Amish Refrigerator Cooling Unit Question

[vettenuts]

Looking for some information on the Amish replacement cooling units. I am currently shopping for our first RV, which will be used. I have been doing a lot of reading and keep running across refrigerator issues and potential fire problems. Do the Amish cooling units basically replace the working portion of the original refrigerator? Do the Amish cooling units eliminate the potential for fire, at least with regards to the original problems associated with Dometic or Norco?

[jesilvas]

The "Amish" units are the tubing and refrigerant portion on the back of the refr. box.

[96 Wideglide]

The cooling unit is the exact same design.
If the tubing is thicker, and the joints are better, the chances of a failure are greatly reduced. But, not eliminated.

[highcountry]

The Norcold 1201 seems to be one of the worst. They keep coming out with recalls but all the recall does is hopefully pr4event fires. They do not fix the problem. I finally went with the Amish system and love it. I have had it about a year and the cooling is far superior to the Norcold unit. I am told that the Amish has heavier tubing and eliminates the fire hazard.

[Davdeb1]

When I looked at mine I did not realize it he previous owner had replaced the cooling unit. I found the receipt in the records.
The Amish units are white, bigger tubing, and almost twice as many coils.
If you look up the Norcold site, you will see their coils are black and skimpy.
I've owned it almost 3 yrs everything stays real cold.

[Sammie]

Originally Posted by vettenuts

Looking for some information on the Amish replacement cooling units. I am currently shopping for our first RV, which will be used. I have been doing a lot of reading and keep running across refrigerator issues and potential fire problems. Do the Amish cooling units basically replace the working portion of the original refrigerator? Do the Amish cooling units eliminate the potential for fire, at least with regards to the original problems associated with Dometic or Norco?

Depending on your model of RV refrigerator, the Amish Cooling Units may be different in design. The Amish Cooling Unit for my Norcold 1201 RIM was completely different in design and is made from a thicker wall tubing than the original Norcold tubing. I made this video showing the work involved when replacing the cooling unit. My fridge runs at 32 degrees in the fridge and around 6 degrees in the freezer on a setting of #5.

I made the decision to install the Amish Built unit when Norcold started having a lot of fire related problems and now I have peace of mind that my coach won't burn to the ground.

Norcold 1200 to Amish Cooling Unit Conversion.mpg - YouTube

Sammie

[MSHappyCampers]

The Amish cooling unit does not include the control board, heaters, or fans. I would suggest you call David Force at RV Cooling Unit Warehouse for the best deal. He's a great guy to work with!

[STEVE-JUNELL]

Check with Leon at national rv refrigeration in shipshewanna in he's an amish guy that makes the cooling unit and installs right there he's A1

[vettenuts]

This is all great information. Is there any inspection that I can do when looking at a used coach to see how bad the current unit is?

[vettenuts]

Originally Posted by Sammie

Depending on your model of RV refrigerator, the Amish Cooling Units may be different in design. The Amish Cooling Unit for my Norcold 1201 RIM was completely different in design and is made from a thicker wall tubing than the original Norcold tubing. I made this video showing the work involved when replacing the cooling unit. My fridge runs at 32 degrees in the fridge and around 6 degrees in the freezer on a setting of #5.

I made the decision to install the Amish Built unit when Norcold started having a lot of fire related problems and now I have peace of mind that my coach won't burn to the ground.


Sammie

Sammie,

Great video and very helpful. Did the aluminum fan bracket come with the new cooling unit or is that something you made? Also, was the Halon system an option or did you put that in yourself?

Thanks

[donhoward49]

Vettenuts, Donnt let all the "problem" post scare you. Plenty of people never have problems with the fridge.. But when and if they do their is a fix for it.
When I first bought my MH, I was reading all the posts and thinking, what will go wrong next.. I really have not had that many problems. And most have been easy fixes. Usually operator error I might ad.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by vettenuts

This is all great information. Is there any inspection that I can do when looking at a used coach to see how bad the current unit is?

Remove the outside cover on the refridgerator and see how rusty and pitted the factory installed cooling unit is. However that is no guarantee that it can't let go at anytime as there could be week joint up on top that you can't see.

If you haven't bought your RV yet, let the "old" refrigerator reflect in your price or have the seller upgrade the refrigerator before purchase. If there is a residential refrig already installed, end of problem.

["007"]

vettenuts, some of the damage if there is any will be hidden in the cooling coils incased in the foam at the top of cooling unit you can not see.
Older refrigerators will have rust on the cooling coils and some of the problems when I had mine inspected at factory was for the weld point bracket where the heating elements are held to the heating pipe. They pulled out the fridge to do this and which they do not do now when installing the black box.
When they built the cooling coil the weld point was heated to high and weaken the pipe at this point.
This is the first recall that I have, they are now up to version "F" I believe.
You are familiar with this large link by now.

[H. Miller]

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

The Amish cooling unit does not include the control board, heaters, or fans. I would suggest you call David Force at RV Cooling Unit Warehouse for the best deal. He's a great guy to work with!

The new 1200 "kit" comes with heaters & fans.
I do hope that everyone commenting on the design and durability of the Amish unit has installed one (not paid to have it done) and has personal knowledge (not hearsay) of the unit. It is not the same design as the Norcold and weighing one half again more than the Norcold should attest to it's materials, design and construction.
I'm not a mechanic but have installed 2 (two) units...