire for more fridge/freezer space. Thus we went to the Samsung gang! (And, have enjoyed the benefits... Though I miss stopping for LP. No oven, and HydroHot heating, so no other LP usage then the stove top. And that is only used about 60% of the time, as we like the Induction Counter Top unit due to keeping the coach cooler while in hot temperature zones. I could very easily go three years without needing to top off the LP. I sometimes use my outside connection for our Amazing Campfire in a Can, which can consume some LP, but usually we like it a bit further away from the coach, so use our portable LP tank for that duty.

Best to all, be safe, have fun,
Smitty

[IC2]

As I understand it, cooling units in RV fridges fail from the unit being out of level while parked. What constitutes 'out of level'? I'm always pretty close though do check with a little round bullseye level in the freezer flat area and figure if the bubble is mostly in the center circle, I'm in good shape. After having a brand new fridge fail many years back in a p'up when it got left for about a 1/2 hour off level am very wary of that levelness.

A note - I just ordered an ARP 2.0 from the RV Cooling Unit Warehouse and with a special code, it was $100 including free shipping.

[powercat_ras]

Out of level is three degrees side to side of the fridge and six degrees door to back wall of the fridge. Worse than this the coolant cycle can stop and cause the high boiler temp that causes boiler damage

[Old-Biscuit]

Just for information ......

The Norcold Recall Sensor trips at 700*F

[Gary RVRoamer]

I don't see why the recall box would be needed with the ARP, but maybe they don't want to remove it for legal reasons!

That's exactly the reason. If you don't have one and the fridge catches fire, do you want to have to argue with Norcold's lawyers? If you have their safety equipment, they don't have any ammunition for their gun.

[Gary RVRoamer]

The Norcold Recall Sensor trips at 700*F

Various tests have shown the Norcold sensor tripping between 700 and 800. It's not a very exact device, and boiler tube temperatures and sensor positions vary a lot. That's right up around the burst temp/pressure for the boiler and flue tubing, so things are at the disaster level when and if it trips.