JC Refrigeration Residential conversion

[Twomed]

Home | JC Refrigeration

[Mutt]

When I talked with those folks back in February, they were only using the 12 Volt compressor, as I understood from the unit on display...again I understood they were trying to appeal to the trailer and fifth wheel community since they didn't have the setup to support the AC application/unit during dry camping. Apparently, later they have expanded to include the 110 Volt compressor. In any case...I am glad to see the addition of the 110 Volt compressor. I might now think about adding one of these new coils to my old Norcold 1200 four door frig sitting in my garage. I didn't toss it away since the case and controls are still in good shape. Sorry if I contributed to confusion in the Forum by in indicating that the 12 Volt Compressor was the only replacement available. FWIW. David.

[windsorbill]

I'm not sure how long they have had the 110 volt version. Has anyone gone that route and can post satisfactory or unsatisfactory results?

[krivanj]

JC installed the 120v compressor unit in my Norcold Wednesday morning and all is good. We emptied the refrigerator contents into coolers, put it all back in the refrigerator 4 hours later and now the freezer is at 1 degree and the fridge is 40. Temps outside here were 91here today.

[windsorbill]

Originally Posted by krivanj

JC installed the 120v compressor unit in my Norcold Wednesday morning and all is good. We emptied the refrigerator contents into coolers, put it all back in the refrigerator 4 hours later and now the freezer is at 1 degree and the fridge is 40. Temps outside here were 91here today.

that's reassuring. I'll probably go the same route this fall.

[Nasdaqsam]

Originally Posted by windsorbill

I'm not sure how long they have had the 110 volt version. Has anyone gone that route and can post satisfactory or unsatisfactory results?

Bill, I just did the 120V compressor swap but am not having any luck with it all. Just did 11 days on the road and had to defrost it 4 times and arrived home today with the inside at 49 and all frozen over again. Could not get it to go lower than 44 inside the frig for the rest of the trip. Sorry but beer is just warm to me at 44, lol.

I have many great reviews so please do not take mine as gospel it is just not working out for me. It is doubly frustrating when I hear such glowing reviews and mine does not work...……...

I believe most of the issue is with air circulation the same issue they all suffer from. The drip trey is a big issue it blocks half the base of the fins. I am thinking of installing one of the RVSmart fans.

[windsorbill]

Originally Posted by Nasdaqsam

Bill, I just did the 120V compressor swap but am not having any luck with it all. Just did 11 days on the road and had to defrost it 4 times and arrived home today with the inside at 49 and all frozen over again. Could not get it to go lower than 44 inside the frig for the rest of the trip. Sorry but beer is just warm to me at 44, lol.

I have many great reviews so please do not take mine as gospel it is just not working out for me. It is doubly frustrating when I hear such glowing reviews and mine does not work...……...

I believe most of the issue is with air circulation the same issue they all suffer from. The drip trey is a big issue it blocks half the base of the fins. I am thinking of installing one of the RVSmart fans.

Did you do the install yourself or ?

keep us posted on your progress.

[Nasdaqsam]

Originally Posted by windsorbill

Did you do the install yourself or ?

keep us posted on your progress.

I did it. They were suppose to, we booked a date and time months ago and planned an entire trip around it. A week and a half before the trip I got an email they couldn't do it so he sent me the unit to install it. I would definitely recommend having them do it. It's not that it is hard but reading another post it seems like they are also fixing things in the RV that might make the new unit not work to up to par if you didn't know what to do yourself which I don't.


There is a bunch of stuff left off the install video that is important I was able to take care of via phone calls.

Here is the thing. The Norcold frig is in general a poor design. Their should have been two sets of cooling fins, there is no air circulation so a fan should have been standard and as stated the drip trey blocks any chance of the fins getting over half of the return they need to defrost during down cycles. This is what we are working on with ours right now by changing the placement of the thermostat and lowering the called on temp to let it defrost more often.

[krivanj]

Originally Posted by Nasdaqsam

Bill, I just did the 120V compressor swap but am not having any luck with it all. Just did 11 days on the road and had to defrost it 4 times and arrived home today with the inside at 49 and all frozen over again. Could not get it to go lower than 44 inside the frig for the rest of the trip. Sorry but beer is just warm to me at 44, lol.

I have many great reviews so please do not take mine as gospel it is just not working out for me. It is doubly frustrating when I hear such glowing reviews and mine does not work...……...

I believe most of the issue is with air circulation the same issue they all suffer from. The drip trey is a big issue it blocks half the base of the fins. I am thinking of installing one of the RVSmart fans.

