Amish fridge goes into dumpster!

[McGoo]

Well the Amish fridge is going into the dumpster and being replaced at Red Bay. If you should be unfortunate enough to have one, don’t count on the warranty being honored. When I wanted it repaired or replaced, I was told to jump thru many hoops. I had a repairman on site at the time and he could not find a problem other than the fact it was not getting cold enough. I installed two fans outside to force more air thru the outside vent to no avail. Now after two years of not doing the job, (just sat the past four days waiting for the new one and the temp is 50’ and 27’ for high low temp). I believe it is time to let folks know it was junk as well as the dealers word (you know who that is since there is only one dealer). So much for Amish craftsmanship!
I also contacted my repair service in Phoenix that installed the unit too see if they could help. He said they had installed several more and there were so many problems, they refuse to install any more. He also mentioned that the Amish were not supposed to use machines and didn't know how they were able to charge them properly.
Tried to send them a copy of this post but their email didn't work.

[LVJ58]

McGoo wrote:
Well the Amish fridge is going into the dumpster and being replaced at Red Bay. If you should be unfortunate enough to have one, don’t count on the warranty being honored. When I wanted it repaired or replaced, I was told to jump thru many hoops. I had a repairman on site at the time and he could not find a problem other than the fact it was not getting cold enough. I installed two fans outside to force more air thru the outside vent to no avail. Now after two years of not doing the job, (just sat the past four days waiting for the new one and the temp is 50’ and 27’ for high low temp). I believe it is time to let folks know it was junk as well as the dealers word (you know who that is since there is only one dealer). So much for Amish craftsmanship!
I also contacted my repair service in Phoenix that installed the unit too see if they could help. He said they had installed several more and there were so many problems, they refuse to install any more. He also mentioned that the Amish were not supposed to use machines and didn't know how they were able to charge them properly.
Tried to send them a copy of this post but their email didn't work.

Sorry to hear of the problems you had with your cooling unit, we've had ours for 2 years now and it works great.

Good luck & Safe Travels:)

[ScottG]

Since the OP refused to "jump through any loops" for the Amish company, we don't know if it was a problem with the cooling unit, its install or a circuit board or power issue.
I don't see enough evidence to condemn them.

[Ivylog]

I replaced my 1200 cooling unit that I ran out of level for too long four years ago. While the Amish unit cooled better, it never cooled great even running it on 9 with 15 in the freezer and 40s in the reefer. This past winter the Norcold control board (orginal) stopped controlling the temps and a new thermistor did not solve the problem so I had to unhook the thermistor to get it to cool. Replaced the control board with a new one and now on 4 my temps this morning are -1 and 33 with a outside temp of 65 on electric. Last week with outside temps in the low 90s it was 4 and 36 without the fans coming on.
Like Old B I question any shop that has multiple problems with any product. Unfortunately the installation and baffling of these units is very critical to good operation, especially if it's in a slide where venting is difficult. While it's only been three weeks with the new Norcold control board, my 1200 has NEVER worked as well as it is currently. It's nice to only look at the In/Out remote temp once a day because the reefer is in the low 30's unlike previous years where it would be in the 40s and I would worry about it's operation.
I debated about spending $240 on the new control board BUT it's the best money I've spent in a long time. There's more to these units than just the cooling unit. Never thought I might need to go to 3 on the temp for a 1200.

[John_S_]

Aquahots runs off either diesel or electric. One of the reasons I bought this coach is unlimited hot water and heat too. Camp in the winter more then the summer actually. If you have a propane furnace it is harder to go all electric though AH has a propane unit. I pulled my tank and have room for two batteries though I only added one to bring the total to 4 8 Ds.

[willald]

Marv Hoag wrote:

willald wrote:
I'm curious, those of you that have done away with LP gas entirely, and say you've gone totally electric: What are you using for heat?

Did you find an electric furnace to replace the LP gas furnace most units come with? Or are you just relying on various stand-alone heaters, that don't use the heat ducts your coach has?

I personally would hate not having ducted heat, would make it really tough to keep entire coach warm in the winter..

that post mentioned he had Aqua hot, which is diesel powered.

Right, Aqua hot is used to heat the water, I got that. I am more curious about what folks are using, to heat the entire coach, what they've replaced the traditional LP furnace with..

Will

[topflite51]

From what I have seen and heard about the Amish refrigerator units, problem sounds more like installation error.

[Marv_Hoag]

willald wrote:
I'm curious, those of you that have done away with LP gas entirely, and say you've gone totally electric: What are you using for heat?

Did you find an electric furnace to replace the LP gas furnace most units come with? Or are you just relying on various stand-alone heaters, that don't use the heat ducts your coach has?

I personally would hate not having ducted heat, would make it really tough to keep entire coach warm in the winter..

that post mentioned he had Aqua hot, which is diesel powered.

[willald]

I'm curious, those of you that have done away with LP gas entirely, and say you've gone totally electric: What are you using for heat?

Did you find an electric furnace to replace the LP gas furnace most units come with? Or are you just relying on various stand-alone heaters, that don't use the heat ducts your coach has?

I personally would hate not having ducted heat, would make it really tough to keep entire coach warm in the winter..

[Dog_Folks]

Sorry you had a problem.

Condemning a very large group of people, on multiple forums, as a result, is going overboard.

[John_S_]

Just pull it and add in a residential. I did and love it. I also pulled the stove and propane tank too. I got a 110 volt induction burner. Works great.

[Raymon]

Just because something is advertised as "Amish made" does not necessarily equate to quality. I live close to Lancaster, PA and visit the Amish and Mennonite communities regularly. When I was in the market for a garden shed, I visited about 10 different Amish shed manufacturers, all in Lancaster county. There was a large disparity of quality between the manufacturers. Also, not all "Amish made" furniture is equal in quality. As with everything, one must be diligent when making a decision to purchase a product.

[dougrainer]

ALL products can fail. But, remember, it takes a few years for some products to get a "history". Especially refer cooling units. But, this is the FIRST I have heard of a complete failure of an Amish unit that was NOT handled under warranty. That said, The INSTALL is CRITICAL to a cooling unit operating correctly. The fact that the poster stated HIS Service center had multiple failures and there are NO other reports about failures from other centers points to a install problem. Remember, there is NO real warranty if it is NOT installed correctly. Doug

[midnightsadie]

I think your blaming before you know all the facts, I ,ve seen another unit be the company in IN and it,ll freeze the milk . sorry you had a problem.

[Fleetwood99]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Problem might not have been with the 'Amish cooling unit' but with the actual installation of that cooling unit.

Without a real idea of what failed hard to place blame......
Cooling unit
Bad installation
Improper venting
Insufficient heat source
Operating off level

OB you have a heart of gold with your wisdum.
amen

PS- I have one of last NDR1292 units ....does Dometic plan on NDR1292 born again 1000usd unit anytime soon? Helium is 3k looks like

[Old-Biscuit]

Problem might not have been with the 'Amish cooling unit' but with the actual installation of that cooling unit.

Without a real idea of what failed hard to place blame......
Cooling unit
Bad installation
Improper venting
Insufficient heat source
Operating off level