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Old 02-17-2019, 05:57 PM   #1
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New to motorhomes

Thanks for the add to this forum. I am new rooto rv's as far as motorhomes are concerned, but have a lot of experience with travel trailers. Right now I could some help/advice. I am traveling in my 05 National Dolphin 36ft. A couple In days ago, I made a huge mistake. I plugged my coach into a unknown power source and fried the refrigerator, microwave, and my a/c unit. I was told by the tech that the best thing to do is to put in a household type refrigerator instead of the trouble prone Norcold one that is infamous for starting fires and short lived mother boards. I can't find a replacement refrigerator that fits. All are too tall. What to do? Also, I am not sure that the insurance company will say. Covered or not covered? I know it was a dumb mistake so please only helpful comments would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Old 02-17-2019, 06:15 PM   #2
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Hi Dskulk1; OUCH, sorry to hear that this has happened to you. Makes me think why am I putting off buying some type of protection for the A/C end of the coach. These are just my thoughts. There are after market boards for your Nocold. Just Bing or Google for your model of Nocold and you should be able to find a replacement and a better quality product. If that was the only thing taken out you should be able to replace the board. Other items that were fried, microwave, inverter/converter and over head A/C unit or units will probably need replacing unless you can isolate the bad 120V parts. AS for insurance, good question! To me, not an insurance agent or company, it is an accident. If you have comprehensive coverage that should cover the repairs after your deductible. Hope you get these problems worked out and I am sure someone out there has had the same thing happen to them. Hope they will reply and give you what first hand experience had handed down. Good luck!
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Old 02-17-2019, 08:16 PM   #3
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There are lots of threads on here about putting residential refrigerators in motor homes.I think Samsung makes one that is close in size to your Nevercold.Good luck
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Old 02-17-2019, 09:44 PM   #4
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Welcome to the forum, dskul1.

You may want to ask some questions in the National RV Owner's Forum section of the forum as to the refrigerator retrofit if you decide to go with the residential unit.

For instance, in this thread, these folks have a 2005 Dolphin and went with a Samsung RF18HFENBSR (their install pictured HERE):

New Samsung Fridge

It sounds as if they had to do some modification pertaining to the furnace but I really didn't scrutinize exactly what they did but you can read through the thread and then maybe start your own over in the National RV Owner's Forum.

I agree that you should also look into some sort of surge protection. If you can afford it, consider an Autoformer. A 50 Amp one at RVupgrades.com is below:

Hughes Autoformer RV220-50-SP 50 Amp Voltage Booster with Advanced Surge Protection -- RVupgrades.com


(RVupgrades is a iRV2 sponsor --and forum founder-- so please at least consider purchasing your RV supplies from them when purchasing online. They are an excellent online vendor ...one of the best as far as I'm concerned).
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Old 02-18-2019, 11:06 AM   #5
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What a way to start RVing. What frig did you have in your coach, Not-So-Cold 1200 4 door if so the Samsung RF18 should fit with some mods.
My coach came with the Surge Guard hard wired in but I also got this one to check camp ground electrical before plugging in, this tells we what kind of power I will have before setting up and plugging in.
EMS-PT50X 50 Amp EMS with Sure Protection


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Old 02-18-2019, 11:55 AM   #6
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The Samsung is 5” taller than a 1200, but it will run on a MSW inverter because the compressor is DC voltage. I thought I’d found a 21 cuft Whirlpool that would fit perfectly..:ended up being 1/2” to tall as the 1200 was already at the ceiling. Cut out the 3/4” floor and made side racks to set the refrigerator on. Hated the NoCold and loved the residential.
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Old 02-18-2019, 10:30 PM   #7
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Dskul1,
Well, first off, really sorry to read of your mishap, NOT GOOD! Second, may I ask, just exact WHERE did you plug into an unknown plug, that may have caused your disaster? If it was at an RV park/campground, and you’re DEAD SURE, that it was their electrical wiring that caused your issues, well, its their insurance that’s gonna handle this situation.

If you plugged in at home and this happened, now that’s a whole ‘nother problem. Now, as for jumping to conclusions that every single RV fridge on the planet is a BAD or fire prone fridge, I don’t think so. There’s a few zillion RVs running around with standard RV fridges, still operating just fine. Our Norcold N-1095 is, just like the coach it’s in, 15 years old and works flawlessly.

I don’t know how much you’ve looked around for a replacement but, I’d bet there’s one or maybe a few dozen that will fit. Now, if you’re committed to getting a residential fridge, that is certainly your choice. But, beware of the consequences of that change. You don’t just plug it in and that’s it. You can read all of what’s needed to be done to your coach, to accommodate a residential fridge. Good luck.
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Old 02-18-2019, 10:42 PM   #8
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Another option is to convert your existing absorption refrigerator to a compressor driven unit keeping the same refrigerator shell, see this video
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Old 02-20-2019, 11:28 AM   #9
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I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read and make suggestions to my questions in my post. I believe the insurance company will cover the damage to the electronics in the coach, but they told me they want photos. I don't know what could be photographed, but the repair company said that they know what info they need and will provide it for them. I am still nervous about it, but there are times you just have to trust others to do things..... I am pretty sure that I'm going to stick with the RV type refrigerator. One thing it seems like all the household type refers will not fit well without some significant mods to the area refer area in the coach. Also, a regular refer puts out a lot of heat back into the room where it is located and I don't like that. There are other reasons too. Thanks again for the support!
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Old 02-20-2019, 11:55 PM   #10
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Welcome to the forum!!


Sorry it took this to get posting, but you will find lots of help and support here.
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Old 02-24-2019, 02:50 PM   #11
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Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Sure sorry about your misfortune! I strongly suggest that you get one of the EMS type protection devices from Progressive Industries that would have probably prevented that.

JC Refrigeration is now making a cooling unit replacement that used a compressor like a residential fridge. Look at Option 1 in the link below. This would be an exact replacement for your present unit so you wouldn't have to worry about size. https://jc-refrigeration.com/products/

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!
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Old 02-25-2019, 04:01 PM   #12
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Smile update

I feel like I should update my information so those of you who may be interested in the steps I've had to take and am taking as a result of my misfortune. I am very happy I have good insurance (State Farm) who is covering all my losses from my huge mistake. That is the converter/inverter, the air conditioning unit, microwave convection oven, and refrigerator, labor, everything. Great news for us. We are in the process of waiting for the parts to arrive. It is hard to live in the motorhome without all of the comfortable appliances that without that make it enjoyable. But fortunately my sister in law's neighbors are both nice and generous with their time and possessions.
One came over and put in a small window a/c unit and built a a support platform to hold up the rear of the unit. Then he went home a brought over a 4ft high refrigerator that we have outside the coach next to the door. Wow! Now I personally believe that things happen for a reason and God has put these people, this forum and others to assist me and to show He is always with me and cares about what trials I'm going through. It will still take a few weeks before all is put back together and all is well. My coach will be like new and I have made new friends. So, thank you for all your advice and expressions of support. It really picked me up and helps. Maybe I will see you down the road sometime and have an opportunity to assist you too on this forum God bless!
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Old 02-25-2019, 04:58 PM   #13
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Thanks for posting back, so often we never get to hear "the rest of the story". On that topic, would you be willing to say what exactly happened as it may be a good cautionary tale for someone else in the future.
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