Refrigerator died, Need advice.

JohnVickrey · April 13, 2012, 05:48:33 AM

It seems our 3-way refer had died, and we need to tap into the collective knowledge available here.

We are looking at a Atwood Helium Fridge( http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-refrigerators/atwood-helium-rv-fridge.htm ) and a Norcold 2-way ( http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-refrigerators/rv-refrigerator-norcold-n841.htm ). I like the Atwood, got more bells and whistles.

Anyone have experience with either, which one would you recommend??

Eric · April 13, 2012, 06:24:28 AM

If the old one is in good shape and not leaking why not fix it? If its new enough lookup a Dino Board for it

crown · April 13, 2012, 06:37:22 AM

john there is one in the spare tire its in tampa fl. john

Linda-XL40-FL · April 13, 2012, 07:03:01 AM

John, don't forget the 3-ways require a greater degree of levelness than the AC/DC. We bought our bus in 1993, original conversion had been done about 7 years earlier and up until a few months ago, the Norcold ac/dc fridge worked great. So, about 24 years of service? We acquired a used but not as old Norcold 2-way that needed some fixing. That got done and it seems to be working good. You should give Kirby a call for fixin' details if you are interested. While he was fixing, I was fantasizing about new units... we both admired the ones made by Vitrifrigo and would have gone that way if the fix-em-up had not been successful. The only down side to the ac/dc deal is that when dry camping, we need to run the generator to keep the batteries up, whereas if we had a propane option we could run the generator less often. Kirby says "there is no free lunch."

luvrbus · April 13, 2012, 07:06:30 AM

Those are nice fridges (Atwood) John we have a friend has one in his new MH gets downs in the 35 degree range even on hot days AZ

belfert · April 13, 2012, 07:09:13 AM

I didn't even know Atwood made RV refrigerators. I thought it was just Norcold and Dometic. Is there a good reason the current one can't be fixed? Some of the replacement cooling coils are better than the OEM ones. The Dinosaur control boards are also better than OEM if that is the problem.

TomC · April 13, 2012, 07:23:43 AM

I personally don't like absorption type refrigerators. To finicky-require being close to level, using propane (also dislike propane), takes a lot of current when on 12v, doesn't cool well in hot humid weather, it doesn't react fast to thermostat changes, etc.
I have a 6.3cu/ft Norcold AC/DC with compressor (like a home refrigerator) in my bus that has been zero problems since I installed in '94. Only pulls 5.5 amps when running, and runs about 50% of the time.
On my truck, I've bought a NovaKool. It is also a 2 door (with freezer on the bottom), although advertised as a 9cu/ft-don't see it though. It uses the excellent Danfoss compressor that nearly every commercial refrigeration system on boats is based on (so servicing, if needed, is easy).
Both the Norcold and NovaKool will cost about the same as their absorption type counterpart. Good Luck, TomC

Geoff · April 13, 2012, 08:17:01 AM

Our local Costco is carrying the Sanyo 10.3 apartment refer for $299. i've had one of these in my bus for the last 10 years.

Ralph7 · April 13, 2012, 08:53:53 AM

I have a Whirlpool, house frig in the bus, and it is also frostless, so far so good. Some of my frends in s&s have gone to house frigs also. Last fall I purchased a 120AC/12Vdc/24Vdc 8cu.ft. love it. It also comes in 5.8cu.ft or 8cu.ft. also normally 12Vdc/24Vdc. Also by changing the thermostat it can be a frig., the puter board & thermostat are on the end and easy to change.
How you use your coach,vacation/fulltime, I do not level my coach.

belfert · April 13, 2012, 08:54:43 AM

I've found that some of the apartment fridges take more energy than a larger 15 CF fridge that is Energy Star. The Energy Guides are the best way to compare energy usage. Frigidaire makes a 15 CF fridge that is Energy Star that you can find for around $450 (or less) at times. Be cautioned that Frigidaire makes the same fridge in both Energy Star and standard models and they look exactly the same.

junkman42 · April 13, 2012, 09:16:36 AM

I use a normal home frig running off of a freedom 458, has not skipped a beat in 6 years. As all modified sine inverters are not created equal I would mention that My modern led LCD TVs have no problem and My microwave does not complain either. I have measured the input current to the inverter and find that the energy loss is pretty much a non issue. Just My way. John L

luvrbus · April 13, 2012, 09:34:24 AM

The new propane absorption type fridges don't give you much of a problem it just take a little maintenance on the owners part I never worry about mine being level and it never misses a beat but I would like a new Atwood those nice.

I hate going to rally's and the people using the house type running the generator every morning for hours charging the batteries for another round lol all types have their drawbacks if I was going the electric route it would be a SunFrost a little pricey though

Lin · April 13, 2012, 11:00:22 AM

As with many things, which frig you use depends upon your camping style. We have used both RV and house type frigs in different vehicles. When most of what we did was pole to pole, the house frig was great, and the RV frig was an unnecessary nuisance. More recently, we have been dry camping more, and you can't beat propane for that. I am generally concerned about running the generator in these places. The Atwood one mentions it has an alarm that warns about tilt angle. That sounds like a good feature assuming the frig is not too sensitive to leveling.

Dave5Cs · April 13, 2012, 11:18:31 AM

John did you try turning it upside down for 72 hours and then try it again. This sometimes breaks loose all the stuck amonia on the propane cycle. I did that to the last one we had and got another 5 years out of it.

We have a Norcold and it does well except when we start the motor the DC breaker for it flips. Works great on AC or Propane. The problem is the wife make lots of soups and things that need room and these just don't have the room. In a 5C we don't have the room for a regular freezer in the bays either. Next best thing is an Apartment refrigerator. I like the Sanyo 10.3 from Costco but when I checked it was 759.00 so Geoff was that like 10 years ago? for 299.99
We know a guy who refurbishes them and he has them for 150.00 on up. 289.00 for 11.0 regular apartment size delivered to the house.

Dave5Cs

Geoff · April 13, 2012, 06:27:18 PM

With my Sanyo 10.3 apartment refer, Trace 2512MC inverter, and 4 golf cart batteries I can run the refer for 3 days. And if I have to start my 7kW diesel genset it is only for a hour to have my microwave/convection oven on. And I can use my 3-way water heater without propane on 120v. Works for me for 12 years.