Why switch to a Residential Refrig, thinking out loud !!

[supercub]

My only concern with my Norcold is fire. As far as cooling, My rv refrigerators have always performed well. Sooooooooooo........instead of doing a costly switch over to a residential.......I'm considering adding a fire extinguisher from "Mac the Fire Guy" and be done with it. I'm sure the chances of having a unit fail resulting in fire is very low overall, but the extinguisher would be added insurance. Looking for thoughtscomments on this subject? Thanks
Brian

[John___Angela]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
John and Angela,
What size and type fridge do you have? 95 to 105 watts is less than 1 amp and I have not seen a reasonable sized RR (18+CF) that claims that kind of power usage (but I do not know it all!).

Good morning Bill. I'll try and snag the model number after work. It is a whirlpool 22 cubic foot. The Samlex inverter readout drifts between 95 and 105 watts when running. Both the fluke and the mastercraft clamp one float around 1 amp when running. I know it's higher during defrost cycle but it's been a couple years since I measured it.

Cheers.

[Desert_Captain]

MeanderMan wrote:
I'm always intrigued when someone like Desert Captain, who according to his profile doesn't own a Class A, has such strong opinions about how we who do should manage our motor homes. But not having knowledge of a subject doesn't seem to stop some people from starting an argument, then running off to hide.

A quick note from the road (Lebanon TN), nice personal attack. To be expected when offering a dissenting opinion. You might try actually reading the entire 10 page discussion but be advised that you may be more than "intrigued" to hear that the Emporer has no clothes. Btw: My best friend has a 40' DP and we have logged a lot of miles both in it and alongside.

Off to Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway. :B

[OhhWell]

bfast54 wrote:

dougrainer wrote:

Ivylog wrote:
Brian, like you fire is my main concern as I've seen way too many burned MH's from Norcold fires. I installed one of these in the roof vent and a smoke alarm behind my 1200. Several years ago I replace my cooling unit with a Amish one and left those items plus the Norcold band-aid recall box. Since I store my MH inside I only run the refer one day before leaving and when I get home.
Now if there was a decent sized residential unit that was the same size (only 64" high) that would come in the door then maybe... but there is not.

Really, YOU have seen too many fires on Norcold 1200's? I have been in the RV service business for 34 years and the Norcold 1200 has been out almost 20 years. I have seen NO FIRES from a failed/leaking cooling unit. I have seen fires from insect nests and bad LP connections. I live in a Million person plus area (DFW texas) and we have hundreds of thousands of RV's. I have replace scores of 1200 cooling units over the years that were leakers and never once did one catch on fire. YOU are just one on many ill informed that like to jump on the bash Norcold 1200 wagon. I would/have NO problem with me or any of my family having a Norcold 1200 in their RV. Doug

Look up Norcold Fires......on,oh say Google,and look at the cases,Pictures of BURNED High End Motorhomes.Many.many..............

I PERSONALLY talked with a couple at National Ref in Shipshewana...who had a Fridge Fire..Norcold..and the wife Heard a strange Noise....and discovered the Fire....
So......Do Not tell every one.....ALL IS WELL....IT IS NOT.

I missed that one. What an irresponsible post. Manufacturers don't issue recalls because it is fun and good business. They do it because there is a substantial and proven issue that is dangerous. Since they issued the recall, I guess Norcold themselves are on the "bash Norcold 1200 wagon".

Really poor advice when there is a recall out for a problem like that.

[bfast54]

dougrainer wrote:

Ivylog wrote:
Brian, like you fire is my main concern as I've seen way too many burned MH's from Norcold fires. I installed one of these in the roof vent and a smoke alarm behind my 1200. Several years ago I replace my cooling unit with a Amish one and left those items plus the Norcold band-aid recall box. Since I store my MH inside I only run the refer one day before leaving and when I get home.
Now if there was a decent sized residential unit that was the same size (only 64" high) that would come in the door then maybe... but there is not.

