Community Forums

LeeB · 08-21-2020, 10:14 PM

We have a Norcold R822.Turned on the Fridge the last week and the freezer got real cold but the Fridge never got cold all got was the dreaded "n" code. I reset the board and got "n" again.

Fed up and not wanting to deal with it I bought the Amish Cooling Unit with a new burner, fan for the coil on the back and a fan for the inside coils. It will be shipped Monday the 24th...

Opinions and Tips will be greatly appreciated.. Thanks LeeB

FIRE UP · 08-21-2020, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeB

We have a Norcold R822.Turned on the Fridge the last week and the freezer got real cold but the Fridge never got cold all got was the dreaded "n" code. I reset the board and got "n" again.

Fed up and not wanting to deal with it I bought the Amish Cooling Unit with a new burner, fan for the coil on the back and a fan for the inside coils. It will be shipped Monday the 24th...

Opinions and Tips will be greatly appreciated.. Thanks LeeB

Well Lee,
I hope it all works for you when you get the new unit and install it. I've got a couple of threads going on here about me simply removing my old Norcold N-1095 and installing a Magic Chef residential unit. We just got back from a short trip, about 3 weeks or so and, that was the maiden voyage for that fridge. It works outstanding! We've never, ever had ROCK SOLID ice cream before. And, the rest of the food was around 33-38 degrees.
My only issue is, it won't run on my MSW inverter so, I'm gonna tackle that next. I thought about either procuring an Amish unit for our ailing Norcold and or, converting it to a pump type system. But, I figured what the heck, let's just slip a residential unit in there and go for it. So far, so good.
Scott

CSWolf · 08-22-2020, 06:59 AM

Had JC Refrigeration install their new HVAC 12v compressor in our MH last week. Works great and very efficient far more so than a residential unit but depends on your camping style. We were in Indiana so it made sense to have them do the install. Highly professional. Timely. Clean install. Highly recommended. We have a two door Dometic but they replace cool ping units on the 4 doors as well. No more risk of fire from leaking ammonia.

jacwjames · 08-22-2020, 07:16 AM

If you are going to do the install yourself check Youtube for videos and make sure you understand how to do and have all the necessary supplies. Installation is the key to having it work properly.

I opted to install a Samsung RF18 instead. The Norcold never really worked good, not sure how much spoiled food we threw away for the 10 years we had the coach.

When I removed the Norcold we had to take it apart to get it out the door. When I removed the cooling unit I saw what the problem was. The cooling unit has to make good contact with the metal on the back of the fridge. Whoever installed put about ~1/2' bead of caulk on a zig zag pattern on the mating surface, there was too much of air gap for the fridge to cool properly.

LeeB · 08-22-2020, 08:01 AM

Thanks for the reply's. I thought about installing a residential but we like to Boondock to much and to do that would take to much mods. I watched the install video from JC Refrigeration, I'll do a search on you tube and watch them also. Good point about keeping it close. Thanks for that...

LeeB

tropical36 · 08-22-2020, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeB

Thanks for the reply's. I thought about installing a residential but we like to Boondock to much and to do that would take to much mods. I watched the install video from JC Refrigeration, I'll do a search on you tube and watch them also. Good point about keeping it close. Thanks for that...

LeeB

We chose to go with the 120vac compressor conversion, which runs well on my MSW inverter.
Easy Peazy with the conversion and did it myself inside the coach.
I really don't see the problem with boon docking, since most everyone runs their genset a couple of times a day, anyway.
I mean, what does everyone with the new rigs do, whereas most all come with residential units these days?.

Jake21 · 08-22-2020, 09:05 AM

I replaced mine by myself inside the coach. I removed the doors and dropped the fridge face first with the top resting on a workhorse. That way when it came to attaching the inside screws, i could climb under the fridge. If the holes didn’t line up, i could go back and move the cooling unit a little and it would stay in place allowing me to climb back under and install the screws.

Also, i left it running on ac that night before reinstalling it in the cabinet just to make sure all was good.

Dont skimp on the foam insulation.

Outbound · 08-22-2020, 11:55 AM

Let us know how the change out goes.

tropical36 · 08-22-2020, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake21

I replaced mine by myself inside the coach. I removed the doors and dropped the fridge face first with the top resting on a workhorse. That way when it came to attaching the inside screws, i could climb under the fridge. If the holes didn’t line up, i could go back and move the cooling unit a little and it would stay in place allowing me to climb back under and install the screws.

Also, i left it running on ac that night before reinstalling it in the cabinet just to make sure all was good.

Dont skimp on the foam insulation.

Do ya suppose we were intercommunicating somehow....lol
Did mine in a like manner, this last Feb.

Jake21 · 08-22-2020, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tropical36

Do ya suppose we were intercommunicating somehow....lol

Did mine in a like manner, this last Feb.

Great minds think alike.

tropical36 · 08-22-2020, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake21

Great minds think alike.

There ya go....lol

PABO05 · 08-22-2020, 09:52 PM

Did mine about two years ago really easy. Been working great.
I got the 120V system.

TomAndPeg · 08-23-2020, 06:17 AM

LeeB:

We did the Amish cooling unit replacement along supplemental fans, etc. on a Norcold in a previous coach. It turned what was barely a fair fridge into a great appliance.

Enjoy!

Dale70 · 08-23-2020, 06:51 AM

I did mine about five years ago. We were going off grid for 6-8 day stretches.
Overall I like the unit as it was a great improvement over the basic Norcold 1200LRIM

I also did the ARP refrigerator controls which made me feel a lot better.

However --- after several years I began to see significant rust inside the boiler tube and it was becoming a bit less efficient. The rust was enough that it clogged up the burner tube as it fell and I had to clean it several times. There would literally be a half inch of rust flakes in the pan at the bottom of the burner that needed cleaning out.
Some of that could be because I live in Florida where there is high humidity and lot of things rust. (Not near the ocean --well inland) It appeared to me the inside coating was deficient.

I have a Norcold in my newer, just purchased RV, and think this time I will go with a 12V compressor unit. With good batteries and perhaps some solar I would like to go 2 days at a time between having to fire up the generator.
We will see.

Shout all you want but I DO NOT want a residential unit, and am not answering why not ---- Just my preference.

thx Dale