Alternatives to Norcold refrigerator

i like this one, but its too small for us

need more fridge space



window fridge heat pump combo

learn something New..Everyday

http://www.dometic.com/USA/New-Products/New-RV-Products/super-hybrid-refrigerator/



Camping World has them $2800

"ichudov"......Give Dometic a call. I understand that they just came out with a new hybrid refer that is 110 volt/compressor and propane combo. I looked for info, but haven't found any. It's a slide out lower freezer with a reefer on top. I don't know what size it comes in. I always thought that having two 8 cubic foot or 9 cubic foot models installed side by side would be handy. They do it in house boats. You get a good product that cools well and you only turn on both on longer trips and always have a spare.

Yep
We installed a residential fridge in August 2010
Works great

Best thing we ever did in an RV was replace with home fridge. Even good dorm fridges work well. Nice to have real ice cream.

They used too
Serval and Vestxxxxx
Have been stated as having better quality and lasting forever
Bigger heavier more sturdy

Even the most careful of us, have parked off level in a parking lot, or pull out, curb etc...
Which eventfully adds up the damage
Marine industry loves gas fridge,
But
Boats don't park off level and don't climb long grades

We are on our 2nd cooling unit in just a little over a year. The second involved a prolonged fight with tethford norcold and 2 300 mile round trips to get it evaluated and then repaired. We now have another fail and are waiting on a new thermistor. We never get error codes, it just starts warming up. The service contract has paid for all so we are only out 300. But we are done. Being full time no fridge is more than an inconvenience. We will go residential route next. As to boondocking we usually run the gennie twice a day anyway so I will likely start without extra power and see how it goes.
I talked to a guy a while back who said his local home Depot delivered his fridge in the parking lot with their fork lift through the window and pulled the norcold out as well.
It's still a mystery to me that with all the available technology someone has not solved these problems and produce a reliable 2 way fridge.

I have had a similar situation just a few days ago. Out of nowhere the no-co came on. I checked and we were perfectly level. Luckily we were on the last day on a 5 month trip so we did not loose any food. I just checked the vents and everything seemed fine. Does anyone have any idea of how to reset?

ichudov wrote:
Scottiemom, thanks a lot for your reply. I am just curious, if he fixes this norcold, will it still be just as susceptible to shutdowns and problems due to out of level, like the last time when it tripped on hilly terrain?

Fair question. We have been fulltiming for 11 years. WE had our Norcold 1200 replaced once, and fixed twice under warranty in the first 7 years. Just out of warranty, the boiler ruptured and the cooling unit was toast. WE went to Leon and he replaced our cooling unit with his own design, and warranteed it for 3 years. Four years later, it is still running strong with no bleeps on the radar at all.

Do you know of Mac the Fire Guy? He presents at RV rallies on fire safety. When we had our refrigerator cooling unit replaced by Leon at National Refrigeration, he mentioned he was going to do an install for Mac.

I talked to Mac about it and he said he went to Leon and asked him why these Norcold's kept burning up. So Leon and Mac had a long talk. He replaced Mac's cooling unit which had failed. I asked Mac if I had to worry about my Norcold catching fire since ours had been replaced. He said emphatically NO. Apparently he feels comfortable enough with what Leon told him the problem was and how he fixed that to tell me we're safe. Remember, the Amish have been building and use propane appliances longer than Norcold's been building RV refrigerators.

Whatever your Norcold needs, Leon can evaluate and fix it. You may not need a cooling unit, but I guarantee Leon can fix you up. He will not cheat you, he will do what's necessary or what you want and that's it. And you get a chance to browse through the flea market and shops in Shipshewana, the heart of Indiana's Amish Country.

Dale

You are looking at it from the wrong perspective. REPLACING the cooling unit will NOT fix your problem. You have a ventilation/operational problem. RV refers are designed to not have a problem in Transit even on hilly terrain. As long as the refer/RV is moving and off level, it will not have a problem. You also state you have intermittent NO CO trips. Well, FIND AND FIX that problem. NO CO----You have 2 attempts BEFORE it locks out and you have to do a reset. After the FIRST NO CO, if you do NOT find and fix the cause it will trip the 2nd NO CO and then lock out. This is a COOLING UNIT protection feature. After the FIRST NO CO, if you find and fix the problem and you restart, IF the refer makes a normal cool down cycle, then the FIRST NO CO is erased from the system. Doug