Norcold Refrigerator Replacing Cooling Unit

[rickvikki]

Good Morning Everyone: Our Norcold 1200 LRIM fridge blew a leak in the cooling unit last night :(. It is original fridge in our 2006 Tiffen Phaeton. I have read there are companies that will install refurbished cooling units avoiding buying a new refrigerator. We are in Lake Havasu, Arizona at the moment and were wondering if anyone out there could recommend a company that does the above.

Thanks, Vikki and Rick

[bigdisplay]

I have owned THREE 1200/10 series norcolds I have never had a cooling problem
been in 90+ heat all week +works just fine
I did a lot of reading/researching and for the money the one I recommended is just fine and a hell of a lot cheaper than amish
I don't think the almost 100% $$ more for the amish is very good value
nor do I believe its better if it is its so marginal its not worth the 350-400$ more to each their own
I know personally I don't want or need a house fridge as I use the lpg a lot

[rickvikki]

thank's Don, I will definitely check them out in Havasu.

[Ivylog]

BigD is trying to recommend this unit which is half the price BUT it's not going to cool any better than your current unit. If you are happy with how your's has cooled then I would consider one. If you compare the size of the bottom coils on your unit (and the above) to the pictures of the Amish ones below you will see why the Amish cool better.

Dforce is probably the largest re seller of Amish cooling units... even one charged with helium.

I had Leon change mine out five years ago when I was in IN and while it's better than the NoCold I would not call it great. I recently bought a Whirlpool Model: WRT771RWYW 21 cu ft that should fit with only a minor change to the top of the cabinet but have not installed it yet.

Someone who went residential recently posted that he was going to miss his 1200 and:
worrying about it catching on fire
carrying a spare control board, ignitior, directions for resetting the board when it locks out
soft ice cream especially when letting it make ice
turning the extra fans on when it's hot out
bypassing the NoCold recall box when it shuts off the power for no reason
checking the ARP readout when the fin temp readout is above 32 to make sure it's still working
moving the fan on the fins to different locations to defrost the ice
turning the unit off ever other day to stop the four hour defrost cycle from raising the inside temp by 10 degrees
not putting hot items in until they have cooled off


I think I've just decided to give it up on my 1200 as I already have enough solar and batteries. A 1000W pure sine wave inverter and pulling the driver's side window plus a couple strong backs......

[DSDP_Don]

"rickvikki"....Give these guys a call....they're the big RV repair shop in Havasu. 3 T's

[bigdisplay]

RVCOOL

with Bullet-Proof Boiler™ Technology....the safest 1200 series cooling unit ever built!
BETTER than Amish and 1/2 the price

[LVJ58]

The cooling unit in our 2000 1200LRIM gave up the ghost in 2013. We replaced it with a unit from this place:

http://rvcoolingunit.com/1200LR-Norcold-Brand-New-Cooling-Unit-built-by-the-Amish-P13259.aspx

Total cost including installation came to $1,400 it works great.

As others suggested if you have room for a residential unit, that would probably be the best option.

If you do much dry camping you'll need adequate power to run the unit which may include installation of additional coach batteries as well as an inverter to provide AC power for the residential unit.

Good luck with your choice and travel safe...:)

[rickvikki]

thanks everyone for your quick responses. now just need to find an installer of cooling unit.

[bigdisplay]

wa8yxm wrote:
Google: Amish Built Cooling Unit

These are not refurbished No_Cold units,,They are brand new and USUALLY superior quality. (Last longer).

by RVCOOL

with Bullet-Proof Boiler™ Technology....the safest 1200 series cooling unit ever built!
BETTER than Amish and 1/2 the price

[Big_Katuna]

Mine just failed a few months ago.. I bought the Amish built unit (new) and replaced it my self. I would have gone the residential route but I have a double door and it would have had to go out-in thru the windshield. They are way better quality than the OEM unit.

Any competent tech should be able to it in 4-6 hours,maybe less.

[wa8yxm]

Google: Amish Built Cooling Unit

These are not refurbished No_Cold units,,They are brand new and USUALLY superior quality. (Last longer).

[ronfisherman]

Not much good to you in AZ. But I and a friend got our fridges repaired in Shipshewana, IN. Mine is a Dometic his is a Norcold in the same model RV as yours. He could not be happier with the repair as I am.
Contact: National RV Refrigeration. Give Leon a call.
You may want to find a small fridge until you head home.
There is a lot of info about replacing fridges with a residential fridge. A good option if you do not boondock.

[bigdisplay]

rickvikki wrote:
Good Morning Everyone: Our Norcold 1200 LRIM fridge blew a leak in the cooling unit last night :(. It is original fridge in our 2006 Tiffen Phaeton. I have read there are companies that will install refurbished cooling units avoiding buying a new refrigerator. We are in Lake Havasu, Arizona at the moment and were wondering if anyone out there could recommend a company that does the above.

Thanks, Vikki and Rick

To answer the question you actually asked
Don't buy a refurbished cooling unit buy a new one and the best one from my research is from these guys
http://www.rvcool.com/norcold_1200_replacement_cooling_unit.htm
I would call these guys and maybe they know of a Installers around your area. Any RV tech worth his salt could install a new cooling unit for you

[pianotuna]

Hi,

I would consider moving to a residential compressor fridge and adding some solar panels. That is my plan when the fridge eventually fails.