Norcold refrigerator fire - lost everything

[RonGreen]

So, I'm wondering what model and year that Norcold fridge was? Your story sent me out to check mine against Norcold's recall list. Contrary to what your insurance adjuster said, Norcold says my unit hasn't been recalled. Its a 2002 N841R. Earlier versions of that model were recalled, but not this or subsequent years. I'm truly sorry for your loss.

Ron Green
2003 Newmar Scottsdale
Toad: 2015 Jeep GC Summit

[R0k0la]

Originally Posted by Tlr1000

Well when they won’t talk to you on the phone, you stalk them on social media. They have told me that all claim needed to be turned in by 2016. So I posted pics of my RV on their FB page so they deleted them and blocked me.

My son ran out to the garage when alarm company called and flames were coming from refrigerator side compartment. Burned completed down within minutes.

The problems with Norcold didn't stop in 2016. Start a different action and try to join the two. I was so concerned that when I purchased my coach a few months ago, I had the dealer take out a "perfect" Norcold and replace with a residential unit. Peace of mind is awesome. Good luck, so sorry for your loss, glad no injuries.

[Mekanic]

To the OP sorry to hear of your loss.
If that had happened to me I’d be more upset about those classic cars than the RV.

When I built my little U-RV. I heard all I needed to about these fridges that “ have no moving parts”.
I went to Lowe’s and bought the biggest 2 door mini fridge they had.
(4.5 cubic ft, $299.).
It has served me just fine.

[schmaco]

Thanks for the unqualified Advise. I did not realize that you Knew my circumstances so well without even knowing me. Mind yourself a little more.
You might consider another site for your voracious posting hobby.

[StageCoachDr]

Norcold recall:


Norcold Inc. has decided to recall certain 1200, 1201, 1210 and 1211 model gas/electric refrigerators with serial numbers from 315525 to 13088811, non-consecutively. The refrigerator’s model and serial number are located inside the fresh food compartment. These refrigerators may have cooling units with a cooling unit serial number between 700000 to 13085759. This is a new recall campaign to include all 1200, 1201, 1210 and 1211 models.


Even if your refrigerator was repaired as part of a previous recall, it is necessary to have it repaired again to minimize the risk of injury or death due to fire.


These refrigerators were installed as original equipment in vehicle model years 1997 to 2010. Other recalled refrigerators may have been purchased as a replacement during the same period.

[Tlr1000]

Originally Posted by montiem

Is there a class action suit on Norcold. I still use mine but I always turn it off when parked in the garage. It is hooked up to 50 AMP when parked, does this just ahppen when it is using gas.

Ours was not on gas when caught fire.

[Tlr1000]

Originally Posted by RonGreen

So, I'm wondering what model and year that Norcold fridge was? Your story sent me out to check mine against Norcold's recall list. Contrary to what your insurance adjuster said, Norcold says my unit hasn't been recalled. Its a 2002 N841R. Earlier versions of that model were recalled, but not this or subsequent years. I'm truly sorry for your loss.

Ron Green
2003 Newmar Scottsdale
Toad: 2015 Jeep GC Summit

Thank you! We had a 2004 Fleetwood revolution with a 1200 series refrigerator. We purchased it brand new in 2004.

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by Ponobill

Actually, anyhydrous ammonia IS flammable and even explosive at a ratio of 15% ammonia to air. While the USA considers it non-flammable for transport, it's really not the case when enough air gets mixed in, as it will with a small leak. In concentrations above 30 percent it isn't flammable.

You do realize that its very hard to create those exact conditions in a properly ventilated cabinet so you usually need a fairly well sealed container with the ammonia, oxygen and temperature just right along with a constant source of high temperature ignition. Not impossible but indeed hard.

The test in Europe to show it could happen was done in a sealed steel storage container that had a tightly controlled environment of ammonia, heat and oxygen in it and was set off with a series of broken light bulbs to provide the high temperature electrical source of ignition required.

Ammonia refrigeration systems with much larger burners and heaters get hydrogen build up or leak quite regularly yet its rare that one actually catches fire.

It's the exactness of conditions required that should make this a very easy situation to avoid since the precise concentration and temperatures required should never be able to occur in a properly installed system in a correctly ventilated space. That they are sporadically occurring indicates more is going on here such as RV manufacturers cramming a large refrigerator into a tight, poorly ventilated space and the refrigerator manufacturers setting the specified installation clearances a bit tight along with being a little loose with the temperature control and safety devices on the boilers. Having a thermal limiter set a 1/3 the ignition point (400 degrees Fahrenheit) should make these types of events even more rare.

I've seen more fire and smoke events from residential refrigerators where the compressors got so hot they started the vinyl floor covering on fire. When a residential refrigerator overheats and catches fire you can also get a blast from the oil in the compressor or the refrigerant itself going off like a rocket sending the refrigerator shooting up through the ceiling. Yes another rare event and it doesn't get much notoriety however it does happen even with residential refrigerators in good working order during a power surge or a close by lightning strike.