Really, YOU have seen too many fires on Norcold 1200's? I have been in the RV service business for 34 years and the Norcold 1200 has been out almost 20 years. I have seen NO FIRES from a failed/leaking cooling unit. I have seen fires from insect nests and bad LP connections. I live in a Million person plus area (DFW texas) and we have hundreds of thousands of RV's. I have replace scores of 1200 cooling units over the years that were leakers and never once did one catch on fire. YOU are just one on many ill informed that like to jump on the bash Norcold 1200 wagon. I would/have NO problem with me or any of my family having a Norcold 1200 in their RV. Doug

Look up Norcold Fires......on,oh say Google,and look at the cases,Pictures of BURNED High End Motorhomes.Many.many..............

I PERSONALLY talked with a couple at National Ref in Shipshewana...who had a Fridge Fire..Norcold..and the wife Heard a strange Noise....and discovered the Fire....
So......Do Not tell every one.....ALL IS WELL....IT IS NOT.

[Bill_Satellite]

John and Angela,
What size and type fridge do you have? 95 to 105 watts is less than 1 amp and I have not seen a reasonable sized RR (18+CF) that claims that kind of power usage (but I do not know it all!).

[MeanderMan]

I'm always intrigued when someone like Desert Captain, who according to his profile doesn't own a Class A, has such strong opinions about how we who do should manage our motor homes. But not having knowledge of a subject doesn't seem to stop some people from starting an argument, then running off to hide.

[John___Angela]

OhhWell wrote:

Five2o wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
It does draw some amps (mine is about 3 AC amps while the compressor is running but it does not run all the time or even most of the time).
I have not defrosted my freezer in the last 14 years. Anyone full-timing with a RV fridge able to say that? I even have super filtered ice and water through the door so I don't have to buy bottled drinking/cooking/coffee water.

My Dometic Sidewise draws 4 amps if on ac mode. I have never defrosted in over 4 years...it is self defrosting.I also have filtered water & a choice of cubed or crushed ice thru the door.

Your point is?

The point is, the compressor driven residential fridge doesn't pull that 3 amps constantly like the absorption fridge can when it is hot outside. The residential fridge gets to temperature quicker and keeps the temperature solid. Even with your Mac-Daddy self defrosting Dometic, the residential has benefits and is a cheaper unit.

Also, not everyone has that model Dometic and as someone else pointed out, we are talking about the 1200 Norcold.

Two things. Power consumption has dropped a lot with refrigerators in the last 7 or 8 years. None of three residentials I have put in have drawn anywhere close to 3 amps. Ours is right around 95 to 105 watts according to the Samlex readout in my rig or my clamp on ammeter. And even that is usually for no more than 20 minutes out of an hour.

I always tell folks to consider the switch to a residential a feature improvement as opposed to any kind of cost savings as any fridge unit savings are usually offset by the cost of solar and or battery install. A properly installed residential will have little or no effect on ones ability to dry camp. IMHO

[OhhWell]

Five2o wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
It does draw some amps (mine is about 3 AC amps while the compressor is running but it does not run all the time or even most of the time).
I have not defrosted my freezer in the last 14 years. Anyone full-timing with a RV fridge able to say that? I even have super filtered ice and water through the door so I don't have to buy bottled drinking/cooking/coffee water.

My Dometic Sidewise draws 4 amps if on ac mode. I have never defrosted in over 4 years...it is self defrosting.I also have filtered water & a choice of cubed or crushed ice thru the door.

Your point is?

The point is, the compressor driven residential fridge doesn't pull that 3 amps constantly like the absorption fridge can when it is hot outside. The residential fridge gets to temperature quicker and keeps the temperature solid. Even with your Mac-Daddy self defrosting Dometic, the residential has benefits and is a cheaper unit.

Also, not everyone has that model Dometic and as someone else pointed out, we are talking about the 1200 Norcold.

[nemo45]

Bumpyroad wrote:

nemo45 wrote:

What we are talking about replacing are these Norcold 1200's where the cooling unit is failing. A new Dometic like yours. if its 12 cu. ft., would cost $1000 more than replacing with a Samsung RF197. That is my point.

and how much of that $1000 saved would have to be spent on upgrading solar systems, storage, etc.? and still be reliant on a 120 source on occasion.
bumpy

None, I don't boondock or I very seldom boondock. We are full timers and I think we have parked in a Walmart parking lot twice in the six years we have been on the road. We have a DP and I had a perfectly good inverter that we seldom used, so why not go the residential route?

