Going from a Norcold 1200, trying to make a electric one fit

[tporter]

I asked a question a couple days ago regarding inverters. Now that I have that question answered I went shopping for a new refrigerator to replace our Norcold 1200. I can't find a refrigerator that will fit flush where the Norcold went. The closest one that I can find will stick out about 5". If you went from a Norcold to an electric refrigerator were you able to find one that would fit flush in the opening? If not what did you do? The new refrigerator isn't going into a slide if it makes any difference.

Thank you

[Chiefelectusn]

I just finished removing a not cold 1200lrim and replaced it with a Samsung RF197 in my 2005 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40".
I needed to gain 5" in height, nothing in width or depth. I have 6" left in the back of the refrigerator for ice maker, electric hookups etc.
Both the notcold and the Samsung went in and out through the front door.
I could not be happier. The Samsung looks super and it WORKS.
Total cost with a 5 year warranty $1350; lunch and drinks for good friends $25. I love it when a plan comes together.
Diplomat Don is 100% correct.

[bruceisla]

For those of us with older single door (2 doors if you count freezer plus lower section) I installed a Summit 1152. It's 10.4 cf and counter depth. A bit pricey but has a very efficient and quiet Panasonic compressor. Because the doors are not recessed into cabinet it sticks out into the hallway about 2 inches further than our old Dometic ..... not an issue for us.

http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/FF1152SS.html

I bought mine from a different vendor a bit less expensive.

[DSDP_Don]

Dennis....We pulled into St George, Utah today after travelling thru Vegas. From Baker, California to St George, it varied from 102 and 111 degrees. We ran the front roof A/C and dash air the whole way and turned on both roof A/C's about 30 minutes before stopping at Temple View RV Park. It's just cooling down now 10:00pm, but the Samsung was cold. I know my Norcold would have been in the 40's and would be unable to catch up in this day and evening heat.

We came close to installing the Amish unit because I didn't think I could make the Samsung fit. I even saved a couple of how to videos. In one of them, the guy added the rigid foam installation to the rear of the refer and then spaced the cooling unit out. I also noted that using a LOT of the sealing material was critical. I hope yours keeps working, but after a year of procrastinating and sending PM's to people who had gone with the Amish unit for over a year, they weren't thrilled.

About an hour ago, we had some ice cream for desert.....it was frozen hard. That was a first in this motor home.

[Executive45]

Diplomat Don wrote:


Dennis.....If/when your Norcold/Amish unit goes belly up, motor by and I'll help you install a Samsung. 😉

I may just take you up on that....:B...I wanted to swap the Norcold out when it failed. Debi liked the Norcold and wanted to keep it...sooooooo..(I'm not quite THAT stupid...:B) we kept it and fixed it. The warranty company said they would go either way too....The extra room the Samsung offered was tempting to me, but using the figures I was given I just couldn't see how it would fit...maybe I need to borrow YOUR tape measure.....Dennis

[DSDP_Don]

Dennis....Your numbers are great and I have a lot of respect for you, but I guess our tape measures must be different. 🙂 Yes....the Norcold measurement says 24.1", but that doesn't include the doors. It also doesn't account for the type of door panels you may have. My Monaco door panels were actually cabinet doors that they mounted to a piece of wood and then slid in place. The overall depth is 26" plus whatever door material you have.

On the width, your numbers are also deceiving. You're quoting width with the trim, which protrudes past the edges of the refer to finish the look, giving the coach manufacturers an easy install that they don't have to trim out.

I've done two of these refers in the last month. Mine and my sister's Itasca Meridian. The opening width on both coaches was 32.5", there was no shimming required. I used a 1/2" door foam around the entire opening on both refers and it made for a perfect/snug fit.

If you look at most Norcold installs, you'll see that the box is flush with the face frame and the doors protrude past that. If they didn't, they would be opening inside the face frame. The Samsung box mounts flush in the same opening, in the same manner as the Norcold. The Samsung will protrude 5.5" farther, but 2" of that are the handles.

Every Monaco owner on the Monaco website that had the height, all had the Samsung fit without any excess protrusion into the aisle way. I think the proof is in the pudding....my photo. I just measured again....the doors protrude 3" from the edge of the wood and bow another .5" at the center. The handles are an additional 2" at the center. I'm guessing that your numbers made it seem like this would hang out excessively, but in reality, the doors only protrude about 1" more than the Norcold and the handles 2" more.

This thread surprises me....there have been dozens of posts where people replaced their Norcolds with the Samsungs and now suddenly it's like the Samsungs no longer fit. :h

Dennis.....If/when your Norcold/Amish unit goes belly up, motor by and I'll help you install a Samsung. 😉

[smlranger]

Ranger Smith wrote:
Did you have to remove a windshield in the coach to get it in or did you remove the fridge doors and get it in.

This was on a 2002 Winnebago Journey. Both fridges (Norcold and the Frigidaire) went thru the coach entry door. The passenger seat had to be removed, along with the grab handle next to the seat and the screen door. The doors were removed from both the Norcold and the Frigidaire.

[Ranger_Smith]

Did you have to remove a windshield in the coach to get it in or did you remove the fridge doors and get it in.

[smlranger]

I would agree the Samsung RF197 is the best option if you have the ability to accommodate the height. In our previous coach, we went with the Frigidaire 18 cu ft (very common at Lowes) since another Winnebago owner used that and it fit well. It was a lot less than the Samsung (you do pay a premium for the counter depth fridges) and there was less than 2" of height difference. Width was easy.

The fridge box fit almost flush in the opening and the doors did extend beyond the opening. However, our fridge was next to the pantry and the doors did not extend into the walkway.