If your fortunate the blast when a residential refrigerators compressor blows self extinguishes the fire but its still unnerving to go into the kitchen and realize that the refrigerator is hanging down through the ceiling.

There was a recent incident involving a fairly common 4 month old Whirlpool residential refrigerator which blew out windows, crushed other appliances, shifted cabinets, damaged walls/ceilings and required the fire departments intervention. Anyone standing in the way when it blew would have been killed by the blast.

Most probably don't realize that LG Residential Refrigerators use highly flammable IsoButane (R600A) as a refrigerant.

Both technologies are pretty safe however in certain exact circumstances all refrigerators can pose a hazard.

[1Poet]

Originally Posted by oatmeal

Have you put it on a Kill-a-Watt, or do you know what the rating is as far as electrical use? Residential refrigerators are usually in the 1.5-2 kwh/day range, and I'm wondering how the Amish compressor units compare.

I haven't used a kill-a-watt on it, but it supposedly uses about an amp going down the road, which is a lot less than a standard residential. And, as I mentioned, I can use my installed modified sine wave inverter with no problem. Three year warranty standard and any refridgerator tech can work on it. It is a small compressor made specifically for a No-cold 1200. Other refers are also have models. The Amish gas/electric replacement cooling units are much better made than the No-cold cooling unit. Take the old No-cold off and replace it with the Amish. Good equipment from a very helpful company, JC Refridgeration.

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by 1Poet

I haven't used a kill-a-watt on it, but it supposedly uses about an amp going down the road, which is a lot less than a standard residential.

But you have to consider the duty cycle in order to compare, which is where the Kill-a-Watt comes in handy. Or, well, essential.

I've wondered about the box of the Norcold refrigerator itself, and how its insulation compares to a residential, and how much that contributes to the huge duty cycle that absorption refrigerators have.

[Old-Biscuit]

Hummmmmm.......


Fridges were NOT on 'gas' when fires occurred so no 'open flame' situation

[JohnRR]

Does any body remember reading this?

Be Courteous!
Please think before you post and keep your comments limited to the topic at hand; above all be nice. We encourage everyone to participate in and enjoy the Community while at the same time adhering to these rules:

You should it’s part of the Community Rules you all agreed to when you joined here regardless of which side of the camp your from.

Here’s a link to those same rules

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[shootist]

A picture of the latest recall module

[Rorytug]

Originally Posted by Jake21

Bouncing down the road is actually harder on a residential fridge than a Dometic or Norcold. Residential refrigerators are not designed for the vibration of driving, where the Dometic and Norcold have been designed for this since the 1950s. But, when a residential fridge fails, they do not have a tendency to cause a fire. Why is it that a simple solution, such as monitoring the boiler temperature is so hard to understand? We as humans want to justify why things go wrong. Why don't we ask our selves the following question: Why is it that the ASME requires almost every boiler to have thermal protection? Why is it that Dometic and Norcold do not come from the factory with a simple safety device such as the Fridge Defend?

Such a devastating story and I can't even imagine the anguish of victims of this have suffered. Folks try to say "it's only stuff" but often, it is hopes and dreams too. In this case, it was that and legacy. I am so sorry.

The industry provides little or no information on Absorption Refrigerators and they are foreign to most everyone. I had a cooling unit fail after 4 years, luckily, no fire. It wasn't until 3 years after the cooling unit was replaced that I stumbled across this website that explained how the fridge works and why they fail, often catastrophically. I always knew about parking level but never considered driving to be a problem. This website explained how driving out of level for just 5-9 minutes can damage the cooling unit and start it on the road to catastrophic failure. Then it dawned on me that climbing I-70 East bound over the Rockies every year was the same as parking off level. That long slow climb with the fridge on doomed my unit. Fortunately, I had not made that trip since the repair and all is still functioning well. Now, this device will give me peace of mind on the road but even so, I will endeavor to turn off my fridge on long, steep grades that put me out of level for more more than a couple continuous minutes. https://www.arprv.com/damage-rv-fridge.php

For those with absorption refers, this is a mandatory device. I installed mine last year and can even testify my fridge works BETTER than before. My setting is on 5 instead of 9. NITSA, or some other regulatory agency should mandate such safety monitoring tech on any mobile absorption refer. Heck, they mandate back up cameras in cars..... Norcold and Dometic should incorporate this as standard on their fridges but they don't even offer them. I am also looking into fire suppression tech for a back up but not having much luck. It was during that search I became aware of the Fridge Defend product.

The videos on this site are very educational and I highly recommend them for general understanding, even for those who now have a Residential unit as they most certainly know others who don't. For those who still have absorption, the information is invaluable and the device is low cost insurance. And on the ARP website, there is a section that kind of answers your question about why they don't come with thermal protection.

https://www.arprv.com/

This was a 7 part series on the subject written by the developer of the Fridge Defend.

https://www.escapees.com/your-rv-refrigerator/