Replace norcold frig

[jwedell]

Has anyone replaced their norcold refrigerator with a residental unit.

[mazboy]

interesting concept. i have seen rvers have a refrig outside of their rig but that's all.

i would think that you would lose value of you trailer if you did. and then there is the issue of gas/ele.

[jimcol]

I have not but if anything happens to my original RV fridge I will. We just don't boondock so no need for the 12v gas option on a refrigerator. I know it will require some cabinet modifications but thats no big deal. As far as the RV loosing value, I'm not sure it would loose anymore than the difference in price of the RV versus residential fridge. You will loose some buyers but not everyone looking for a used RV wants to go off grid. Jim

[1retired06]

During the Tampa RV show, residential refrigerators were common in fifth wheels and motor homes. Most of the Cardinals we looked at had them. They come with a hardwired invertor which the salesman swore would keep the refrigerator cold during travel. He also indicated that while the cost is half or less of a traditional absorption RV refrigerator, installation is more complicated, buy did not really explain why. Because many RVers do not dry camp, they are becoming popular, particularly when replacing a RV refrigerator because of cost, and no need for propane operation.

[Carl32092]

I don't do any rough camping any more so it did not seen that an LP function was needed any more. I replaced mine with a Whirlpool unit from Lowe's. They delivered, brought it in and set it in place for me. Hauled away the old unit free. Best move I have made in a while. More room, less cost and it actually works with no defrosting! I had to do minor modification to the opening and trim. The new unit is screwed down as the old one was. No door lock though. I use a baby proofing lock on mine.

[bigskyjimmy]

My Neighbor just did it with a new Samsung and had to remove a pantry to make space for it, but was said before it only works on AC or DC no propane they do not boon dock so no big deal

[RRman]

I replaced the 24" wide Dometic in my Fiver with a 24" wide Apt Size residental Whirlpool Fridge from Lowes back in 2007.
Not too hard, fit pretty well, but a little modification was necessary. Our longest trip of 8 hours between hookups did not see any ice cube melting in 70 degree heat.
How wide is your Norcold and go online to see if any Residential Fridges are the same width. Height could be another matter.

[Gene Stalnaker]

I just replaced mine with a Frigidaire 14 cu.ft. It was tight as the depth of the fridge almost touches the kitchen bar. Our food is now cold and the freezer freezes. Room left over on top and one side (broom, table etc.) We made an all day ( about 6 hrs or more on the road ) and the ice cream was just beginning to thaw before we got plugged back in. Would not change back.

[mhs4771]

Have not verified it, but I understand that Samsung has a fridge that is extremely energy efficient and is being installed into some 5ers and MHs and only requires a small inverter to keep it running while on the road, vs a more expensive higher power inverter. Might be worth looking into. Right now we're doing good with our 4-door Norcold, but if it were to bite the dust, might be an avenue to consider.

[Hooker]

One problem is if the residential refer will fit through the door. Also, it will take a good sized inverter and and some strong 6v batteries to run it. We have a standard RV refer in our MH. However the trend is toward residential models. Those MHs are coming with eight 6v batteries and two inverters each at least 2,000 watts, usually one 2k and one 2.8k.

[hevenrude]

Ok - found a topic that is pretty close to what I was looking for so here goes ... Patience my friends ...

We have the Norcold Model 1210 in our 2012 3750FL that has done nothing but given us hard times and thawed food from time to time costing us hundreds in technician reports and food loss.

It all began last year one week before Thanksgiving when the refrigerator decided to stop cooling and we had to live out of a cooler until we could get repairs completed. The local technician came out and diagnosed a problem with the cooling unit which would cost us well over our budget to replace. (Our warranty had expired and I had not yet purchased a extended warranty) So - we turned the refrigerator off and began saving our cash. - Three days later, living in denial, I turned the refrigerator on again to see if for some reason it was nothing more than a fluke and, sure enough it began to work better than ever. Why, I'm not sure but the technician said that there might have been a blockage in the line that had worked it's way out. (???)

