Quote:
Originally Posted by "007"
To add to the previous post I received a PM from FreeByrd and he told me when he pulled the Norcold cooling unit it was easy to remove from box because it was light, I say it was cheap thin metal tubing.
The Amish unit he needed help to reset in box because it was double the weight of Norcold.
Kind of reminds me of the older well built coils.
|
Hey Guys, I moderate a group of Bounder owners 4,000 strong. Several of our members have installed the Amish units. In fact all three moderators have the Amish units including me. I had mine installed in July and I have been to the factory and spent the better part of the day watching the units being built.
Let me start by saying they are well built and are indeed made of much heavier metal. The design does include more coils as well. Now let me clear up a few things. Stay with me because there is a point to be made.
The refrigerator depends on heat from a boiler/generator to pump the ammonia and water up to the top. This generator is in the chimney above the gas flame. The electric elements are connected to the generator. It should be noted this is not the larger container you see on the back of the refrigerator. That container holds the water/ammonia/hydrogen gas and a anti-corrosive called sodium chromate. A large pipe from this container goes into the boiler. As the boiler/generator boils the mixture of ammonia and water it percolates up the pipe.The water cools before it reaches the top and drops back down to the tank. The ammonia continues into the condenser "fins". From there the ammonia goes through a series of changes as it is combined with hydrogen gas. Eventually it all ends up back in the tank. The refrigerator depends on gravity to circulate the liquids back to the tank through the coils. That is why the coils are tilted. The refrigerator must be level when parked to have the liquid flow properly inside the coils because the coil angle is designed for efficient gravity flow to the tank.
So you are wondering what this has to do with the Amish unit. This will help you understand. The Norcold cooling units are made of thinner material. Because they are thin they heat up more in the generator and can get so hot they glow red hot. This can eventually cause the thin boiler tube to crack releasing explosive hydrogen gas.
If you are using propane or the pipes are red hot when this happens the hydrogen ignites like a blow torch. Norcold decided that putting a thermal switch on the pipes would turn off the refrigerator before it gets that hot. This has not proven to be a viable solution. Now let me say my Norcold 1200 LRIM performed great for 10 years and was still working fine when I changed to the Amish unit. I changed because I had seen several coaches burned down from failing units.
When my Norcold unit was pulled I was surprised to see that some insulation was burned and there was evidence that my boiler had overheated and corroded. It was in fact a ticking bomb. It took the Amish folks less than 3 hours to change out my cooling unit at the factory in Shipshewanna, Indiana.
There are some things about the Amish units you all need to know. The refrigerator needs air circulation over the fins in the back to help cool the ammonia and help it change back into a liquid as it absorbs heat from inside the refrigerator.
Because the Amish units are made of thicker metal the pipes are not going to overheat....but...the thicker metal has its downside. Because the fins and pipes are thicker they do not cool down as fast as the thinner Norcold units. This means they need more air circulation through the fins. To help with this the new units come with a fan switch that is 5 degrees cooler than the stock switch. The fans come on at 125 degrees instead of 130 degrees. The pipes are hotter the fins are thicker and the fans must run a lot more to keep them cool.
This has a big impact on battery voltage when dry camping. Before I installed the Amish unit I seldom heard my fans run except on very hot days. Now I hear them run most of the time. I must say my freezer has never been so cold even with the setting on 1 and the refrigerator cooled down pretty fast. My refrigerator stays between 45-50 degrees with the Amish unit. It was colder with the Norcold cooling unit but the freezer wasn't as cold.
My refrigerator is not mounted in a slide but if it were, as are some of my friends, it is very important to add a metal baffle to help direct the air flow out the side. Be prepared to hear the fans, a lot.
I'm on the road now but when I get home I plan to work on more efficient and quieter fans. I have been in contact with David Force with my concerns about the fans running all the time but he seems to think it isn't a problem. I know a lot of people who disagree. I feel like if you are going to spend $1300 for a cooling unit you need to know all the facts. As someone has already said, these units are relatively new and there are some things that need to be looked at. If you have one take a look at the screws that hold the burner and igniter to the flue and make sure they are tight. Some are not. Mine were not and I had to install larger screws.
I would not install a residential unit in my RV because I spend a lot of time on the road. I don't want to be tethered to an electric outlet or generator to keep my food cold. If I were a full timer who seldom went anywhere I would consider a Maytag but I feel that if you want to do that you should consider renting a place.
Linear Mode
