Replacing Norcold 1200 With A Residential Refer

[George_Beggs]

My Norcold 1200 is going bad. I am thinking about replacing it with a residential refrigerator. Does anybody know of one that will fit in the same space as the Norcold 1200, or close to it?

[Ivylog]

I found this Article on the $1200+ cost of the conversion. Other than the statement that the compressor is the same as those used in Samsung refers and working well on MSW it’s good reading. In my DIY installation above, I do not have much more $$ in my 21 cuft installation and I do not have to worry about the doors falling off. No info on KW/day, but I bet my 21 cuft with better insulation uses the same amount of power... 1.2 KW/day and 75% larger.

[kmb1966]

George Beggs wrote:
I am leaning toward the JC refrigerator. I like not having to do any cabinet work and having a compressor for cooling.

This is my plan also when my cooling unit says adios.

[tinkerer]

I have replied earlier to a similar post. We replaced a Norcold 1200 with a 18 CF Samsung. It was one of the best upgrades we ever did on our MH. We have Fleetwood Discovery and we had to take the passenger seat out and the exterior door. The Norcold slipped out real easy and the Samsung had a half inch of clearance minus the doors. I had to trim the surrounding and made an extension for the front legs. I don't think we will ever look back.

[Big_Katuna]

Not to mention getting them in and out.

[George_Beggs]

I am leaning toward the JC refrigerator. I like not having to do any cabinet work and having a compressor for cooling.

[Executive45]

Here is a pictorial of my residential switchout. I did the install myself at a campground in Alabama. The 1200 went out the emergency window in the living room. The Samsung came in the same way. The Samsung was only a couple inches taller than the 1200LRIM. This was done in 2014 and I've had zero problems with the fridge. The total cost was less than a new cooling unit for the Notsocold unit....Dennis

[George_Beggs]

garyemunson wrote:
Why do you say going bad? Gas fridges work until they spring a leak then are generally dead in 24 hours. I'd sure check to see if it is getting sufficient cooling in the back. What I did...

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29770712.cfm

I replaced the cooling fans and added more at the top vent. When it is hot (90+) the freezer is 10+ and the refer is 45+.

[Ivylog]

Here is my DIY installation that came within 1/2” (to high) of fitting perfectly.
I believe you can now buy a side by side version of it. Very energy efficient...8 amps DC or less than 1 amp AC.

[garyemunson]

Why do you say going bad? Gas fridges work until they spring a leak then are generally dead in 24 hours. I'd sure check to see if it is getting sufficient cooling in the back. What I did...

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29770712.cfm

[kdk]

I was able to get my norcold out by removing the doors from the 1200 and the passenger seat. Brought in a 23,5 cu, ft Samsung the same way. We removed the wall that separated the dinning area from the the norcold, lowered the shelf it sat on and installed the samsung. Nice thing about the Samsung is yes it does require 120 volts AC but that is immediately rectified to a DC voltage, every thing then operates on dc voltage fans, lights, compressors ect. except ice maker I think. So no pure sine wave inverter needed. Also variable speed fans and compressors (dual), which keeps power consumption down. PM me if you would like more info and pics and I will send you my cell # or send me yours and I would be more than happy to talk about how I did mine. To much info to type.
Blessings; Keith

[ScottG]

Yeah, my Norcold works marginally OK. I will probably get tired of the poor performance and get a 12V compressor unit.

[Big_Katuna]

Beat me to it. Mine failed a few years ago and I put a new Amish cooling unit in, which works great; better than factory.

Then I recently read about the compressor based swap.

Definitely the route I’d go.

I did my own with a helper.

I don’t know if you thought it out but getting the old unit out and the new unit in is not easy. In my case it was take a windshield or a window out.

[ScottG]

This company JC refridgeration makes a replacement, compressor based cooling unit that runs off either 12VDC or 120VAC (your choice).
So you can keep the look and fit of what you have but get powerful and reliable cooling.