Norcold 1200LRIM

[kschoon1]

OK, here goes - I recently removed my flue cover & baffle and cleaned the flue with compressed air. When I re-assembled the unit I also added 3 additional case fans in the roof vent for additional cooling of the absorption unit as we use the rig in extreme heat of Lake Havasu City AZ and unfortunately the fridge side of our rig has a southern exposure.

Also added the Attica adjustable thermistor at this time. Since this was done I am experiencing the following issue. Unit cools fine on AC. On LP it will ignite and work fine, flame appears strong and has a nice blue color but it will go out and not re-ignite causing a No Fl code. I replaced the sensing igniter hoping that would resolve the issue however it did not.

Unit still cools fine on AC so that tells me the cooling unit is ok. I am down to thinking it is either a bad gas valve or control board. I'm thinking it isn't a problem with either the burner or orifice as when it does work the flame appears to be strong and of the proper color. I need the LP side of this fridge to work as the park we stay in has notoriously un-stable power and frequent outages.

2nd issue - we also use our rig mainly on weekends and would prefer to leave the fridge on when we leave so we can maintain some items in it as well as be able to load it when we arrive for our next weekend trip. We do not leave the AC on however (expensive) but I am wondering which is the better choice running the fridge with multiple cooling fans operating without the AC or turning the AC up as high as we can which would at least keep the interior at about 90 degrees when we are not there?

Wondering if anyone has faced this same issue and was able to resolve it?

[jesilvas]

Will it keep sparking after it lights on LP?

If your door seals are fine, I wouldn't worry about running your A/C for the coach, because the cooling unit is being cooled on the outside anyway.

[kschoon1]

After it lights it stops sparking as it should. I haven't been at the coach when it goes out so I can't speak to if it tries to re-ignite or not. We have always been away when it occurs and when we return the fridge is off and showing No Fl code.

Makes sense about the cooling unit. I guess I was just thinking that with the inside environment being so hot it would make it harder for the fridge to try to maintain temps.

Thanks.

[kschoon1]

So I ended up replacing the gas solenoid valve as well as the control board. Fridge worked great for one weekend. We left it running and when we returned to the RV park 2 weeks later the fridge temp inside was 68 degrees. After turning on the Coach AC and the additional cooling fans I had installed in the roof vent the best we could get it down to was 41 degrees but that was only briefly - wanted to be between 45-50 for the 4 days we were there.

As stated I have replaced the control board on the outside of the unit, the gas solenoid valve, the spark igniter, thermistor with the adjustable Attica unit, cleaned the flue, and added 3 100CFM fans in the roof vent. The stock fans did not seem to be working - not certain why and would have to remove the fridge to troubleshoot why, which is something I'm not confident about doing.This is the 2nd summer that this unit has let us down. I would swap it out with a residential however I do not have an inverter set up nor the money to add one. Thinking of replacing the cooling unit with the Amish one but afraid to spend more money and not solve the issue. Temps we are operating in are in the 100 - 110 degree range but other friends smaller units are working fine.

Frustrated beyond belief...

[kschoon1]

Seems like if we turn it off while we're gone that it will work when we turn it back on but that when leaving it on it doesn't stay cold. Problem with this is it almost a day to get it cool and we are usually only there for Friday night to Sunday morning. Can't figure out why it doesn't work when we leave it on.

[jesilvas]

The Norcold double fans usually work well. There is a t-stat for them that may be bad.
Your ventilation could be incorrect also.

[Muddypaws]

I tried an adjustible thermostat on our 1201 LRIM. It was a snip-the-tip mounted on the wall near the fins.

Apparently when the fin temp, as sensed by the thermistor on the wall instead of the fin, doesn't rise fast enough the box just shuts down. Defrost mode happens every 47 hours. If you're going away for a few days that might be what's happening to you.

I found another solution. Look up 'Muddypaws mod' on this site. I added 4 120mm fans controlled by a 140F thermostat switch. I think in a warmer location I would have gone with larger and lower RPM fans. 230mm fans are virtually silent.

