Fire Hazard Appliance Recalls UPDATED NORCOLD INFO 11-20-2010

MrDoneIt65 wrote:
erstanflo: I would highly recommend you get the Good Sam Emergency Road Service and when your warranty starts to run out look into the Good Sam Extended Warranty. I have used the Emergency Road Service a couple times. Worth every dime.

I put the Amish coils in my Norcold. Better than original without a doubt. Set on #5 to keep food cool. Original was set on #9.

On my third A with a 1200 series and have never ever had to put mine over 6 and usually 5 is norm

erstanflo: I would highly recommend you get the Good Sam Emergency Road Service and when your warranty starts to run out look into the Good Sam Extended Warranty. I have used the Emergency Road Service a couple times. Worth every dime.

I put the Amish coils in my Norcold. Better than original without a doubt. Set on #5 to keep food cool. Original was set on #9.

FYI My Norcold died (stopped cooling, could not find leak) 9 months after I took delivery of my 2012 journey. Norcold replaced the cooling unit under warranty. New cooling unit has no warranty, just the 3 months left on the original 12 month warranty. Hopefully the new cooling unit is better than the original. Otherwise it is a set of Amish coils for me.

RayChez wrote:
PianoTuna is correct that the residential type fridge are a lot cheaper and that is why they are installing them on some of the new coaches, to save money. But at the same time they have to install a pure sine inverter and six house batteries to keep that residential type fridge running.

I have never had any problems with my Norcold 1200 LRIM in nine years that I have had my coach. I set it at six and it stays at 34 degrees. And I imagine the freezer is much colder. The ice cream stays pretty solid.

I really like where you can use propane and AC current. So if I ever have problems I will buy the Amish made coils. It would be too much of a problem removing the one piece windshield to bring in the residential fridge and removing the Norcold, plus they never are the perfect fit. So you would have to hire a carpenter to make modifications so that it does not look like a shoddy job. Just too much trouble for me.

I agree 100%.Mind you because the tiffin has the 32 inch entry door u dont have to spend $800 Re and Reing the front windshield

Ray Chez, I totally agree. The problem I have is that my unit was working fine until they started doing recalls. On the second recall the coils suddenly blew out at the location of the recall attachment. I took the unit off and sent it to Norcold. Someone from Norcold called me and said they were considering an adjustment to my situation. I had written a letter to the government agency and cc'd it to Norcold explaining what had happened. I never heard from them again.

I am sure the newer applications will be improved. We just got caught in the middle.

PianoTuna is correct that the residential type fridge are a lot cheaper and that is why they are installing them on some of the new coaches, to save money. But at the same time they have to install a pure sine inverter and six house batteries to keep that residential type fridge running.

I have never had any problems with my Norcold 1200 LRIM in nine years that I have had my coach. I set it at six and it stays at 34 degrees. And I imagine the freezer is much colder. The ice cream stays pretty solid.

I really like where you can use propane and AC current. So if I ever have problems I will buy the Amish made coils. It would be too much of a problem removing the one piece windshield to bring in the residential fridge and removing the Norcold, plus they never are the perfect fit. So you would have to hire a carpenter to make modifications so that it does not look like a shoddy job. Just too much trouble for me.

Hi MrDonelt65,

6 amps @ 120 volts translates to 60 amps at 12 volts but this start up surge is less than a second.

Real life data shows that a 9 cubic foot residential fridge will use a little less than 80 amp-hours per day, in what I consider to be hot weather.

It is cost effective to do so, and some new RV's now come so equipped. I.E. it is cheaper at the manufacturing level to use a residential fridge. Don't you think their "bean counters" have costs down right to the penny?

I looked into putting a residential fridge in my unit. None fit without modification. You could just plug it into 110 but when headed down the road I think the draw on an inverter would be pretty drastic when the compressor kicks in.

When my rig was new I had to put the Norcold on 9 in order for it to stay cold. I had an ice maker that never made ice more than one time when I first turned it on. Then it would fill with water and drive me crazy going click, click, click, click. With the Amish double coils I set the fridge on 4 and it stays cold. Plus it works on propane which keeps it cold while I am traveling.

So while I agree that a residential sounds appealing, I think the disadvantages far outweigh the purchase of the Amish coils to fix the Norcold.

I agree with RVrepairnut. There is no savings when you have to buy all these other equipment and mods.

I just wonder out of the millions of Norcolds that have been sold what the percentages are of failure because of a leak on the coils. I bet it is lower then what we think. But when one fails the screaming that goes on in these forums makes it look like the percentages are high.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Use the savings to buy solar and an inverter. Residential is the way to wander.

what savings?? there are non to be had.Buying a new inverter and new batterys and all the HD wiring required plus a decent fridge cost way way more than a new cooling unit installed never mind the cost to a person to have all the new inverter system installed and the rework of the cabinets and most older units need the windshield removed which is exspensive etc