Help needed with Norcold N611 Problem

[Nason40]

Hi
This is my first post. I have had my 2012 North Trail hybrid since November and I love it. This is my second hybrid. So far we have spent 40 nights in it. We had never dry camped in it until last month. The Norcold N611 only worked intermittently and then only with lots of coaxing and a few swear words. I put it in the shop. It worked ok there. They said it was dust. They cleaned it and pronounced it fixed. Off we went again to another forest service CG and had a repeat. It set in front of my house today on an incline and happily ran on gas all day. Started on the first try also. Here's the rub that has sent me into a panic.

In the Norcold Owner's manual page 6 it states that when you operate the refrigerator on gas at above 5500 feet you may experience difficulty. Norcold recommends that you only run the fridge on electricity above 5500. I purchased the trailer and live at 6500. Most of my favorite campgrounds are above 8500 and without hook ups. I had no problems with my 2002 Cub's fridge at any of these campgrounds. It was not a Norcold. I have called several RV repair shops. Some say the problem with the the Norcold and altitude was corrected years ago. Others, including the shop I use, imply I am flat out of luck. Obviously if I had read the Norcol owner's manual before I bought the trailer I would have looked for a rig that had another brand of fridge. But who reads the refrigerator's manual before the buy RV????

Has anyone had experience with Norcold on gas above 7500 feet? Or, have any of you had similiar problems with a fridge below 5500?

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Nason40,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and Family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

Hopefully someone with the same type of unit will jump in and let us know about how theirs works soon.

Jim M

 

[evolvingpowercat]

I have a Dometic RML 8555 fridge/freezer in my 2011 Edge and it works with absolutely no problem on propane at altitude. I have used at CGs of up to 8000 ft. in Colorado - no issues. You should call someone at Norcold and discuss it - feel free to throw the fact that Dometic works fine at altitude at them and see if that gets anyone there to care. They may just walk away since they put it in their manual that they don't support it above 5,500 feet.

 

[danemayer]

Hi Nason40,

Let me hazard a guess. Air/Fuel mixture is probably abnormal in thin air. The flame is probably just not hot enough. The Air/Fuel mix might be controlled by a piece of tubing with a cutout, in between the gas valve and the burner, but it's probably not adjustable.

I'd suggest you call Norcold. Maybe they have a different orifice that works better at high altitude, or some other way of solving the problem. Who knows, even if they don't, perhaps one of their engineers might be willing to figure out a way to help you out.

 

[TravisJen]

We have the Same problem with our Norcold fridge. Sometimes it lights, sometimes it doesn't. The end result is usually pulling the cover off and using a lighter to light it.

 

[Nason40]

Thanks everyone. I called Norcold and basically they are covering their backsides with the statement in their owners manual. They said it was a scientific problem--the air has less oxygen in it at higher altitudes. Duh. Most fifth graders know that. They do acknowledge that many of their fridges have no problem on gas at altitude. But if you have one that doesn't they don't want to be involved. When I asked if this could be an electrode gap problem they said it would be worth checking out but they can't make any specific recommendations/suggestions. It is going into the shop Thursday and Sunday I'm taking it out to a 9000 foot CG without hookups. I will be carrying some 1950's technology in the form of a large blue cooler with lots of ice. I will also ask my technician to show me how to light the blasted thing manually. My stove and my water heater ignite and run on gas with no problems. Maybe the good lord put more O2 above their igniters.

 

[danemayer]

Nason,

Before you try to fix the problem by adjusting the electrode and/or lighting it manually, consider that even if you get it lit and it stays lit, it may not be producing a hot enough flame for proper operation of the ammonia-based refrigerant. If the flame temperature is low, the cooling system will not operate properly and cooling will be less than normal.

I don't know if operating it that way would cause a blockage in the cooling unit, but if it did, you should know that 1) blockages usually ruin the cooling unit, and 2) cooling units are very expensive - almost the cost of a new refrigerator.

 

[Rgill]

The first thing I would try is to adjust the air intake of the burner so the flame has no yellow while you are at high altitude.
You may have to be readjusted when you go back toward sea level. This is provided it has an adjustable intake and it is accessible.
Ray