Norcold N811 failed

[ExPatNW]

Last Friday we arrived at a campground in Eastern Washington our intent to say just for the weekend. As I set-up the rig in the campground we heard a strange sound. To be honest I was not sure what it was at first, but the smell was bad and I soon realized it was the refrigerator losing its refrigerant gas. We switched the fridge off and then opened some more windows and got outside. It probably took about an hour before the noise of escaping gas stopped.

Three questions for you all if I may.
1) Has anyone else experienced this?
2) Surely we should not have been able to smell the gas inside our rig - surely the gas should have been restricted to the rear of the fridge and vented outside?
3) Honestly I would rather not replace with another Norcold - but the choices seem to be Dometic or Norcold and both run using the same gas absorption system. Is there a better brand I should look at?

Thanks
Chris

[1retired06]

Unfortunately Dometic and Norcold own the market for RV refrigerators, with Dometic seeming to have the best reputation. You might consider a residential unit if you can find one that fits. I helped do that over the winter with a friend's 4 door Norcold, and it was not to hard, although some trim work was required to make it look good. He wired in an inverter and separate battery for operation on the road and total cost was still cheaper than an RV unit replacement.

[HamRad]

Chris,
When our fridge goes out on us we will definitely look at replacing with a residential type. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing. Dennis

[1retired06]

I forgot to mention that after pulling off the front, the NOrcold fit thru the front door and the residential replacement was much lighter.

[pvcoach]

Ours went out this past fall. Replaced with a residential unit and we couldn't be happier!

[ExPatNW]

Thanks all for your notes, interesting to hear that we are not the only ones who have had a failure. I may need to seriously consider a residential unit.

[ExPatNW]

Been looking around for a replacement, still considering going domestic, but I did find an ATWood Helium RV Refrigerator, about the same cost as Norcold and Dometic. Anyone have one of these and has the experience been good or not?

http://www.atwoodmobile.com/refrigerators/

[DQDick]

Haven't heard anything about it lately, but in the past there was an Amish company making replacements for the refrigeration part of an RV frig that many folks were really happy with. I believe they were from the Elkhart, Indiana area.

[lunalonestar]

Ours went out two years ago. Replaced it with a 11 cubic foot resi fridge/freezer at a fraction of the cost. More room and much lighter. Plus lower risk of combustion. Best decision we ever made! It fit into the cavity like it was made for it.

[jimcol]

quote:Originally posted by DQDick

Haven't heard anything about it lately, but in the past there was an Amish company making replacements for the refrigeration part of an RV frig that many folks were really happy with. I believe they were from the Elkhart, Indiana area.

I think this is the company Dick is talking about,http://www.rvcoolingunit.net/servlet/StoreFront
I used them when my dometic went south. Bought the better cooling unit from them for about $600 I think. Not a bad repair at all. Their support was excellent. Jim

[ExPatNW]

I wanted to report back to the forum our experience getting our fridge replaced. We decided to purchase the Atwood HE-0801. I did email to Keystone and asked them if we should have been able to smell the refrigerant gas inside the rig. Keystone said we should take the trailer to one of their authorized dealers and have them take pictures of the Norcold installation as they remove it.

So we took the trailer to Camping World in Burlington WA last weekend. They started work on the trailer on Wednesday. I received a call from Camping World telling me the wiring loom from the Fridge was fried all the way back to the distribution panel and that it would need 6 hours of technician work (approx. $770 in labor alone). Cleary I was not too pleased about this. Camping World did however tell me that they had submitted a claim to Keystone for the 6 hours of labor because they believed the cabling had been incorrectly installed in the first place by Keystone. So I had hope that I might not have to pay for the 6 hours, but the trailer is about 4 years old now - clearly not under any Keystone warranty.

So the next day Camping World called me back, Keystone had responded to their ask to cover the 6 hours. Keystone will cover the 6 hours of labor (nice!) and also pay to replace the fridge too! Very nice! So to be clear - they are going to pay the equivalent value of the Norcold unit - as we are not replacing the Norcold with another Norcold. I am very impressed by this, I honestly did not expect this. I take my hat off to Keystone for this.

Happy Camping
Chris and Lynda

[8.1al]

Once again Montana comes through and Kudos to Camping World for looking out for you

[JandC]

First off, it sounds like a experienced, smart tech, at CW knew how to document the problem to Keystone so they realized it was their fault in the first place. Of course Keystone went "above and beyond" by covering it out of warranty. I believe they try to do this many times when there is no question of possible "owner abuse" causing the failure.