Community Forums

Gadget Man · 12-02-2011, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCtime

Would you please share your mobile RV repair guys Business name and number.

Hi Ron,

The business is called EXO Mobile RV Service. They are based out of Orange County. Here is their website. I've never used them before, but they get excellent reviews in RV Service Reviews.

I spoke to Joe when I called. His knowledge about the Amish units impressed me. He said it is the only cooling replacement unit he will install.

Craig

RCtime · 12-02-2011, 10:07 AM

Craig
Thanks for the prompt reply, they have an excellent web site and reviews.
I store my motorhome in Cerritos and they are from Westminster, very close by.
Anxious to hear about your intallation.
I think I just may have found me a new mobile sevice guy. The mobile tech. I normally used I felt a little uncomfortable with in his knowledge about diesel fuel filters, He filled mine from the inside hole, not the small outside holes.

ronboatplane · 09-28-2016, 07:01 AM

I am headed out to Amish Country to get the latest version of the 1200 Norcold Replacement unit featuring a redesign with even better performance and safety by way of the use of Helium instead of Hydrogen. My Norcold continues to work after 11 years but summers always brings marginal performance. My travel will be about the same or 750 miles to Shipshewana.

I am impressed with Pines Refrigeration as they also take care of a couple of little talked about extra issues with the Norcold 1200. One being improper baffling at installation at even the top of the line RV manufacturers. The other being a downdraft problem with the original design Norcold flue cap. Norcold sells a retrofit cap kit for a ridiculous amount of dollars but you still have to pull the Fridge out to get to the cap. Many of us have had the problem while going down the road of the refrigerator not properly cooling. Turns out the flame is actually getting a backdraft due to the originally designed cap. If you have noticed you don't cool as well on LP, check your burner and see if it has that bright blue look due to excessive heat. That heat is wasted since it is being sucked back at your burner instead of being passed up to the boiler. The blue color is a result of higher than normal heat.

So I am off to get the new 1200 replacement redesigned with more tubing and Helium for the ultimate performance of a dual powered, LP and electric unit. Stay tuned as I will update after my 1500 mile round trip.

MSHappyCampers · 09-28-2016, 02:06 PM

I replaced my cooling unit with the Amish unit some time back. I sure wish I had known about the helium-filled unit then!

ronboatplane · 09-28-2016, 11:15 PM

You did the right thing going with the Amish unit that uses hydrogen but has all the other improvement like the backdraft prevention design and much thicker tubing that discourages fracture. The quality reduces the Chance of failure to the point that safety concerns are greatly reduced. Yes, I am looking forward to a helium unit that has been made available only recently. But you have been enjoying the benefits of a superior unit, while I have put up with a warm fridge and risked spoiled food during hot weather. If my math is correct the helium unit is $130 more. I will post a review soon and let you know the results after installation at the factory. Are you happy with your unit? Ron

ronjhall · 09-29-2016, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronboatplane

I am headed out to Amish Country to get the latest version of the 1200 Norcold Replacement unit featuring a redesign with even better performance and safety by way of the use of Helium instead of Hydrogen. My Norcold continues to work after 11 years but summers always brings marginal performance. My travel will be about the same or 750 miles to Shipshewana.

I am impressed with Pines Refrigeration as they also take care of a couple of little talked about extra issues with the Norcold 1200. One being improper baffling at installation at even the top of the line RV manufacturers. The other being a downdraft problem with the original design Norcold flue cap. Norcold sells a retrofit cap kit for a ridiculous amount of dollars but you still have to pull the Fridge out to get to the cap. Many of us have had the problem while going down the road of the refrigerator not properly cooling. Turns out the flame is actually getting a backdraft due to the originally designed cap. If you have noticed you don't cool as well on LP, check your burner and see if it has that bright blue look due to excessive heat. That heat is wasted since it is being sucked back at your burner instead of being passed up to the boiler. The blue color is a result of higher than normal heat.

So I am off to get the new 1200 replacement redesigned with more tubing and Helium for the ultimate performance of a dual powered, LP and electric unit. Stay tuned as I will update after my 1500 mile round trip.

Since you will be in Amish country. Check out National RV Refrigeration. Great service and products. Friends had their Nocold repaired by them 5 years ago. Still cooling like it should have when it was new. Had them do my Dometic 3 years ago. Cools better than new.

ronboatplane · 09-29-2016, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronboatplane

You did the right thing going with the Amish unit that uses hydrogen but has all the other improvement like the backdraft prevention design and much thicker tubing that discourages fracture. The quality reduces the Chance of failure to the point that safety concerns are greatly reduced. Yes, I am looking forward to a helium unit that has been made available only recently. But you have been enjoying the benefits of a superior unit, while I have put up with a warm fridge and risked spoiled food during hot weather. If my math is correct the helium unit is $130 more. I will post a review soon and let you know the results after installation at the factory. Are you happy with your unit? Ron

Sorry but even though I taught math, the current number is $1225 for the 1200 Helium unit which is $140 more.