Havasue definately qualifies as a warmer location.

The residential refer zealots will be here shortly......

[94-Newmar]

I guess I'm confused... is it still cooling ok on 120AC but not on LPG?

If so, you mention you cleaned the burner assmy and flue. Not sure how you can do that if you didn't remove the unit from the wall. Inside the tall boiler column (flue tube) is a spiral shaped baffle that is inserted from the top of the unit, and has a hook that merely hangs it/holds it at the top. The spiral baffle is absolutely critical to the LPG operation of the unit.

On a unit of your vintage I can almost assure you that the baffle has rusted apart and is no longer intact - this causes the heated air from the burner to simply rise straight out the vent too quickly which prevents the boiler from reaching the proper temperature, thus the refrigerator interior temperature isn't able to drop sufficiently. The electric heater elements are physically in contact with the boiler thus are unaffected by the absence of the spiral baffle. I have replaced countless numbers of spiral baffles on older units such as yours. The unit must be removed to gain access to the spiral baffle.

You mention the NO FL code when it fails. This could very well be due the substantially lower flue temps with absence of the spiral baffle and how the flame is being detected and/or positioning of the flame sensor. You mention it has a good flame, but the flame should be a nice blue with white-ish tips at the top of them. Have you checked the LP pressure at the gas solenoid inlet?

Many things to check yet! Keep us posted.

[PushedAround]

Newmar, some great information there.

[H. Miller]

To "remove" the frig isn't that much of a problem... First build a "stage" the same height as the bottom of the frig. On the inside of the MH remove the upper & lower plastic covers and find 6 to 8 screws - remove. On the outside you'll find 2 maybe 3 screws at the bottom/rear of the frig - remove. Disconnect the gas & water and 120vac plug. On the inside of the MH slide the frig onto the stage you've built - turn 90 degrees and "there it is". Keep in mind the frig weighs 220 lb. empty but there is really no need to LIFT it but only "scoot" it.
The Amish guys can remove the frig, REPLACE THE COOLING UNIT then reinstall the frig in 2 hours...

[PushedAround]

Hal, it all depends on how much room you have. My fridge is in the non-sliding section and I had only 24" of space to work with. I had to disassemble the entire front of my Norcold to get it out. One inch less and I would have been taking down the bathroom partition.

[94-Newmar]

..... And the spiral damper is almost exactly the same height of the refrig. It requires laying the refrig almost on its side to slide it out from within the boiler tubing. Simply sliding the refrig out on a platform or the floor upright will not work to remove it.


Sent from my iPhone using iRV2 - RV Forum

[kschoon1]

Thanks for the input. Newmar - I cleaned the flue and baffle when I had the roof vent removed adding the additional cooling fans. The baffle is clean and intact and in place. The issue of not cooling is currently on either LP or 120. Previously I had the LP not staying lit issue but swapping out the control board and gas solenoid valve resolved that issue. My current issue is that the cooler portion won't stay cold even though the freezer is working fine.

I'm leaning towards the issue either being that the stock fans aren't working - appears that to check them or the thermostatic switch the fridge would have to be pulled out to allow access to the rear or that the cooling unit is starting to fail.

The weird part of it is if I turn the unit off while we are away and then back on when we return it seems to function for the time we are using the coach which is typically for 2-3 days. If we leave it running when we return after a couple of weeks away it has the issue of freezer working fine but cooler not being cool enough.

[MSHappyCampers]

My 1200LRIM was not cooling good on LPG. I could see the flame, and to me it appeared normal.

I called my friend David Force with RV Cooling Unit Warehouse where I had bought the Amish-built cooling unit. He asked me if I could hear a "roar" outside when the LPG was on. The answer was "not much". He told me to remove the orifice where the gas comes out, soak it in alcohol for a couple of hours, then blow it out with compressed air. I did that, and you would not believe the crud that came out! I reinstalled it, fired it up, and then I knew what he meant by hearing the "roar"! Problem solved!