Nasdaqsam,
I have aways used a set of two fans in front of the fins. JC advised me not to use it as it would circulate the air away from the freezer. He said that in the traditional Norcold setup, cold air falls from the freezer down to the refrigerator. In the compressor system, cold air starts in the refrigerator and is forced up into the freezer. I also have running a two battery fan in the bottommost compartment in the refrigerator to circulate cold air upwards. He liked that idea so I kept it going.
It has been five days now in 90+ temps in Indiana and the refrigerator has stayed 38-41 and the freezer is at -1 to +2. He started at setting 3 but the compressor was cycling off and on with the freezer at about 15. I now am running it at 7. I have frost on the center 6 fins or so.
I think the Norcold went into defrost mode once when I was not here, because the fins were defrosted when I came back, but they have since frosted over again since then.

[Nasdaqsam]

Originally Posted by krivanj

Nasdaqsam,
I have aways used a set of two fans in front of the fins. JC advised me not to use it as it would circulate the air away from the freezer. He said that in the traditional Norcold setup, cold air falls from the freezer down to the refrigerator. In the compressor system, cold air starts in the refrigerator and is forced up into the freezer. I also have running a two battery fan in the bottommost compartment in the refrigerator to circulate cold air upwards. He liked that idea so I kept it going.
It has been five days now in 90+ temps in Indiana and the refrigerator has stayed 38-41 and the freezer is at -1 to +2. He started at setting 3 but the compressor was cycling off and on with the freezer at about 15. I now am running it at 7. I have frost on the center 6 fins or so.
I think the Norcold went into defrost mode once when I was not here, because the fins were defrosted when I came back, but they have since frosted over again since then.

Thanks for the input. JR has advised me to add a fan. He may have been talking ab out one of the battery operated ones that just circulates the air not the fin type. I will have to ask him. I turned mine down to 7 to see what happens. I am not near the coach right now so will have to check it in the morning. He was thinking with mine because of the ice over the thermostat was not getting satisfied so it was running non stop and it needs to shut down to thaw out.

[tacaem]

Originally Posted by Nasdaqsam

Thanks for the input. JR has advised me to add a fan. He may have been talking ab out one of the battery operated ones that just circulates the air not the fin type. I will have to ask him. I turned mine down to 7 to see what happens. I am not near the coach right now so will have to check it in the morning. He was thinking with mine because of the ice over the thermostat was not getting satisfied so it was running non stop and it needs to shut down to thaw out.

What was the problem with your your old unit that you took out? Just wondering if you were having the same problem with the fin frosting over as well. That is what mine is doing now (old style) I put in a new bulb on the fins with no help. Please keep us posted what JR comes up with to fix your problem
Thanks

[Nasdaqsam]

Originally Posted by tacaem

What was the problem with your your old unit that you took out? Just wondering if you were having the same problem with the fin frosting over as well. That is what mine is doing now (old style) I put in a new bulb on the fins with no help. Please keep us posted what JR comes up with to fix your problem
Thanks

The little Red Box went out on it and couldn't be reset. It was not frosting up it was just not cooling very well on A/C or propane anymore.

[Paul L.]

Good morning all -

I just purchased another Monaco coach and before purchase I was told the fridge worked. Well, it died on the PO before I picked it up so he attempted to get it going again with no luck. He has promised to contribute to the repairs so we will see about that

I did my own diagnosis and it seems there is a leak so I went ahead and ordered the HVAC setup. Here is my reasoning.

First off, my coach. 2004 Windsor PDQ with 4 door Norcold 1200. I also have AquaHot. This means I have a drawer under the fridge currently so I can pretty much go with a residential fridge or a RV fridge or convert my current setup. Lots of options.

The residential fridge is novel to me. What I mean by that is a lot of the new RV's come with residential style units. They are pretty, shiny and usually have ice makers in them. I don't like the 'aftermarket' look of them though. I also don't like how you attempt to latch them. You also have to manhandle the unit into the coach and I would need to do this by myself mainly. I must be getting set in my ways

New RV style fridges are OK, but expensive ($3500?) for the larger ones and don't really look like the fit with the rest of the coach - I.E. match. They are 12v and propane capable which is nice but I have never used those power sources out of necessity. I have a generator and multiple batters if I run off the inverter and I have a solar charger.

JC chosen. My current fridge looks great, not beat up and matches the coach. If I can save the housing and make beer colder for a decent price it makes the most sense. They also say it uses very little power, cools great, and easier to install than the other two options.

When I ordered the unit yesterday JC's said it should ship out by Wednesday and I would likely receive it on Friday. It comes on a pallet so a drop gate truck is required. Shipping seems high but what do I know on that piece, just that it is big and hopefully protected very well. Having car parts shipped in I haven't seen this kind of quote but again, who really knows.

Once here I will post some results.

Anyone need any new Norcold parts

[mbedtelyon]

Originally Posted by windsorbill

I'm not sure how long they have had the 110 volt version. Has anyone gone that route and can post satisfactory or unsatisfactory results?

We just came back from a 2.5 month trip after having the 110V JC unit installed. Easily ran on our inverter or generator (ran the generator a lot due to high temps everywhere this year). VERY HAPPY with our choice and do not miss the propane feature at all. JR and his son are wonderful folks and have a great product! Don't hesitate making an appointment to have it done.