MSHappyCampers · 09-29-2016, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronboatplane

Sorry but even though I taught math, the current number is $1225 for the 1200 Helium unit which is $140 more.

I would have gladly paid that difference if I had known!

ronboatplane · 10-09-2016, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronboatplane

I am headed out to Amish Country to get the latest version of the 1200 Norcold Replacement unit featuring a redesign with even better performance and safety by way of the use of Helium instead of Hydrogen. My Norcold continues to work after 11 years but summers always brings marginal performance. My travel will be about the same or 750 miles to Shipshewana.

I am impressed with JC Refrigeration LLC as they also take care of a couple of little talked about extra issues with the Norcold 1200. One being improper baffling at installation at even the top of the line RV manufacturers. The other being a downdraft problem with the original design Norcold flue cap. Norcold sells a retrofit cap kit for a ridiculous amount of dollars but you still have to pull the Fridge out to get to the cap. Many of us have had the problem while going down the road of the refrigerator not properly cooling. Turns out the flame is actually getting a backdraft due to the originally designed cap. If you have noticed you don't cool as well on LP, check your burner and see if it has that bright blue look due to excessive heat. That heat is wasted since it is being sucked back at your burner instead of being passed up to the boiler. The blue color is a result of higher than normal heat.

So I am off to get the new 1200 replacement redesigned with more tubing and Helium for the ultimate performance of a dual powered, LP and electric unit. Stay tuned as I will update after my 1500 mile round trip.

Just got back after 1500 mile roundtrip to Amish Country. Specifically the location is Shipshewanna Ind, the home of Pines Refrigeration. I had installed in my Norcold 1200 the latest Helium charged replacement unit. The total bill for the retrofit, including taxes, 3 new fans, new burner, and installation was just over $1700.
My old unit was still working but had a bad air leak so moving down the road I had no appreciable cooling. It seems the Norcold insulation had not lasted and exposed the refrigeration unit. It was doing it's best but could not keep up while I was moving down the road. I suspect many of the owners of these Norcold units have insulation failure just like mine.

After the new Helium unit installed, the freezer section was down to a minus 17 after the first night or 12 hours. The fridge section loaded down with food got down to 35 but took longer because the food had gotten warm during the installation. The big news is the fridge stayed cold for the first time while I moved down the road on the return trip of 700 miles. Yea, it worked since the new helium unit was properly installed and all the air leaks were gone.

The installation took about 3 hours but it took a few more while we waited for J.R., to check and make sure everything was normal. Though amusing now, two days later I was dismayed that the temp started rising in the box. It turns out that for the first time I was to find out that there was a defrost cycle that I had never experienced. It Seems the new unit was actually getting to a normally cold temperature which triggered the Norcold control board to turn the unit off for a number of hours. The fact I had never experienced the defrost cycle is a tribute to the fact the new 1200 helium unit was working. I was to learn from J.R. and blogs here on this site that Norcold owners know to cycle their fridge off for about ten seconds to bypass the defrost cycle. (Cycle can be up to 6 hours) The 48 hours defrost cycle is disabled since the timer is reset when the box is turned off for a short time.

It is nice to know my new fridge has all sorts of improvements over the stock 1200 factory unit. It is built out of thicker metal, it employs helium and the necessary extra plumbing to make that work, it is powder coated for longer longevity, and is more efficient and colder due to the redesign. Other minor engineering improvements are made like the flue cap redesign that was a problem on older Norcold 1200 units. The new flue cap discourages the flame backdraft while running on LP.

Now I have a unit that works on LP and electric, is properly sealed to protect against air leaks, is not a safety hazard like the hydrogen units, and is properly installed by the factory. I can even charge my batteries since I did a solar prewire while my old unit was temporally out of it's cavity. My new wires run from the roof to the inverter below using the back of the refrigerator cabinet.

I will repost when we get some hot weather but so far I am very pleased. Ron

BennieH · 10-10-2016, 10:12 AM

We've had our for over a year now and it has been absolutely great! Freezer is always below zero and the fridge is right around 33f at a setting of 5. Was stable even when we had a stretch of 90+ weather.
I did get our ARP updated to the latest version (3.1) of software since it allows the defrost cycle to be bypassed. It works good by the way.

MSHappyCampers · 10-10-2016, 10:40 AM

Congrats Ron! That's a great company to deal with!

ronboatplane · 10-11-2016, 07:58 AM

Thanks for information. Could you fill me in on the Software upgrade? Is it something I can do myself? My unit never got cold enough to worry about the defrost but now I guess I need to tackle that next. Ron

BennieH · 10-11-2016, 04:00 PM

You need to send it back. The cost is $40 (includes return shipping).
I'll see how it works shortly. Have a 2 week trip coming up.

islandboy54 · 08-09-2017, 06:40 AM

Many of the posts I read are several years old. For those with Amish units installed, I would be interested if anyone has had any problems and how long you have had a unit from them installed with no problems. I have to replace mine and I am trying to decide which way to go. Thanks in advance!