A little more than a year goes by and the refrigerator decides to die again but this time to no avail of my previous remedy of leaving it off for a day or so before turning it back on. - The technician comes out and replaces the heat limit switch stating that was the problem .. wrong ... Final diagnosis ... the cooling unit is bad and needs replaced. (This time not so stressful because I was smarter and purchased a extended warranty.)

So, here we are looking at a replacement of the cooling unit .. or the possibility of exchanging our's with a residential unit which is probably going to be our decision because we have meet many a persons who have done just that and are very happy with their decision.

We have boon docked but not often and if the desire to do so finds us we need only get a generator, additional batteries and a inverter - No worries ... right. We'll cross that bump when and if we get there.

Anyway - I have read many other RV forums and find that it is very possible with satisfactory results. So, if we finally decide to proceed with the residential frig I will post our progress - good or bad - here (Including pictures if possible).

Thanks for letting me share our story ... enjoy the ride !!

[richfaa]

That was talked about at the fall rally by Keystone but what came across to me was that it was a expense that Keystone did not care to bear.

[bigskyjimmy]

Hevenrude ,the same thing happened to mine the first 2 months of ownership my neighbor told me sometimes soldier gets stuck in the cooling tubes during the mfg process so I let it shut it down for a few hours and Tapped on the pipes to dislodge any blockage and what do ya know has worked great ever since (2 years) go figure??

[catskiner]

The NU-WA factory in chanute,Kansas will swap out a rv frig for a residential fridge on any brand rv .

[1retired06]

Since my first posting on this thread, I helped my neighbor pull out his four door Norcold, and replace it with a sears home refrigerator. He spent some time finding a refrigerator that was a workable size. The Norcold came out easily, took us 15 minutes. Had to remove the Norcold door to get out. He had to grind back a bit of the aluminum trim on the fiver door, and we were able to squeeze it out the door. Removed the Sears door to get it in. There was some significant trim work to do, for a proper appearance/fit. Had to remove an overhead cabinet to which he turned into a shelf and had to cap the gas line. Because his heater unit was under the refrigerator, he could only go up, and only issue was that as a result, the new unit sits up high, and top shelf inside the unit is hard for his wife to reach (Freezer in one door). He did not worry about a inverter, figuring food in a refrigerator will stay cold for hours, and he seldom travels more than 5-6 hours a day when on the road. Turned out nice. Paid $817 for the Sears, and local RV Parts place wanted $2300 for replacement RV unit. And new unit is lighter than the Norcold. Most difficult part was fitting the new unit in to the existing cabinetry.

[hevenrude]

Our Norcold also sits on top of the heater unit making it a height concern. I'm 6'4" therefore no problem but my wife is 5'2" and has a handicap reaching the top of the kitchen cabinets as well. I guess that's why we have a step stool at arms reach. The conversion of the cabinets above the fridge is something we are concerned about. Seems there is never enough storage in theses things ...
Anyway, we'll see how things progress. Thanks for weighing in everyone.

[hevenrude]

Well, I guess a update is in order. The replacement of our Norcold 1210 with a residential frig is definitely possible and a option for anybody interested. Our technicians were able to find one that would fit properly with minor modifications. We, however have decided to keep what we have and just get the cooling unit replaced.

The costs, above and beyond our warranty coverage, for the residential refrigerator and modifications to our existing kitchen were not what we were willing to sacrifice. Besides there is a great chance that we will be boondocking more in the near future which would also add additional expense with the cost of a inverter and additional batteries. (We live on a very tight budget like most)

No worries though, the new cooling unit will be delivered Friday and our refrigerator will be operational by the following Tuesday.

Peace to all.

[captastjoe]

Anyone reset the limit switch on their 1210 Norcold? Says to have service center do it, but Had it reset at a norcold dealer last year , shoulda watched, anyway he did the reset in about 2 seconds, can't be a big deal. Just hate to tear down & drive to find a dealer for a 2 second repair. We are in Golden Colorado area for a week.
Thanx.

[Carl n Susan]

quote:Originally posted by captastjoe



Anyone reset the limit switch on their 1210 Norcold?....

*IF* the Search function was working here, you would find a couple of postings on this. Google "Norcold L1OP reset" and there are lots of answers. Basically take a magnet over the control box under the red blinking light.