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Davide33 · 08-21-2019, 04:54 PM

2004 Newmar Dutch Star

I’ll try to keep this as short as possible. I recently decided to upgrade my Norcold 1200 refrigerator with the Amish cooling unit from The RV Cooling Unit Warehouse. Before everyone says I should have used a Residential model, I want to explain that I’m a Catastrophic Insurance Adjuster who will get sent to areas after a hurricane. The area could be out of power for some time making the LP option important to me.

The install went well and the unit is cooling well on electric. LP is a different story. When I did the install, I read that if my burner was over 10 Years old, I should replace the burner. The replacement burner is part number 629013. I’ve only owned the Motorhome for a year but decided to purchase the burner locally and replace the burner and the burner tube. When turned the refrigerator over to LP, the flame made a constant popping sound. (Youtube Link Below) The flame also seemed much louder than before. I read many posts regarding these issues, but no one seemed to have a definitive answer. I spent days trying to trouble shoot this. The usual culprits such as a dirty burner or dirty stack do not apply since both are brand new. All other LP appliances are working fine. I also purchased a manometer to test the gas pressure. I experimented with gas pressures from 8 – 14 column inches. The flame popped to a varying degree on all the pressure settings so I returned pressure to the recommended 11 column inches. Out of frustration and nothing left to troubleshoot, I decided to put the old burner back in. When I laid the two burners side by side (photo below) I noticed that the new burner had 7 burner slots instead of 8 on the old burner. The slots on the old unit are longer, and the old burner tube seemed to be a larger diameter (should have measured it but I didn’t).

I put the old burner back in and the unit worked perfectly. The flame was much quieter, and more importantly no longer made the annoying popping sound. The unit is cooling great. I’ve been trying to find anywhere I can get the old style burner with 8 slots without any luck. It seems to me that Norcold has an issue here. The new replacement burner does not work properly, or at least it didn’t for me. I just wondering if anyone else has experienced this, or has an idea where I can get a replacement old style burner.

https://youtu.be/Q-6Ev2Onfdw

Old-Biscuit · 08-21-2019, 05:24 PM

Does the replacement burner have 3 air holes or 4?
Bet it has FOUR

It isn't about the number of slots in burner tube
It's about the amount of air being mixed with the gas flow

The 4 hole ones do not work properly
(Put your finger on one of the holes and the popping will stop & flame will be correct)

Don't know WHAT that 4 hole burner is for......but it does NOT work on the 1200 series
Might be for 1210 Series.........???

Contact Norcold (Thetford) and speak with Tech Support

1-800-543-1219

Davide33 · 08-22-2019, 07:35 AM

I just checked and you are correct! There are 4 air slots. Does that mean that burner I was given was not part number 629013 or does that part number have two different versions? What you are saying makes sense. Too much air would make the flame pop.

Davide33 · 08-22-2019, 08:44 AM

I just got off the phone with Norcold and they were absolutely no help. The woman I spoke to said that the part number 629013 was the correct part number and if I was still having issues I should bring the unit in for service. When I asked her about the 3 air holes versus 4 air holes she said that current version was the only version that was available and if I was having trouble I should bring it in for service. When I mentioned that the refrigerator worked absolutely fine with the old burner she said if I was having trouble I should bring it in for service.

I think I'm going to just leave the old burner in and call it a day. Norcold appears to have no interest in supporting their product.

Old-Biscuit · 08-22-2019, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davide33

I just got off the phone with Norcold and they were absolutely no help. The woman I spoke to said that the part number 629013 was the correct part number and if I was still having issues I should bring the unit in for service. When I asked her about the 3 air holes versus 4 air holes she said that current version was the only version that was available and if I was having trouble I should bring it in for service. When I mentioned that the refrigerator worked absolutely fine with the old burner she said if I was having trouble I should bring it in for service.

I think I'm going to just leave the old burner in and call it a day. Norcold appears to have no interest in supporting their product.

The 4 hole burner is labeled as 629013
and 629013 is the only part number for 1200 series burner assembly.

BUT the 4 hole does NOT work......

Customer Service phone reps have NO CLUE.....read from the script
Getting to a supervisor will not work either.

