Norcold N621 now working after burping it

[Shelborne]

I had posted previously about my 2007 Norcold N621 refrigerator/freezer unit not working.

After sitting for about five years, I took it out on a trip and it worked fine for three days. Then, the following weekend it worked great for two days and then quit working on the third day.

I did everything I could think of to get it to work, including cleaning everything and trying it on AC...etc... do you know it just would not work, and there were no error codes or anything to indicate there was a problem. When I removed the vent from the outside, only about a foot of pipe got warm, and The remainder of it stayed cool, including the large ammonia dispenser.

I removed the refrigerator myself, let it sit upside down for about 18 hours, and turned it side to side temporarily, and banged on the pipes lightly with a rubber mallet.

Then I turned it right side up and let it sit for 10 hours.

I plugged it in last night before I went to bed, and came back to check on it, and after about 12 hours, The unit is working as it should....in fact I had to turn it down a little bit because it's too cold...I left it on the highest setting overnight.

Now all of the pipes are very warm/hot, and so is the ammonia dispenser. I hear a very slight gurgling if I really listen closely...so this indicates that things are moving inside the pipes....

I'm going to run it for a few days to just let it circulate.

Anyway, it was either this or buy a new refrigerator, or cooling unit, so I really had no choice.

I hope he continues to work, but so far so good!

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Slag is virtually non magnetic. The cooling units have innumerable small holes and orifices according to Sal. I am full-bore hoping the OP has no more problems. Nobody deserves this kind of headache. Just transportation and hotel costs for the 3 replacements set me back over $1,000 U.S.

Add that to the purchase price and three episodes of food poisoning, and I beg forgiveness for tossing a one year old $1,200 Norcold out the back door then flattening it with a 4 front tire forklift. I do not suffer garbage lightly.

It's been many years but I searched for Kool Fun's address and this link has it in Irwindale California

But today they may be out of business. Being they manufactured and remanuacture cooling units they were the hot setup in the 1990's. They sure knew their business 🙂

Kool Fun map & contact link

[Shelborne]

Well, after burping my norcold, it worked from where I left off, and all the way through Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, during our last trip absolutely no problems.

I am going to remain cautiously optimistic that it will remain that way. I know a few people have said that things may settle down and not work later on, but I'm going to stay positive, and hope for the best. Since my trailer is parked a lot of the time, especially during the winter months, I'm going to turn the refrigerator on once in a while to get things flowing. It sat unused for almost 5 years.

[pianotuna]

Hi Mex,

Would there be any point in placing a powerful Magnet on the absorber vessel?

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Failure number three had us sawing the cooling unit using a MAGNET to catch chips

[Shelborne]

Gee whiz, Mexicowanderer, that sure doesn't sound like a lot of fun. I know, I have looked at a lot of postings on the forums and i'm quite surprised at the number of people having problems with various RV refrigerators. I haven't use mine more than seven or eight times, but I did camp in it off level for two nights. It was stupid, and I didn't realize the significance of it until later. I used to borrow and camp in my fathers (Arctic Fox 29-5T) and it had slide outs so I always made sure it was level because of this, never really thinking about refrigeration unit.

Hopefully, the combination of burping, and waiting will take care of the problem. If it is in fact welder slag, then I might be out of luck, but we will have to see.

I'm just happy to see the unit working right now.... before none of the coils would even get warm, and there was absolutely no sound of circulation in the back. Now everything is working as it should, and hopefully will continue.

From my understanding, Norcold makes some of the best RV refrigerators that you can buy. Does anyone want to comment and share what type of RV refrigerator/freezer (Manufacturer) they would own if they could? I will be interested to hear what your opinions are!

Thank you very much everyone, and have a great evening

[Shelborne]

Old-biscuit, I have heard of people getting years out of their refrigerators after burping, and some have never had problems afterwards. Hopefully I will be one of the lucky ones!

[Old-Biscuit]

Burping is a 'band-aid' fix


Start planning on which replacement you are going to do:
Replace cooling unit
Replace with another absorption fridge
Replace with DC compressor fridge
Replace with an AC Residential fridge

Choices..decisions

[MEXICOWANDERER]

A hearty second to Doug Rainer's diagnosis.
It takes OVERNIGHT to allow production welding SLAG to flutter through liquid and settle to the bottom.

How do I know this?

