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georgelesley · 09-02-2017, 12:31 PM

After reading a lot here and elsewhere I finally decided to get it done to our Norcold 1200 refer since we are in Shipshewanna anyway. I found out that some such units are nothing more that refurbished OEM units. Helium seems to be the safer gas to push the ammonia vs hydrogen, but requires a redesigned cooling unit coil. Most do not do this.

Thanks to recommendations I found here, I had J.C. Refrigeration do ours. Since we have our 95 yr old MIL traveling with us, safety was my primary concern especially in view of Norcold's history of fires and overheating.

J.C. Is a wealth of information and I saw the units being manufactured from new in his shop. He patiently answered all my questions. We opted for the helium unit, after J.C. Explained the need for extra fans being put behind the outside top fin assembly we had that done, also had a halon self activated fire extinguisher installed in the outside compartment, and the smart rv three fan system installed inside the main compartment for more even cold air distribution.

Besides sleeping better from a safety position, here are the results: the freezer is about 2-3 degrees above zero. It was in low 20's previously. The main refer compartment is mid 30's top shelf, about 39-40 bottom shelf. This is on a #4 setting. (We have 1-9). I suspect when it all settles down from all the food that just got put in, we will have freezer compartment temps at or below zero and main compartment low to mid 30's. I will likely go back to a #3 setting to prevent main compartment temps falling below 32. When I touch the cooling coils and boiler they are much cooler than they used to be.

We could not be happier, and highly recommend J.C. For such work. Anyone wants more detailed info or contact info, prices, etc, PM me.

TonyMac · 09-02-2017, 12:43 PM

Sounds great. My 1200LRIM is still working great, but I know my time to is comng. How much was this retrofit? Inquiring minds.....

georgelesley · 09-02-2017, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyMac

Sounds great. My 1200LRIM is still working great, but I know my time to is comng. How much was this retrofit? Inquiring minds.....

Ours was also working ok, not as cold as we would like but working fine. Which made the cost of changing it hard to swallow. But the safety of the 95 yr old MIL who would have had no chance of using the emergency window pushed us to do it.

Your cost may vary but no likely by much. The unit was $1025 + 200 for helium,+ 300 installation by J.C., + $30 for two outside cooling fans, halon fire extinguisher $135, interior smart rv cooling fans, $150 all plus sales tax.

The basic cost then without the extra frills we added would be 1025+300 + tax.

MSHappyCampers · 09-02-2017, 02:16 PM

I know you've spent a lot of money but there's one more thing I would recommend. I would install the ARP protection unit that will shut down the fridge if the temps get too high in the stack. Since you installed the FridgeFix fan bar that blows on the fins all the time, you can set the ARP control to defeat the Norcold defrost cycle so the fridge doesn't jump up to above 40 degrees during it's scheduled defrost cycle. You can control your outside fans with if if you want to. If you decide to control the fans, I would set the fan turn-on temp at the lowest setting so the fans will run longer.

georgelesley · 09-02-2017, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

I know you've spent a lot of money but there's one more thing I would recommend. I would install the ARP protection unit that will shut down the fridge if the temps get too high in the stack. Since you installed the FridgeFix fan bar that blows on the fins all the time, you can set the ARP control to defeat the Norcold defrost cycle so the fridge doesn't jump up to above 40 degrees during it's scheduled defrost cycle. You can control your outside fans with if if you want to. If you decide to control the fans, I would set the fan turn-on temp at the lowest setting so the fans will run longer.

In the past I had an unfortunate experience with ARP. I also recently spoke with a former dealer for them that will happily install one you provide but has chosen to no longer stock or sell them.

I do not wish to start a fuss about the benefits of the unit, but for reasons of my own chose not to include ARP in my safety program. JR (I have been saying JC by mistake) told me the Norcold boiler will get up to around 450 deg and his will never exceed 350. So far the cooling coils and the boiler have been very cool as compared to before.

We always park quite level and I have told DW that if we cannot level say in a traffic jam or Wally World parking the refer must be turned off.

Thx for the suggestion and I did consider it but chose to not do it in the end.

Dutch Star Don · 09-02-2017, 04:59 PM

Wow.....that was an awfully new unit to need rebuilding (2014). Usually, the Norcolds lasted 7-8 years before they started having issues. Certainly an unexpected expense.

Did you get a chance to do any investigation into a residential unit.

georgelesley · 09-02-2017, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Wow.....that was an awfully new unit to need rebuilding (2014). Usually, the Norcolds lasted 7-8 years before they started having issues. Certainly an unexpected expense.

Did you get a chance to do any investigation into a residential unit.

The unit was working just fine. I figured it had seen maybe 1/2 of it's life. As I said in my original post, safety has become our first priority with 95 yr old mom traveling with us. The Norcold do not have a great safety record, the cooling was not as good as DW wished, we are here so I just did it. Because of our frequent boondocking operating on propane is important to us so a residential does not suit us.

minnow · 09-03-2017, 07:52 AM

All said and done, it doesn't seem a rebuilt is any less expensive then a brand new refrig.
If I find myself in a similar situation, I would be pricing out a residential with solar. Many seem to find that combo works oerfectly fine.

Gary RVRoamer · 09-03-2017, 12:51 PM

A properly installed Norcold 1200 should easily maintain zero in the freezer and the fridge at 33-38 with the control set at about 5. And should last at least 10 years. Far too many of them are not installed (by the RV builder) to Norcold's specs and have inadequate ventilation. Then some of them get overheated regularly without the owner even being aware it happened (ARP eliminates that worry) and some get rusty due to salt or corrosive chemicals in the air (acid rain). Norcold hasn't done a great job of external corrosion protection either.

I personally don't see the value of adding extra fans to the large external pair that Norcold has as standard, but inside fans will help stabilize the interior temperature. The lack of air circulation inside an absorption fridge is one of its design shortcomings.

georgelesley · 09-03-2017, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

A properly installed Norcold 1200 should easily maintain zero in the freezer and the fridge at 33-38 with the control set at about 5. And should last at least 10 years. Far too many of them are not installed (by the RV builder) to Norcold's specs and have inadequate ventilation. Then some of them get overheated regularly without the owner even being aware it happened (ARP eliminates that worry) and some get rusty due to salt or corrosive chemicals in the air (acid rain). Norcold hasn't done a great job of external corrosion protection either.

I personally don't see the value of adding extra fans to the large external pair that Norcold has as standard, but inside fans will help stabilize the interior temperature. The lack of air circulation inside an absorption fridge is one of its design shortcomings.

The reason JR gave for the exterior fans behind the top fin array is with roof mounted venting a natural chimney effect promoted air flow going down the road. The side mounted top vent does not do that nearly as well because going down the road the air pressure top and bottom is often the same, which inhibits good ventilation. I figured for $30 why not.