Alternatives to Norcold refrigerator
Hello, I have a Monaco Windsor motorhome with a Norcold refrigerator. Unfortunately, it seems to take a liking at shutting off at random times with a NO CO error, or when driving through a hilly area....
Forum Discussion
I forgot to turn my 1200 off when parked on a incline overnight leading to it's even poorer operation. Went the Shipshewana route five years ago with fair results as we boondock often and could not find a home refer that did not require 6 more inches of height taking out the drawer below that the DW wanted. Several years ago it started warming up when traveling on gas and electric so I threw some more money at it... new control board, ARP control, more fans, better insulation....... no change.
Between finding a unit that only required 1/2" more height and just tired of fooling with it almost every day I finally went residential last year. By putting in a separate battery bank(500 AH) with it's own PSW inverter/100A charger/transfer switch powering a EnergyStar refer (21 cuft uses less energy than a 100W bulb). It will run for 48 hours before getting to 50 percent and by then the 800AH of house batteries need charging anyway. Here is my DIY install and all I can say is I should have done it years ago before putting good money into a sorry situation.
If done with enough additional batteries there is not any reason to not go residential, even if you boondock often. Granted most cannot do it for the $1200 it cost me... the same as a Amish cooling unit but at some point you need to stop trying to make a 1200 not spoil your food.
Between finding a unit that only required 1/2" more height and just tired of fooling with it almost every day I finally went residential last year. By putting in a separate battery bank(500 AH) with it's own PSW inverter/100A charger/transfer switch powering a EnergyStar refer (21 cuft uses less energy than a 100W bulb). It will run for 48 hours before getting to 50 percent and by then the 800AH of house batteries need charging anyway. Here is my DIY install and all I can say is I should have done it years ago before putting good money into a sorry situation.
If done with enough additional batteries there is not any reason to not go residential, even if you boondock often. Granted most cannot do it for the $1200 it cost me... the same as a Amish cooling unit but at some point you need to stop trying to make a 1200 not spoil your food.