Need to insist to speak with TECH Support.
But that will probably NOT be worth while either.

It appears that the 1210 Series used 2 different versions
Early Serial # used the same 3 hole as 1200 Series
Later Serial # use the 4 hole style (635614)

I don't get it????

Hope you returned the 4 hole burner for refund.

Ray,IN · 08-22-2019, 08:46 PM

Now if my memory bank can retain this valuable piece of information, I'll be happy. Thanks for the detailed explanation Davide.

Davide33 · 09-15-2019, 06:47 PM

Ok, so last I posted I decided to simply use the old burner because it did not create the extremely annoying, constant popping sound. The old burner did not make the popping sound but the refrigerator also did not cool the way I figured it should. Since I'm anal and want everything working the way it should work, I couldn't let it go. I figured that the design of the burner had been changed for a reason, so I decided to buy another burner from another source. Just in case I had gotten a defective new burner. I ordered one from the Cooling Unit Warehouse. I went to the Motorhome and installed it, fully expecting to hear the popping sound. Eureka! It worked perfectly! This is the burner with the 7 slots and 4 air holes. I ran it for a little over 24 hours and checked the temps. Freezer at 14 degrees and refrigerator at 44 degrees. And that's in the Arizona heat where daytime temps were hitting 105. There must be more than one manufacturer building these and they all do not work the same. All I can say is the one "RV Cooling Unit Warehouse" sells works! I hope this post can save someone the frustration I went through.

Redapple · 09-15-2019, 07:30 PM

Since there is nothing wrong with your old burner, clean it up and save as a backup.

Old-Biscuit · 09-15-2019, 08:34 PM

Would be curious WHAT are the differences between the TWO 4 hole/7 slot burner assemblies?

Same length?
Same placement of holes?

ORFICE Size??????
Old style .... 0.190 stamped on orifice flat
New style.... N18 stamped on end of orifice

Davide33 · 09-16-2019, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Would be curious WHAT are the differences between the TWO 4 hole/7 slot burner assemblies?

Same length?
Same placement of holes?

ORFICE Size??????
Old style .... 0.190 stamped on orifice flat
New style.... N18 stamped on end of orifice

I really have no idea of the difference. I'm assuming it was a different orifice size because replacement burners pretty much looked identical. I didn't realize that there were any numbers stamped on the burner or I would have taken note. Any numbers escaped my bi-focals. I returned the old burner so I can't look back. I did take a photo of the new burner next to the original just before I installed it.

Your suggestion of keeping my old burner as a backup is a great idea.

Old-Biscuit · 09-16-2019, 06:13 PM

Look on the orifice for Markings

Old stype.....0.190 would be stamped on the FLAT (area where you place a wrench)
New style.....N18 would be stamped right on the FACE (end of orifice)

Compare with that 4 hole burner that sputtered.
Which orifice does it have?
Which orifice does the 4 hole burner that WORKS have?

THat is the only thing I can think of that would make one 4 hole burner NOT work (sputter) etc and the 4 hole burner that does work.
Orifice size changed to match the air being drawn in

Fredred · 05-07-2023, 07:01 PM

Paul Unmack's website, arprv.com has a fix that is applicable to nearly any fridge propane burner that pops due to excessive air in the air/fuel mixture. His remedy is to use a suitably-sized hose clamp around the burner tube to partially block the air inlet holes progressively until the popping is reduced, then eliminated. I used his idea on my super-popping Norcold 1200's 629013 burner. I ended at about 1/3 of each of the 4 air inlet holes covered, at which point the popping ceased and the jet engine noise was made normal. The arprv.com website has many other useful tips and procedures to maintain the operation and safety of your absorption refrigerators.

Ray,IN · 05-07-2023, 07:05 PM

The one with 4 air holes that caused popping; can you cover 1 hole with aluminum duct tape?

Fredred · 05-07-2023, 07:20 PM

Ray, I don't think any tape could handle the heat that close to the flame, and blocking one hole might disrupt the blending of fuel and air. Paul Unmack's
hose clamp suggestion makes it possible to use the same reduced portion of all 4 air holes. You should go to that website (arprv.com) to see his recommendation. I have a photo of my install, but couldn't find a way to attach it to my post.