Norcold Test

Question

We own a 2005 Bounder DP with the infamous Norcold 1200. Not new to propane fridges as we bought our first unit with a fridge( graduated from an icebox)in 1970. All of our units until 2004 were Dometics and one Servel. Our 2002 Bounder had the 1200 Norcold and it was temperamental. The older Dometics just seemed to run forever. But around 1980 they had problems staying lit and the CU's were not like the older units. But somehow we made them work and certainly never considered fire to be a problem. I bought the Bounder in March and it sat in storage in my shop in Mexico until this past weekend. AS soon as we arrived I reinstalled all the batteries and fired up the fridge. All summer I read posts here and elsewhere about the Norcold problems. I learned a lot from Dennis ( Executive) and others. Unfortunately because of our traveling in Mexico a Residential unit is just not practical. Our Dynasty has a huge household fridge and I would never have another unit for US/Canada usage with a propane unit. But we spend time in some CG's where the power is useless and we don't plug in. It could be done with a lot of solar and judicious usage of power but I would sooner try and make the Norcold work for us. When I first brought it home the fridge seemed to cool OK but I was too busy to check it out. I set the fridge to 6 on Sunday @ 4 pm. Monday @ 5 am I used my Infra red to check the temps. I know it is more accurate to use a container of water and real thermometer but was in a hurry. Fridge box was from 32 to 38 degrees. Awesome! Freezer was from -2 to +4. However the fridge vent door was open as I was inspecting the rear of the fridge. Ambient temp was 84 in the shop. I then turned off the fridge while I installed one of those twin ebay fans on the inside fins. Lots of playing around with open doors. IN the afternoon with the vent door closed and the new fan running temp sucked. 40 to 45 in the fridge and 20's in the freezer. This morning I checked and it still was not great. 40 in the fridge and 18 in the freezer . I set the fridge to 7. At 4 pm today fridge was 32 to 38 and the freezer was -1 to +3. Ambien temp ouside was 95 but the shop was 87. I did notice that with vent door installed the fans run most of the time. This tells me the fridge needs more rear ventilation. I have 2 of the fans that Executive installed and I will be putting them inside the roof vent I "shot" the lower black tubes ( is that the boiler? Temps varied from 114 to 143. Darn hot. I am thinking the fridge is working fine. Having the recall done in a week. If this baby acts up the Amish unit will be next. Thanks to those posters who provided me with tons of reading on this subject.

Moisheh

executive45 · Answer

Moisheh, try this....Remove/open the outside vent door. Bungee cord a regular AC fan onto the opening and let it blow on the cooling unit. Check temps, then check again in three hours. Use your infra red on the cooling units too. If you see a big difference in both then you need additional cooling fans for your cooling unit. Or if you wanna be a redneck, leave the fan in place....:B:B....Dennis

ivylog · Answer

While a Amish unit helped my 1200, in hot weather it still needs more air flow than the two fans put out. Just adding one fan at the bottom helped a bunch. The other thing I found is that the left inside of the refer section is much warmer than the right (IR Temp gun)... guess where the flue is located. By adding more insulation between the box and the flue I was able to lower my refer temps and the fans run less often. By building a stand I'm able to slide my unit out onto it by myself. Turning it while on the wooden stand you can get to the back. I actually added more insulation between the coils and the flue while I had it out. I also decreased the distance from the coils to the outside of my Dynasty with sheet insulation but some say a wooden panel would be better because it will pass heat to the outside wall better. I cut out some of the plywood baffle for better air flow. I would probably add a baffle like this just below the upper coils to force the air onto the coils instead of usiing sheet insulation over the entire area.

moisheh · Answer

Ivylog and Executive. Thanks for the replies. I wonder if an oscillating fan held on with duck tape would get me a " you are a redneck" card? Although my test was far from scientific it just emphasized what others have been saying. You need lots of air flows. I wonder what would have happened if Norcold had engineered some high tech fans into the fridge when manufactured. Maybe the CUY's would last longer? I checked again this morning and both boxes were about 3 to 4 degrees colder. But as Ivylog noted not even. But the fridge is empty. I would think that cold items would act as a cold sink to make more even temps? Do not know when I will get the roof fans installed but I have a small computer fan I might set behind the vent door to see what happens. I wish Norcold was paying me by the hour!

Moisheh

wolfe10 · Answer

Part of the "proper air flow" issue is the clearances between refrigerator and walls. There should be zero clearance at the sides and especially the top. Space above the refrigerator materially reduces laminar air flow.

Also, many were installed with excessive clearance behind the refrigerator-- enough to allow turbulence rather than laminar flow.

moisheh · Answer

Thanks Brett: Mine is so tight to the outside wall of the MH there is no room for a fan. I cannot see beyond the boiler. That is good. Sides are also  fairly tight.Moisheh

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