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Old 10-13-2018, 06:23 PM   #1
milsutter
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refridge freezing

Norcold 2118 4 door fridge - ice forming on fins. Thermister currently toward the bottom of fins. Which way should it go to warm up temp?
Wife is currently defrosting freezer so fridge is off with doors open. Hoping this will melt ice.
Any suggestiions as to what else to do?
 
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Old 10-13-2018, 06:29 PM   #2
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What setting do you currently use. We run ours on 5.
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Old 10-13-2018, 06:42 PM   #3
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I'm with DQDick-- what setting are you putting your unit on? Also have you performed the "dollar bill test" on the gaskets of the doors of your frig? If not, you might want to do this also. Put a dollar bill in multiple areas between the refrig and the gasket on the door and see if you can pull it out easily. If you can, then your doors need adjusting to close tighter on the seal. Also make sure your flapper on the one door is operating correctly and sealing. IF not, this could be a problem also and it is letting humidity into the frig and collecting on the fins. I think the thermistor should be about mid-way up the fin but I may be wrong on this. If I am, I'm sure someone here will correct me. Also, if you are in a high humidity area of the US make sure you only keep the frig door/s open to a minimum because the longer the doors are open the more humidity enters the frig and the longer it takes to cool back down.
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Old 10-13-2018, 07:23 PM   #4
milsutter
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thermostat currently on 3 - have had it as high as 6
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Old 10-13-2018, 07:26 PM   #5
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have not done the dollar bill test. will do that when I turn it back on. door flap stick off & on. have to check it when closing the door. don't know how to adjust it.
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Old 05-24-2019, 10:43 AM   #6
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how do you adjust your doors to close tighter on the seal?
mine dollar slides out with little resistance
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Old 05-24-2019, 01:17 PM   #7
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I got one of the little fans for the refer. Sure helped even out the temp.


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Old 05-24-2019, 07:45 PM   #8
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I believe that you raise the thermistor if you want it warmer.
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Old 05-24-2019, 08:57 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Theunz View Post
I believe that you raise the thermistor if you want it warmer.
Nope. I believe the adage is "up for colder, down for warmer" corresponding to the artic v. the equator.
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Old 05-24-2019, 09:10 PM   #10
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Carl, as usual you are right. Now what are those pills to help with memory?��
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Old 05-25-2019, 07:02 AM   #11
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I have had my fins freeze up before so i just use wife's hair dryer to melt the ice close the door and we are back in business. I found out if you don't make sure the door isn't closed all the way ice will form. Also if you keep opening the door than ice will also form. Leave it on 3 and get some ice cream.
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Old 05-26-2019, 08:07 AM   #12
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I have the Norcold 1210, it's the 12 cu. ft. 4 door fridge. I would get ice build up on the fins and like all RV fridges it didn't cool that great. I keep it on the coldest setting, 9. I have the wireless refridgerator and freezer temp sensors so I don't have to open the door to reed the temps. In fl. in the summer outside temp in the 90"s if I kept the doors closed most of the day the fridge temp would hover around mid to upper 40's and the freezer would be mid to upper 20's . In the morning when I wake up, with the doors being closed all night, the fridge temp would be 41-44 and freezer maybe 20-27. I also had one of those small blue fridge fans with the 2 D batteries from Camping World which really didn't make much of a difference because it is too small for my fridge.
So I bought the Fridge Fix fans from Smart RV products that is custom made for my Norcold 1210 model fridge. They also have them for Dometic models. It's not cheep but It is worth it. I went camping for the first time, with it installed, 3 weeks ago and all thought the outside temps were only in the mid 80's my fridge temp dropped dramatically and there was no ice or condensation on my cooling fins. My temp display also displays the highest and lowest temps reached. I still had the fridge set on 9 and In the morning when I woke up my lowest fridge temp was 34 and my lowest freezer temp was -2. During the day the fridge temp was mid to upper 30's and the freezer stayed in the single digits.
When I use to opened and closed the door as fast as possible to get something in or out the temps would rise 5 to 10 degs and take around 45 mins to an hour to recover. Now when I open the door, the same amount of time, the temp rises 2 to 4 degs and recovers in 5 to 10 mins depending on the temp rise.
The model that fit my fridge was product #4 and I think is the largest one. It has 3 cooling fans that are 4 inches in diameter and have blue led lights inside. I removed the bulb from the normal fridge light and only use the blue lights. Now instead of having that bright white light come on when I open the door at night it is now a nice soft blue light.
Here's a link for how it works. Click the links at the top of the page to navigate the site.
Plus a picture of mine installed.

