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Old 11-07-2013, 02:06 PM   #1
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replacing refrig with residential

We are thinking about replacing our Norcold 1201 with a residential unit. Can anyone give us an idea of how much it costs and how long it takes. We have an 2006 Itasca 36g and we have a fuse panel and speaker under the frig. Any info would be helpful.

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Old 11-07-2013, 02:31 PM   #2
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The most common replacement is with the Samsung 197. They can be had for $1400-$1600. We had Bradd & Hall in Elkhart, IN do the work along with some other items. It ran about $1400 in labor for that which included reworking the platform to lower it a couple inches over the furnace. It also covered some electrical work to move the connection from the main circuit panel to the inverter panel.

The Samsung is a tad deeper than the Norcold. I have read of a couple cases where the roof had enough arch that the back of the Samsung would hit the roof near where it met the wall if the refer platform wasn't lowered.

The Samsung will work on a modified sine wave inverter but it may be worth the expense to give it a full sine wave inverter. It won't take a big inverter. All you need is one that can handle the power needed for the compressor start up.
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Old 11-07-2013, 02:41 PM   #3
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There is a place in Red Bay, AL that does a lot of residential fridge installations on Tiffin motorhomes. I think they charge around $4000 including the cost of the fridge. That includes removing a side window to get the new fridge in.

That price also includes the cost of a small inverter dedicated to the fridge because the brand of fridge they use does not work on MSW. Like your motorhome, many Tiffins have an electrical panel under the fridge, and at 69 3/4" tall, the Samsung will not fit.

We were lucky. Our motorhome has a drawer under the fridge. I was able to modify the drawer (actually, I built a new, lower drawer) so the Samsung would fit. Replacing the old Notcold with residential was one of the best moves we have made.
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Old 11-07-2013, 04:38 PM   #4
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Refer remod

I too have the fuse box under my norcold. Any idea which brand people have been putting in for this senario. Not above having a dedicated inverter to make it right.
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Old 11-07-2013, 05:17 PM   #5
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My dealer ( Lazy Days of Tampa), installed my Frigidaire residential refer, for $1,800. I supplied the refer, at a cost of about $800.
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Old 11-07-2013, 09:27 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gripper View Post
My dealer ( Lazy Days of Tampa), installed my Frigidaire residential refer, for $1,800. I supplied the refer, at a cost of about $800.
Samsung RF197 is the way to go. It performs very well and is advertised by Samsung to run on a modified sine wave inverter.

You might be able to do this job yourself. Measure carefully an see if the unit will go through the entry door. I pred the safe and removed the passenger seat. Home Depot got it into the coach. It's not a hard job (

good Luck!
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Old 11-07-2013, 09:28 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Stan&Jacquie View Post
Samsung RF197 is the way to go. It performs very well and is advertised by Samsung to run on a modified sine wave inverter. You might be able to do this job yourself. Measure carefully an see if the unit will go through the entry door. I pred the safe and removed the passenger seat. Home Depot got it into the coach. It's not a hard job ( good Luck!
That was meant to say. "i prepped the space"
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Old 11-07-2013, 09:35 PM   #8
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I helped a member here do his. Took the old one out a side window and brought the new one, then rewired the inverter. He did the prep work and final bolt down. Took four of us and a pickup to remove the old and bring in the new. Maybe a hour tops for that. The old one was still working and he sold it on Craigs list with the proviso that they help get it out and the new one in.
After all that he found that the old MSW inverter was bad and installed a new, larger SW inverter.
Wasn't too bad a job either. Biggest problem was figuring out how to get stuff apart in the first place.
PS: be careful of sharp metal edges, I did a pretty good number on my hand as I didn't wear gloves.
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Old 11-08-2013, 04:35 AM   #9
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BTW...

We did NOT have to take the old or new refer through a window. Removing the doors from both refers we could get them through the coach door and in our case without even removing the co-pilot seat. That will depend on your seat location and perhaps even if you have a head banger TV over the steps.

