Is Electric Heater Element replaceable in fridge?

[tickledpuppy]

I have an OLD RV... it is my home... so I try to maintain it as well as possible. The refrigerator is a Norcold 774 EG, from about 1982, same as my Winnebago Warrior. It cools just fine on propane, but because I am semi-permanently set up in an RV park with electricity, unplugging and moving the RV every few months just to get propane is impractical. It is easier to go all electric, and now the only thing I have running on gas is this fridge. The electric element is either burned out or shorted. I see complete cooling units for sale, but I'm old and on disability income of less than $860 a month, so can't afford those. However I'm handy with tools... before I go tearing the back off my fridge, I'd like to know if this heater is replaceable separately from the cooling unit

[Ex-Tech]

Also, if I remember, those older fridges had a 12-volt option and the element for that was many times the same diameter as the 120- volt one. If that is the case and your fridge doesn't have a 12-volt element, you can use the pocket where the 12-volt element would go for the new 120-volt one. Just leave the defective one there.

[Chris_Bryant]

It is replaceable, but on that model it's a real pain. That uses a fat "cigar" type element, which is on the back of the boiler tube, so all of the sheet metal has to be removed to access it. Refrigerator pretty much has to be removed to do the work.
Do make sure the element is bad, as that type is pretty reliable, though certainly not perfect.

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

The heating element is sitting inside a piece of steel tubing, that is inside the steel lines filled with ammonia gas. You can not apply heat in order to try to get it unstuck (like when removing a motor from a fan hub). If the element is stuck in place, it is better to leave it there, and get someone to fill your tank, than to risk damaging the $1,200 refrigerator trying to remove the stuck element.

Yes many times when the element goes bad, it will expand, and perhaps weld itself (short to ground) to the steel tubing, and be stuck there forever!

What are your other options? Get propane delivered to your site. See if the park knows anyone who will deliver to your RV.

Get a 'extend a stay' fitting on your RV, and then you can use portable 5 gallon propane tanks. I installed one on a class C, and also have one on my RV.

Look up 'extend - a - stay' at CampingWorld.com They host this website, and stock many RV related items. Look for a kit that hooks up to a portable propane tank. Then a high pressure line goes from your portable 5 gallon tank to a new fitting that is installed on your propane tank, then the factory propane regulator is installed at the outlet of the new fitting.

It is fairly easy to refill the 5 gallon tank from time to time. You would normally leave the RV tank off, but turn it on should you run out of propane in the 5 gallon tank, or decide to disconnect it and move the RV.

I left my RV parked 4 years in a row on a ranch, using the propane for the furnace and water heater. (my refrigerator worked on electric, but the gas ignighter did not work). I was able to refill the portable tank from time to time, and not need to fill the main 12 gallon tank for that entire time.

Good luck!

Fred.

[kaydeejay]

You really need to be sure it is the element and not a fuse or the controller.
Do you have a volt-meter?
If so, with the fridge in AC mode, check to see if you are getting power to the two wires that run to the heating element. If so, a new element is in order.
If not, you need to trace back to see where the power break is occurring.
Good luck

[Ex-Tech]

Yes, it is.