Norcold Bites The Dust Again !!!!

Ed Brenner · May 23, 2011, 03:38:04 PM

Okay , so the Norcold refrig has bit the dust again. Last year I replaced the whole cooling
System with a a rebuilt unit with a two year warranty. It ain't working, no smell of ammonia so one would assume no leaks. I wired the 120 heater direct as per the troubleshooting procedure to eleminate the thermostat and control board. Freezer
Only gets to 36 deg, lower half might as well leave door open. Vent sytem all good!

Should I replace it with a normal house type and use an inverter for on road ?
Unit still has a warranty but is a friggin PIA to remove and install new coil system,
And probably will quit again.

The small house unit at home depot has warning sign that says not recommended for use in garages and Rv's. Also says not designed for operation off of inverter. Probably be okay if a true sine wave inverter was used

($$$$)

Sales person says no warranty on compressor if used other than in climate controlled condition.

Does anyone know who sells the novakool compressor style and cost ??
Are there other 12volt /120 volt compressor styles out there?

Thanks
ED

robertglines1 · May 23, 2011, 06:47:24 PM

Been using the whirpool for years no problem just run off gen set about 1/2 hr ever 4 hrs to keep cool. have went all nite when dry camping with no problem once it was cooled off good. bob

Dave5Cs · May 23, 2011, 08:28:33 PM

http://www.novakool.com/products/two_doors/rfu6200_6800_8000_9000.htm#

TomC · May 23, 2011, 08:55:53 PM

I just got the 9.1 NovaKool delivered to my warehouse. Should cost around $1,400.00. Good Luck, TomC

artvonne · May 23, 2011, 09:12:30 PM

Quote from: Dave5Cs on May 23, 2011, 08:28:33 PM
http://www.novakool.com/products/two_doors/rfu6200_6800_8000_9000.htm#

$1200. I was just looking at a small AC fridge at Lowes for like $200. For $1000 extra I dont see the point. Does it seem reasonable to cost $1000 more to put a DC motor inside the compressor cannister than an AC motor? In either case we wont need to cut holes in our Bus as we would running an ammonia type.

Norcold and Dometic, either one, both have taken the simplest system in the world and made it so friggen cheap it wont last 12 months. Not only are there Dometics from the 60's that still work, there are Servells from the 40's that still work. There is simply no excuse for the junk those companies are building.

JohnEd · May 23, 2011, 09:26:33 PM

Well said Art.

Get the Norcold exchanged and install it. Free and ??$ and you are back on the road. if it works, fine and if it lasts....all the better. Why jump in there and start thrashing around with a bunch of money. They have deteriorated over the past years....most stuff has...except the stuff coming from friggen CHINA. That has improved, thankfully.

Using the Norcold will give you time to shop and bid on spendy units you covet. Ever if you don't install it, get the warranty replacement offered by Norcold and you could sell it here for cheap and brighten a life

Mine is working fine, thank you.

Stay frosty,

John

luvrbus · May 23, 2011, 09:34:04 PM

Ed, I have a Vitrifrigo in the boat 12v check the other brands also they all use the same compressor Turnda,Waeco Novalkool they are all the same.
I would give your Norcold a good shaking by driving down a ruff road you just have a air bubble from not being level plug it in every week or so and that won't happen they last forever if running all the time

good luck

belfert · May 24, 2011, 06:44:35 AM

A big part of the reason that 12/24 volt compressor fridges are expensive is limited demand. They don't make them by the millions which drives the cost way down.

That $200 fridge are Lowes is likely a dorm style fridge. My experience is that those are energy hogs unless you get one of the new Energy Star models. They tend to take about as much power as a much larger Engery Star models.

Cary and Don · May 24, 2011, 08:15:11 AM

We have a cheap little apartment fridge in the GMC. That thing works like crazy, we bought it used and have had it eight years. It will run off the inverter, we turn the temp way up in it at night. It will stay cold for hours off. They only negative is you have to defrost them. The biggest plus is there is a lot more room in the same foot print as the rv fridge. If it's too hot in the bus for the fridge, it's probably too hot in there for us.

Don and Cary
Eagle 1973 05
GMC 4107
Neoplan AN340

artvonne · May 24, 2011, 04:46:08 PM

Quote from: belfert on May 24, 2011, 06:44:35 AM
A big part of the reason that 12/24 volt compressor fridges are expensive is limited demand. They don't make them by the millions which drives the cost way down.

Actually, compared to the 1960's, they are making millions of them. And dont forget, Americans arent the only ones buying them, everyone in the world is buying them, either for RV's, or for refrigeration in desolate areas.

Van · May 25, 2011, 07:33:05 AM

We just bought this one http://www.danby.com/product/DFF9102BLS/1 at a garage sale, like new for $100.00. they list for just under 400 dollars new, plugged it in and it is reading 10 degree's in the freezer, 30 in the fridge this morning, SCORE one for the home team!!!

Now comes the bummer, installing the unit into the pantry cabinet,ended up punching a hole into one of the lines on the unit

pulled the unit back out and brought it home, repaired the line. We had a friend come ofer to pull vac on the unit and recharge it, and VIOLA' back in business, and ready for re-installation. Now I have no problem o with throwing large amounts of dough at the bus, but being on an extreeeemly tight budget, we feel that in this instant less is more especially for the amount of time we will spend in the bus. Later on down the road a look see into the more versatile ref models I am certain
we will find a nice one, but for now with a planned trip to the lake on the horizon this one will fit the bill perfectly for now and has been very good on the wallet

Thing you have to keep in consideration with the apartment size fridge is ventilation, these little compressors already run hot as it is, company suggests 6 inches of clearance behind the unit, ours has 3" of clearance in back. on our setup I have a vent below in the toe kick with a small 120 fan to pull cooler air thru the bottom and venting the hot thru a duct up above the unit ,works great! and am well pleased with the purchase. unit is very quiet and pulls 1.6 amps at best.
So after the purchase and the repair

it set us back $150 bucs and that my friends leaves us with some coin left over for some other needed items.

Just my way!

belfert · May 25, 2011, 08:25:58 AM

Quote from: artvonne on May 24, 2011, 04:46:08 PM
Quote from: belfert on May 24, 2011, 06:44:35 AM
A big part of the reason that 12/24 volt compressor fridges are expensive is limited demand. They don't make them by the millions which drives the cost way down.

Actually, compared to the 1960's, they are making millions of them. And dont forget, Americans arent the only ones buying them, everyone in the world is buying them, either for RV's, or for refrigeration in desolate areas.

But, how many Dc compressor based fridges do they make for the American market? Darn few compared even to RV ammonia fridges.

Does the rest of the world really use a lot of 12/24 volt DC compressor based fridges?

artvonne · May 25, 2011, 08:55:20 AM

Quote from: belfert on May 25, 2011, 08:25:58 AM
Does the rest of the world really use a lot of 12/24 volt DC compressor based fridges?

The point was that the rest of the world uses absorbtion refrigerators just like we have in our RV's, and whether they all use 12/24 doesnt matter, they can use different boards and elements for different markets, and any will work on LP. To think America is alone in the world to these two companies, or that our models are somehow special, I believe would be a big mistake. I know they use RV's in Europe, Australia, Canada, and South America, im sure they all use 12/24 volt.