Been There Done That with three warranty cooling units via Kool Fun a master distributor located in Irwindale CA. "Sal" was the tech. He MANUFACTURED chest freezers. Big ones. So he knew that he was talking about.

Failure number three had us sawing the cooling unit using a MAGNET to catch chips, after he had captured the gas.

What I saw inside disgusted me. WELDING SLAG.

Slag is not steel. It is far lighter. The evidence was clear - slowly but surely a hunk of slag would percolate upward eventually blocking an orifice and the unit would play possum. THREE COOLING UNITS new from Norcold. And this was TWENTY TWO YEARS AGO.

When SERVEL used to manufacture gas refrigerators in Europe, they welded with gas, not flux. Then they flushed out the cooling unit forward and reverse with an ethane liquid solution.

I do not have this problem any more. I feel sorry for folks who do. I have talked to more than a dozen people with Norcolds that have exactly the same symptoms. That icemaker refrigerator cost me a bundle.

Next time it happens, shut it down for 24 hours minimum. Mine used to malfunction every third week. Your mileage may vary.

[pianotuna]

The fridge does cycle on and off after it is cooled down. Duty cycle on mine is 2:3.

[Shelborne]

Thank you very much for your comment Doug!

Yes, only time will tell if it will continue to work or not.

I did have the unit off for several hours on my last trip, when it wasn't working and going through mountains and valleys. Nothing changed.

The bottom most pipe got warm about a foot out, and as it made the upward turn, it was cold from there on upward. The ammonia dispenser remained cool as well. There weren't any sounds of circulation.....

After I did the burping, I now can hear it circulating as it should, and the pipes fluctuate from being warm to cool as the unit cycles.

I had to turn the unit down from 9 to 5 because it was getting too cold, likely because there's no food in there.

I'm going to run the unit for a few days, just to keep it circulating.

The RV was parked for over five years and the Norcold was never turned on.... this might have something to do with it, although the first trip we took after it was parked it worked fine. We slept at a spot that was unlevel, and I wasn't using my head. It was very late, and dark, and I hadn't camped in five years, and I didn't remember the refrigerator needed to be level or risk damage. I thought that it wouldn't operate if it was too much out of level, that it would shut off. I definitely won't make that mistake ever again!

I always got my unit level in the past with Lynx levelers.. etc..., but that particular night I was very tired and didn't think much of it. It worked perfectly on the first trip, when it was operated off level, it was during the second trip that it quit after two days, when it was level. I now realize that a lot of the stuff is cumulative, and weird things can happen when the unit is off level, including frying the unit. I did hit a large pot hole with the trailer that caused things to go a bit berserk but I don't know if that was related or not. Probably not.

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed, and hopefully the Norcold unit will continue to work as it should.

As I mentioned before, only the freezer got a little bit cold, it look like it was trying to work but something was blocking it.

I'll keep you all posted on what happens. You guys are great, and have super information thank you all!

[dougrainer]

While you have rearranged the Ammonia. That is what happens by burping. You have NOT removed any blockage if you have one. IF you have a blockage, NOTHING can remove it. It is as hard as a weld and is welded to the upper interior tube. Burping allows the Ammonia to settle in the correct bottom area. To see if you have fixed the problem will take a few weeks or months. We you bypass a blockage and burp, the refer will start to work. The freezer is NEVER affected by a blockage. Just the Lower section. Usually after a few weeks or months the refer will slowly NOT cool correctly in the lower section. Especially as it gets warmer ambient temps. Now, if you have NO blockage, odds are your problem was caused by a lack of ventilation or running off level. When this happens, turning the refer OFF and just driving for 30 minutes or so will accomplish the same thing as burping. Then you restart and then refer returns to its normal operation, which is what I believe has happened to you. Doug

[Shelborne]

Well now that the freezer and refrigerator are cool... the bottom most pipe is warm to the touch... the ammonia dispenser is slightly warm, and the pipes going up are cool. Perhaps after the refrigerator/freezer starts working properly the warm pipes cool down.. at least it seems to be the case with mine. I can still hear a tiny sound with the unit circulating.

I'm not sure on how long the propane is supposed to run, or if it's supposed to run continuously.....or if the thermistor shuts off the propane when the temperature gets to the right setting.

[pianotuna]

Glad it worked out for you. Any idea how hot the tubes are at the boiler?