Measure carefully and you may find the same for you.
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Old 11-08-2013, 06:27 AM   #10
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In our case we had a Dometic that wouldn't get below 40 degrees. I called our extended warranty co. and told them I wanted a residential. They said they would do it if the problem with the Dometic was the cooling unit. Well it was, and since I already have a PSW inverter, and 480W of solar all I had to pay was my $500 ded., so now we have a new Whirlpool that works great. By the way I had the work done at Aliance Coach in Wildwood, FL.
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Old 11-08-2013, 08:50 AM   #11
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I installed a Samsung 197 in my coach over this past labor day wkend. Its a bit of time and work, but not all that hard to do. Goedeckers always has a good price on the fridge. Mine was $1048.00 from them, and a few weeks later they had them for a bit over $900.00. If not wanting to do it yourself there are many places that will do it. Cost will run you about $2000.00 plus cost of fridge. Good luck.
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Old 11-08-2013, 09:36 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elbeau54 View Post
I too have the fuse box under my norcold. Any idea which brand people have been putting in for this senario. Not above having a dedicated inverter to make it right.
A have read about others using Whirlpool or Frigidaire. The side by side models are shorter than the Samsung, but wider and they are not counter depth like the Samsung. Therefore, they may stick out from the wall a bit farther. Not a big problem unless yours in in a hallway like ours. The other good thing about the counter depth Samsung is it will fit through some doors so you don't have to remove a window.
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Old 11-08-2013, 11:10 AM   #13
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We just installed this past week a samsung two door bottom fridge model
It was a toss up between the two samsungs and this one won out due to its cabinet measurements
I need the shell not to exceed 24.5" so i could get it through the entry door. I was not wanting to pop out the windshield or have a slide pulled out to gain entry into the coach.

mine is a samsung model rb195acbp is 17.9 cut ft
this model is not billed as a counter depth...but its .5" deeper than a counter depth so it worked and didnt cost an arm and leg more for a counter depth unit

it comes in black white or stainless, we went with black
it listed for 1200 and we picked it up for 700 ish at best buy on clearance
took me 3 or 4 days to prep the existing hole and and remove the old norcold
it to was dis-assembled in the coach so it would go out through the entry door
I would imagine labor for the whole deal if we paid someone would be around 800
we removed the doors, and any protuberances and then my wife and i slowly brought the unit in. its 50 or lbs lighter than the norcold, but loaded with food it may be considerably heavier
I lag screwed the rear of the fridge to the sub-floor and the again in the front lower frame
we have been very pleased at how fast it cooled down, its lack of noise
and bright interior led light.
it pulled just over 4 amps when it first started up and when running its between 2-3 amps of 120 vac. so that is even less than the norcold.

a note on dimensions
the samsung website had all the real world dimensions
I had to lower my existing fridge floor by 4" and we were all set.
that left me .5" clearance up top.....
but when the fridge arrived i re-measured the case height against what was listed on the site and found it was 3/4" taller than listed
they didn't count for the wheel height
I was going to remove them, but the rear lower panel is not flush and it would have required a blocking setup under the fridge to keep it level...so i left em on and removed the 2" piece of trim from the top of the fridge hole
in hindsight this is good as it left more air space for the fridge to vent the warm air.
I also made a sliding panel to hide the exterior fridge vent panel and insulated the exterior panel with a thermal blanket i salvaged from the norcold freezer box

Also the heater is under the fridge platform
since i had to reduce the clearances between the heater and the platform the fridge sits on, i added one additional heat shield to the bottom of the new platform plywood
so far heat transfer or related heat from the heater issues have not reared their head
i did leave me access and wiring to add in a fan to blow cool air flow in the heater area if the need arise
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Old 11-08-2013, 12:40 PM   #14
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I did the Samsung R 197 last winter. Big, big project. Measure, measure, and then measure one more time. This website was invaluable, with help and recommendations. It was far from a clean, simple job. The biggest problem was the furnace under the old frig, and the floor with an opening for the heater I found here was the way I decided to go. BUT, my furnace was off center, turned into a real problem. But, I figured it out. I had to totally disassemble the Samsung to get it in, but we made. Summary, absolutely the best improvement I have made to a rig. The wife and I are always shopping for a new rig, and now I am fully committed to having to change out any conventional RV refridgerator.
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