[Montana Man]

Originally Posted by Mikelff

There are now DC compressor driven cooling units available. They use the refrigerator box of the propane/electric units but use a compressor like a residential fridge. This is the best of both worlds IMO. I believe Dometic makes one and not sure about Norcold. They cool and recover temps much like a residential fridge but don’t suck as much energy as a residential fridge, thus reducing your energy needs while boon docking. I had issues with my Dometic cooling here in the deep south when temps got over 95 degrees. Had several techs try to fix it under warranty to no avail. I finally got fed up and replaced the cooling unit in my Dometic fridge with a 12V compressor unit from JC Refrigeration . What a difference! I was able to cool my frige from 98 degrees to 37 in the fridge and 0 in the freezer in a matter of 2 1/2 hours. It maintained these temps with no issues in 100 degree heat on the 3rd of 5 temp settings. No issues with the grand kids plus adults going in and out of the refrigerator. Recovered temps in a matter of a few short minutes. No more issues having to travel with the propane to cool the fridge since it’s running on 12 V DC power, which while traveling comes from your truck. I highly recommend this option. If you already have an inverter, they make an AC electric version, if not, the 12V does not require an inverter and is the way to go IMO . These units have stronger tubing and internal parts that handle the vibrations and bouncing around far better than a standard residential fridge. Do some research on these units and you will be glad you did.

Thanks for posting this! I didn't know about this conversion. My Norcold thinks it's one giant freezer if I set it too low. However, like any component it can break and knowing how to fix it before it happens is a good thing. Replacing it is ridiculously expensive and the residential is too restrictive in capabilities for us.