I believe Lowes had a Frigidaire nearly identical which was 16 cu ft which would have fit the opening without any modifications.

[Executive45]

Diplomat Don wrote:
Executive....Your information is a little skewed. The depth of the Norcold box is 24" PLUS it's doors. The depth of the Samsung box is 24" plus it's doors. When installed, both boxes, Norcold and Samsung are flush fit with the edge of the cabinet. The Samsung doors are a little thicker so you probably end up about 3" farther out. The extra depth is really in the handles which are not obtrusive.

I think if you do a search on here, the Samsung is the most popular replacement refrigerator for the Norcold 1200. The reason being is that it ONLY needs an additional 5" in height to fit and it runs on MSW inverters.

-Samsung Dimensions-
Dimensions and Weights
Width: 32 1/4"
Height with Hinge: 69 3/4"
Height without Hinge: 68 5/8"
Depth with Door Handle: 30 1/2"
Depth without Door Handle: 28 1/2"
Depth without Door: 24 3/8"
Net Weight: 235 Lbs.
Shipping Weight: 258 Lbs.

Diplomat Don, I think your install looks great in your coach. The figures you provided above are correct from Samsungs' website. That said, here are the figures from Thetford and from my own measurements when my box was pulled to replace the cooling unit..

Width: 35"
Height: 65 1/8
Depth: 24 1/4

These measurements were taken with the box OUT of the coach. The doors and trim were not removed. Here are the figures from Thetford:

Refrigerator cabinet width w/o trim - 32.4 in.
Refrigerator width overall w/ trim - 35.0 in.
Refrigerator cabinet to side trim - 1.30 in.
Refrigerator cabinet height w/o trim - 63.2 in.
Refrigerator height overall w/ trim - 65.1 in.
Refrigerator depth overall - 24.1 in.

We were looking for a double door fridge in stainless and the Samsung was the only one that filled that bill. I am assuming the OP is looking for a similar fridge. So, the only measurements we really need to compare are the finished measurements. I really don't think measuring a fridge without the doors on is pertinent...

Refrigerator...Width....Samsung-32.25"...Norcold-35.0"..Shim up 2.75"
Refrigerator...Height...Samsung-69.75"...Norcold-65.1"..Cut out 3.89"
Refrigerator...Depth....Samsung-30.5"....Norcold-24.1"..Protrudes 6.4"

Hope this helps the OP with his decision..I guess it just depends on what you are willing to live with or where your fridge is located. Your install looks well done..unfortunately, it just won't work in my coach...:(..perhaps the OP is in the same situation....have a Happy Fourth of July.....:B....Dennis

[DSDP_Don]

The Samsung door handles slide onto a 1/2" pin at the top and bottom and are then held in place with a set screw. If someone was handy, you could easily make smaller handles (tighter/closer to the door) out of a finished piece of wood or aluminum and attach them with the set screw.

Also keep in mind that the refer doors pivot within the width of the refer box, so when the doors are fully open, they're still just the width of the refer box.

Lastly, when you're looking to keep the high end look of the interior in a DP, a side by side or French door look can't be beat.

This photo is the Samsung in the Norcold opening. I think it's far from obtrusive into the walk way. In this photo, my slide is closed and the narrowest area to the rear of the coach is at the refer. It still isn't an issue.

[conmoto]

Our Samsung face sits flush with the cabinet and the doors themselves stick out 2.5" to open. The handles do stick out more but they are not a problem at all.

[DSDP_Don]

Executive....Your information is a little skewed. The depth of the Norcold box is 24" PLUS it's doors. The depth of the Samsung box is 24" plus it's doors. When installed, both boxes, Norcold and Samsung are flush fit with the edge of the cabinet. The Samsung doors are a little thicker so you probably end up about 3" farther out. The extra depth is really in the handles which are not obtrusive.

I think if you do a search on here, the Samsung is the most popular replacement refrigerator for the Norcold 1200. The reason being is that it ONLY needs an additional 5" in height to fit and it runs on MSW inverters.

-Samsung Dimensions-
Dimensions and Weights
Width: 32 1/4"
Height with Hinge: 69 3/4"
Height without Hinge: 68 5/8"
Depth with Door Handle: 30 1/2"
Depth without Door Handle: 28 1/2"
Depth without Door: 24 3/8"
Net Weight: 235 Lbs.
Shipping Weight: 258 Lbs.

[Dance_Chick]

We just installed a Frigidaire 12 cf, and this was an almost perfect fit. I don't know the model # for the old one or the replaement. We had an 8 cf Dometic 2 door. Beware that Frigidaire and others won't honor the warranty once you install it in an RV. I believe Samsung will. I couldn't find a Samsung to fit, so went with the Frigidaire 12 cf - $491.00.

[Executive45]

tporter wrote:
Dennis, that's what I'm running into. 6" of the fridge sticking out. Do you have an electric fridge or a norcold?

I stayed with the Norcold 1200LRIM and had the Amish unit installed under warranty.

With all due respect to Diplomat Don, the Samsung RF197 will still stick out 6 1/2" into the hallway. Your Norcold is 24" deep. The 197 is 30 1/2. Do the math...I think it depends on where the fridge is in your coach. Mine is in the kitchen just before the hallway to the bedroom and bath. 6 1/2 inches is just too much. It's also 70" high so I would lose a drawer under the fridge.

I did a lot of research on these when my 1200 failed. The RF197 is a nice unit and looks good. I would sacrifice the extra 6 cu ft if they lopped off that extra 6" depth......Dennis