[OhhWell]

Bumpyroad wrote:

nemo45 wrote:

What we are talking about replacing are these Norcold 1200's where the cooling unit is failing. A new Dometic like yours. if its 12 cu. ft., would cost $1000 more than replacing with a Samsung RF197. That is my point.

and how much of that $1000 saved would have to be spent on upgrading solar systems, storage, etc.? and still be reliant on a 120 source on occasion.
bumpy

That would be different for different usage. Even an absorption fridge running on propane will drain the batteries at some point due to the 12v controller. Granted, it wouldn't take much solar to offset that. When you run out of propane, you have to drive the coach somewhere to get more.

If I were to convert to a residential fridge, I would have the biggest monetary impact in readying for complete off grid boon docking as I have a gasser with no inverter and just 2 GC6 batteries with no easy place to add to the bank.

So, to offset the residential fridge, it is hard to tell exactly what my power requirements would be but others have measured the power draw of the 197 at 1.8 Kwh per day. I would have to regenerate that over maybe 8-10 hours of good sunshine based on my geographic location. That means I need about 200-300 watts of solar on the roof so, with todays pricing on monocrystal panels from good 'ole china, I would need to spend about $550-$650 of that savings including the charge controller and dedicated inverter to have a larger fridge that cools better, has no fire hazard and doesn't require me to refill propane at any time. Also, the 197 warranty is not voided by RV installation.

What is the downside again? I don't ever intend to be off grid like that so it is even more of a no brainer for us when the Dometic ever finally dies out.

[Bumpyroad]

nemo45 wrote:

What we are talking about replacing are these Norcold 1200's where the cooling unit is failing. A new Dometic like yours. if its 12 cu. ft., would cost $1000 more than replacing with a Samsung RF197. That is my point.

and how much of that $1000 saved would have to be spent on upgrading solar systems, storage, etc.? and still be reliant on a 120 source on occasion.
bumpy

[nemo45]

Five2o wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
It does draw some amps (mine is about 3 AC amps while the compressor is running but it does not run all the time or even most of the time).
I have not defrosted my freezer in the last 14 years. Anyone full-timing with a RV fridge able to say that? I even have super filtered ice and water through the door so I don't have to buy bottled drinking/cooking/coffee water.

My Dometic Sidewise draws 4 amps if on ac mode. I have never defrosted in over 4 years...it is self defrosting.I also have filtered water & a choice of cubed or crushed ice thru the door.

Your point is?

What we are talking about replacing are these Norcold 1200's where the cooling unit is failing. A new Dometic like yours. if its 12 cu. ft., would cost $1000 more than replacing with a Samsung RF197. That is my point.

[Five2o]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
It does draw some amps (mine is about 3 AC amps while the compressor is running but it does not run all the time or even most of the time).
I have not defrosted my freezer in the last 14 years. Anyone full-timing with a RV fridge able to say that? I even have super filtered ice and water through the door so I don't have to buy bottled drinking/cooking/coffee water.

My Dometic Sidewise draws 4 amps if on ac mode. I have never defrosted in over 4 years...it is self defrosting.I also have filtered water & a choice of cubed or crushed ice thru the door.

Your point is?

[Desert_Captain]

Moisheh, not missing a thing. If you have a DP you already have the requisite 24/7 AC power and $are not an issue. Lots of folks with fivers, large tt's and class A gassers consider residential units. If they did not hear the whole truth they might make a very expensive change and end up exchanging one set of problemns for another not to mention wasting a lot of money. Any time you incease your dependence on AC you diminish your options and freedom that led most of us to RV' ing in the first place.

Any DIY residential install is not going to be well received by the manufacturer, read the owners manual particularly the section entitled "Installation requirements" as they generally do not allow RV installs if you want your warranty.

We are on the road, greetings fom Brinkley, Arkansas so if you want to argue, I mean "discuss" this further you will have to do it without me. Time for a cocktail filled with crystal clear cubes from my AC/LP frig. Cheers! :B