How it works:
https://smartrvproducts.com/works/
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Old 05-26-2019, 01:05 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by milsutter View Post
Norcold 2118 4 door fridge - ice forming on fins. Thermister currently toward the bottom of fins. Which way should it go to warm up temp?
Wife is currently defrosting freezer so fridge is off with doors open. Hoping this will melt ice.
Any suggestiions as to what else to do?
Put a pan of hot water in the refrigerator and that will speed up the defrost time.
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Old 05-26-2019, 01:08 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DmaxDually View Post
I have the Norcold 1210, it's the 12 cu. ft. 4 door fridge. I would get ice build up on the fins and like all RV fridges it didn't cool that great. I keep it on the coldest setting, 9. I have the wireless refridgerator and freezer temp sensors so I don't have to open the door to reed the temps. In fl. in the summer outside temp in the 90"s if I kept the doors closed most of the day the fridge temp would hover around mid to upper 40's and the freezer would be mid to upper 20's . In the morning when I wake up, with the doors being closed all night, the fridge temp would be 41-44 and freezer maybe 20-27. I also had one of those small blue fridge fans with the 2 D batteries from Camping World which really didn't make much of a difference because it is too small for my fridge.
So I bought the Fridge Fix fans from Smart RV products that is custom made for my Norcold 1210 model fridge. They also have them for Dometic models. It's not cheep but It is worth it. I went camping for the first time, with it installed, 3 weeks ago and all thought the outside temps were only in the mid 80's my fridge temp dropped dramatically and there was no ice or condensation on my cooling fins. My temp display also displays the highest and lowest temps reached. I still had the fridge set on 9 and In the morning when I woke up my lowest fridge temp was 34 and my lowest freezer temp was -2. During the day the fridge temp was mid to upper 30's and the freezer stayed in the single digits.
When I use to opened and closed the door as fast as possible to get something in or out the temps would rise 5 to 10 degs and take around 45 mins to an hour to recover. Now when I open the door, the same amount of time, the temp rises 2 to 4 degs and recovers in 5 to 10 mins depending on the temp rise.
The model that fit my fridge was product #4 and I think is the largest one. It has 3 cooling fans that are 4 inches in diameter and have blue led lights inside. I removed the bulb from the normal fridge light and only use the blue lights. Now instead of having that bright white light come on when I open the door at night it is now a nice soft blue light.
Here's a link for how it works. Click the links at the top of the page to navigate the site.
Plus a picture of mine installed.

How it works:
https://smartrvproducts.com/works/
I had those smart fans in my older Dometic but I can't find them for the Norcold 2118 besides the Norcold has fans inside blowing most of the time.
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Old 05-26-2019, 01:12 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carl n susan View Post
Nope. I believe the adage is "up for colder, down for warmer" corresponding to the artic v. the equator.
Does it change if you move it to different fins?
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Old 05-27-2019, 03:27 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Theunz View Post
I believe that you raise the thermistor if you want it warmer.

I had it all the wat to the top of the fins, iced up all over
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Old 05-27-2019, 03:29 PM   #17
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I do have a fan unit in my norcold, I wonder if i could replace it with one of these other ones. I think I just need better circulation in the compartment. Everything works fine otherwise.
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Old 05-27-2019, 09:38 PM   #18
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Thermistor Norcold 1200, 1201, 1210, 1211, 2118 Series

The photo is a Norcold 1200 Series thermistor attached in the proper position on the cooling fins (second fin from the right). If the Norcold refrigerator thermistor is attached on the wrong cooling fin, the fridge will appear to not cool correctly.
Place thermistor 1 to 1.5 inches from the top of the fin.
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Old 05-28-2019, 07:08 AM   #19
Butch & Kathy
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As previously mentioned make certain the door flap and door seals are correct. On my Norcold 2118 the setting seems to make absolutely no difference in cooling.

I installed a cheaper version of the cooling fin fans and my fridge works a lot better. https://rvcoolingunit.com/Norcold-Ev...-P3239953.aspx
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