Norcold fires...
I've read a great deal about Norcold fires. And, maybe I just missed it but was wondering... when the fires ocurred, were the units working on gas or electricity? Thanks for your responses. / Larry
Forum Discussion
I waited a few days before posting. This type thread comes up at least once a month and has for years.
ALL cooling units can leak at any time. They do and always have for 100 years. Are there MORE leakers than 30 years ago? Of course. There are millions MORE RV's and RV refers out there than 30 years ago. So, take the numbers and statistically the "number" will be higher if a certain percentage will leak. DOES a leak result in a FIRE??? Again, NO. Very few leakers result in a fire. YES, it IS possible for a leaker to catch fire. I have 34 years as an RV tech. I have NEVER seen a fire resulted from a CU leak. I HAVE seen refer fires, but they were caused by LP problems(leak or burner problems caused by insects nests or rodent nests). OR Rodent nests and such building flammable nests behind the refer. A CU leak is usually very small and the amount of ammonia leaking out is not sufficient to catch fire. That said, MOST refers are operated on 120 volts and the burner flue area cannot reach the flammable point, On LP, it is possible. This whole "Sky is falling" is nonsense. ALL it does is make people like the poster concerned/scared about a non event that might happen. A Few years ago, Dometic had a similar recall for potential fire problems (WAY before Norcold had their recall) and the same people screamed that it was a deadly accident waiting to happen. ANYONE seen any postings in the past years about the Dometic problem??? Norcold has scores of refer models and ONLY the 4 door 1200/1210 series is having the Recall HI Thermocoupler kit installed. This does NOT stop a fire if a fire occurs. What the recall does is this-Norcold determined that IF there was a problem with ventilation and the rear area cooling unit overheated, THAT may cause a CU to rupture. So, this kit will turn the refer off and shut it down if the back side of the flue chimney reaches 700 degrees. The NORMAL operating temp in that area is 300 to 350 degrees. I have NO problem with my family and friends using any RV with ANY model RV refer including the Norcold 1200/1210 series. Doug
ALL cooling units can leak at any time. They do and always have for 100 years. Are there MORE leakers than 30 years ago? Of course. There are millions MORE RV's and RV refers out there than 30 years ago. So, take the numbers and statistically the "number" will be higher if a certain percentage will leak. DOES a leak result in a FIRE??? Again, NO. Very few leakers result in a fire. YES, it IS possible for a leaker to catch fire. I have 34 years as an RV tech. I have NEVER seen a fire resulted from a CU leak. I HAVE seen refer fires, but they were caused by LP problems(leak or burner problems caused by insects nests or rodent nests). OR Rodent nests and such building flammable nests behind the refer. A CU leak is usually very small and the amount of ammonia leaking out is not sufficient to catch fire. That said, MOST refers are operated on 120 volts and the burner flue area cannot reach the flammable point, On LP, it is possible. This whole "Sky is falling" is nonsense. ALL it does is make people like the poster concerned/scared about a non event that might happen. A Few years ago, Dometic had a similar recall for potential fire problems (WAY before Norcold had their recall) and the same people screamed that it was a deadly accident waiting to happen. ANYONE seen any postings in the past years about the Dometic problem??? Norcold has scores of refer models and ONLY the 4 door 1200/1210 series is having the Recall HI Thermocoupler kit installed. This does NOT stop a fire if a fire occurs. What the recall does is this-Norcold determined that IF there was a problem with ventilation and the rear area cooling unit overheated, THAT may cause a CU to rupture. So, this kit will turn the refer off and shut it down if the back side of the flue chimney reaches 700 degrees. The NORMAL operating temp in that area is 300 to 350 degrees. I have NO problem with my family and friends using any RV with ANY model RV refer including the Norcold 1200/1210 series. Doug
