I had the cooling unit replaced on my Norcold 1200 last fall due to constant failures with the bypass module that was put in under recall a few years ago. The RV shop replaced the cooling unit with another Norcold unit and not a Amish one. Since this unit was Norcold, it came with one of those stupid bypass boxes that I was trying to get away from in the first place. Anyway, last week the stupid box tripped again so I swapped it out. Since then, the fridge is running but I am now camping and I noticed the ice cream in the freezer is very soft. The control on the front is set to the max (9) so last night I put a thermometer in the freezer and found it to be 4 degrees. The fridge part is running around 36 degrees. What should I do now or is this normal?

I hate to tell you that much of the dislike many people have for the Norcold 1200 is not due to the fire concern but is just because it isn't a very good refrigerator. I understand that some people have units that work just fine, but many others, including ourselves, have experiences similar to yours. Part of the problem is the built-in ~48 hour defrost cycle, but some of it appears to be simply inadequate cooling. That's why so many of us have replaced them with residential units.

I can tell you one thing for sure, when it comes time to replace my motorhome, I will never get anything again with a Norcold fridge. They have and continue to drop the ball on these fridges. I looked at a brand new winnebago yesterday and it had the 4 door Norcold fridge. I popped the outside access panel off to find that they still have the bull**** bypass box but rather than it being clipped to the cooling unit, it is mounted with screws to make it look like it belongs there. All my previous campers had dometic's and I never had a problem with them. I have lost hundreds in food and probably another hundred in fuel to get this fridge repaired. Oh, I forgot to mention the cost of the cooling unit.

The operational temps of ANY RV refer isfreezer---any temp below 10 degreesrefer--- any temp below 40 degreesMOST, as long as all operational parameters are met isfreezer 0 degrees MAX tstatrefer 32 degrees max tstatNow, to complain about the recall is not accurate. The recall has NOTHING to do with operation or cooling. It is a Safety device. nothing elseIce Cream has ALWAYS been a problem in RV absorbsion refers, not just 1200 models. Ice Cream need sub 0 degree temps to be hard. Very few refers will get sub 0 degrees.Your problem may be the quality of the install of the cooling unit. They may not have installed the Thermal mastic correctly and they may not have sealed the CU to the box adequately. Doug

docj wrote:I hate to tell you that much of the dislike many people have for the Norcold 1200 is not due to the fire concern but is just because it isn't a very good refrigerator. I understand that some people have units that work just fine, but many others, including ourselves, have experiences similar to yours. Part of the problem is the built-in ~48 hour defrost cycle, but some of it appears to be simply inadequate cooling. That's why so many of us have replaced them with residential units.Really? The ONLY thing I have noticed over the years is almost everyone that has installed a residential states it is SAFETY, nothing else, NOT inadequate cooling. There is NOTHING wrong with a 1200 cooling that has ALL controls operating to specs. To NOT buy a good RV because of a 1200 is foolish. I would have no problem buying any RV with a 1200 series refer. There are MILLIONS of 1200's out there. Doug

Have you checked the placement of the Thermistor on the cooling fins?

Norcold 1200 not cold enough | Good Sam Community

waroland
Explorer
Jun 10, 2014
Have you checked the placement of the Thermistor on the cooling fins?
dougrainer
Nomad
Jun 10, 2014
docj wrote:
I hate to tell you that much of the dislike many people have for the Norcold 1200 is not due to the fire concern but is just because it isn't a very good refrigerator. I understand that some people have units that work just fine, but many others, including ourselves, have experiences similar to yours. Part of the problem is the built-in ~48 hour defrost cycle, but some of it appears to be simply inadequate cooling. That's why so many of us have replaced them with residential units.

Really? The ONLY thing I have noticed over the years is almost everyone that has installed a residential states it is SAFETY, nothing else, NOT inadequate cooling. There is NOTHING wrong with a 1200 cooling that has ALL controls operating to specs. To NOT buy a good RV because of a 1200 is foolish. I would have no problem buying any RV with a 1200 series refer. There are MILLIONS of 1200's out there. Doug
dougrainer
Nomad
Jun 10, 2014
The operational temps of ANY RV refer is
freezer---any temp below 10 degrees
refer--- any temp below 40 degrees
MOST, as long as all operational parameters are met is
freezer 0 degrees MAX tstat
refer 32 degrees max tstat
Now, to complain about the recall is not accurate. The recall has NOTHING to do with operation or cooling. It is a Safety device. nothing else
Ice Cream has ALWAYS been a problem in RV absorbsion refers, not just 1200 models. Ice Cream need sub 0 degree temps to be hard. Very few refers will get sub 0 degrees.
Your problem may be the quality of the install of the cooling unit. They may not have installed the Thermal mastic correctly and they may not have sealed the CU to the box adequately. Doug
Hedgehog
Explorer
Jun 10, 2014
I can tell you one thing for sure, when it comes time to replace my motorhome, I will never get anything again with a Norcold fridge. They have and continue to drop the ball on these fridges. I looked at a brand new winnebago yesterday and it had the 4 door Norcold fridge. I popped the outside access panel off to find that they still have the bull**** bypass box but rather than it being clipped to the cooling unit, it is mounted with screws to make it look like it belongs there. All my previous campers had dometic's and I never had a problem with them. I have lost hundreds in food and probably another hundred in fuel to get this fridge repaired. Oh, I forgot to mention the cost of the cooling unit.
docj
Explorer
Jun 10, 2014
I hate to tell you that much of the dislike many people have for the Norcold 1200 is not due to the fire concern but is just because it isn't a very good refrigerator. I understand that some people have units that work just fine, but many others, including ourselves, have experiences similar to yours. Part of the problem is the built-in ~48 hour defrost cycle, but some of it appears to be simply inadequate cooling. That's why so many of us have replaced them with residential units.

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Norcold 1200 not cold enough

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