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Jim's avatar
Jim
Explorer
May 22, 2016

Adding Fans to Norcold refers

Bought a '02 Winnie Journey back in February and it came with a 2 door Norcold Model N842IM. The rig only had 70K on it so nearly everything looks brand new and has had very little use. It appeared the original owner ate out while traveling.

I searched the internet and didn't find that model on any recall lists. Then called Norcold service. They didn't find it on any recall lists either. I put myself on their owners list, just in case they get around to recalling this model in the future (it's happened before as the refer law suit progresses against them, they keep adding models to the list).

In order to get ahead of the curve on what could turn out to be an accident waiting to happen, I've added a 4" pancake fan to stir air inside the refrigerator section so the refer doesn't have to work too hard under normal circumstances. But I'd like to also add additional air movement fans outside under the cover. And that's the purpose of this thread...

Does anyone have some advice to offer about placement of pancake fans, which I assume most people use? Have any pictures of your installation? Or is a 4" tube fan in the chimney the best route?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

14 Replies

  • Jim.....just about any Norcold other than the 1200 LRIM 4 door have always worked well and cooled well. I don't think I would go too crazy adding components until you see how it works. The rear fan will probably beneficial on really hot days.

    I do like the little computer fans that were placed inside and powered by the light, they keep the air moving.

    Congrats on your new coach.
  • Jim@HiTek wrote:
    Also, thanks for linking to my RV repair blog post! I added those fans as shown in that 2nd link to my old Dometic '94 refer a couple years ago.
    lol i didn't notice
  • That's a great link, 2oldman. I like the quad fans inserted into the upper vent. My kind of project. I've found my refer, since it's not in a slide, does not require a fan like the refers in kitchen slides do, so mine didn't come with one. But I will probably add two (or four) anyway, just to be erring on the side of caution.

    Also, thanks for linking to my RV repair blog post! I added those fans as shown in that 2nd link to my old Dometic '94 refer a couple years ago.

    I've already added one fan to my newer Norcold. It also has an incandescent automotive bulb so it's also easy to wire up since it can be done inside the refer. I haven't finished the wiring job on that one so no write up on my blog yet. Soon though.

    For anyone with a curious nature, Norcold has a fan kit for installation in those refers in a slide, and you can see how and where they installed it here: Fan Installation - See page 36

    I just found this document link. The copy I had was only a users guide...this link is a service manual. Happy I found it so I can add it to my document file.