NeverCold 1210

[avvidclif]

Well mine decided to quit. 66 deg in fridge. Starting the diagnostics. Grrrr. Naturally out of warranty. Last summer it was fine. The last 2 days it got over 90 deg and it warmed up. I pulled both covers and within a few minutes the fans cut off. I did notice the baffle in the upper is not installed correctly according to the service manual. Hopefully it just got too hot and needs more cooling. That I can do. GRRRRRRRR

I found the service manual and will upload it.

 

[sjandbj]

Clif,
Look for any bright yellow dust in the outside. Mine did the same thing last week and I found out that the ammonia gas had leaked out. The repair charges were so high I am installing a new residential refrigerator this week end.
Steve

 

[lynndiwagoner]

My Samsung RF18 should be here in couple of days. Ordered from AJMadison. The Platinum color is back ordered but they have Stainless Steel. I'm sick and tired of fooling with the Norcold. I've done everything to make it work correctly including 5 additional muffin fans and going through the diagnostics. I don't see any signs of yellow residue but I did note that the clearances for installation were not correct. Tried to fix that but still didn't change the cooling. I should have some Norcold spare parts available soon.

 

[sjandbj]

My Samsung RF18 should be here in couple of days. Ordered from AJMadison. The Platinum color is back ordered but they have Stainless Steel. I'm sick and tired of fooling with the Norcold. I've done everything to make it work correctly including 5 additional muffin fans and going through the diagnostics. I don't see any signs of yellow residue but I did note that the clearances for installation were not correct. Tried to fix that but still didn't change the cooling. I should have some Norcold spare parts available soon.

After looking at every model I could find and making more measurements then one should have to we decieded to go with the Whirlpool model WRS571CIDM. It arrives tomorrow. So the mod starts tonight.
No more Norcold to fuss with. And the best part is there is a 5 year parts and labor extended warranty on the fridge for a little more than one hundred dollars. I won't be worrying about it again.

Steve

 

[avvidclif]

Thanks for the model #'s. Let me know how it fits. I've measured until I'm cross-eyed and it looks like there is plenty of width but the height might be a problem. As best as I can tell the hole mine is in is just over 65". That's measuring on the outside from the top to the bottom. I don't know if there is room to go lower or not. When you get the 1210 out measure the height of the available space and let me know. The 1210 shows to be 63.2" tall. I've been looking at models and "counter depth" means 24" + whatever. If it sticks out a little so what.

For the moment it's turned off in case it had a blockage. I will turn it back on tomorrow and if it's the same thing I will get serious about a residential. I'm not worried about inverters or batteries at the moment. Most of out trips are short and for the longer ones there is a generator.

- - - Updated - - -

Clif,
Look for any bright yellow dust in the outside. Mine did the same thing last week and I found out that the ammonia gas had leaked out. The repair charges were so high I am installing a new residential refrigerator this week end.
Steve

There is a light coating of dust on the top of some of the coils and heater but it doesn't appear yellow, just brownish.

 

[Harry1]

After going through 2 Norcold cooling units in 2 years (1 under warranty and the replacement Norcold NO warranty) I just replaced the cooling unit on the Norcold 1210 with the Amish cooling unit. Better design; warranty 3 years and better yet, great people to work with! Unlike Norcold these people stand by the product no matter what. I used JC Refrigeration in Shipshewana Indiana. They added 1 additional fan on the backside up by the top exhaust grill. Total Cost $1412. They had the old unit off and new unit on in 1 1/2 hours. An hour and a half later temp in freezer was at 16 deg. Four hours from start until I left for 4 1/2 hour drive home. Freezer temp when I got home 1 deg. fridge 37 deg. setting on fridge at 5 with outside at 79 deg.
Would highly recommend anyone having this issue get in touch with JR at JC Refrigeration. Phone 260-768-4067 They are the same company as Pines Refrigeration. My first cooling unit on my new Norcold 1210 failed with the so called "plugged unit". The replacement failed due to an ammonia leak. Both failed just a few days past 12 months. Norcold seems to care little for customer satisfaction or customer loyality.

 

[lynndiwagoner]

From what I have read, the Samsung RF18 will run on a MSW inverter, which is a plus. I bought the same one as another member on this forum. The Samsung will require more height and this will be accomplished on my rig with the deletion of the drawer under the old Norcold. Looks like the width and depth will work out perfectly. I'll report back with details when I get finished with the project.

 

[avvidclif]

Ok, I don't have a drawer under the fridge. If you could go to the top outside and measure from the top of the fridge to the top of the slide on the inside. I have 3-4" IIRC. If you have the same and have to delete the drawer I will have to find a shorter one.

 

[lynndiwagoner]

 

[JohnDar]

A friend of mine recently bought a small TT (not HL) with a Norcold fridge that quit and wouldn't reset. He took it to the dealer and their "fix" was to hold a strong magnet over the circuit board cover and then it would reset. They didn't explain how that worked.

 

[VMooreSR]

A friend of mine recently bought a small TT (not HL) with a Norcold fridge that quit and wouldn't reset. He took it to the dealer and their "fix" was to hold a strong magnet over the circuit board cover and then it would reset. They didn't explain how that worked.

Maybe this will help, good luck https://www.arprv.com/troubleshoot-norcold-recall.php

 

[avvidclif]

OP here with the latest report. I turned it off Fri afternoon and turned back on Sat abt 11AM. Just checked it (Sun 2PM) and the fridge is at 35 deg by my remote reading thermometer. Panic mode over. I guess it just needed a break. I have saved all the notes just in case. I think if it does die I will go with the Amish replacement coil. That will allow original functionality and not require any cabinetry work to retrofit a residential. Plus the price would be close as the residential ones I have found are over $1k. I found a place in Memphis, TN that does the install for under $1400. A 500 mi roadtrip beats a thousand (Indiana) any day.

 

[avvidclif]

While I was doing my research I found part of the installation instructions noted a baffle that went from the back top of the fridge to just above the top vent to guide the hot air out. No such thing on mine. Hmmm, noting what appeared to be a 4-5" tall open space above the fridge I decided to get some sheet foam insulation (3/4" aluminum backed @ Lowes) and fill the void. Once I got a taller platform I could see that the area above the fridge had fiberglass batting in it. I didn't see it before as it didn't cover the last 6" of the fridge. I cut some foam pieces and fitted it under the fiberglass to help hold it and extending to the outer wall of the slide. It came out even with the top of the vent. Using aluminum tape I taped the gap over the vent and the foam pieces together, also to the back of the fridge. This closed off an area above the fridge and forced the fan blown air to go out the vent and not circulate around above the fridge.

The proof of the puddin'. The fridge had been running at 36 deg for over a week. It is currently at 33 deg and nothing else has changed.

Cold Beer.

 

[lynndiwagoner]

That's interesting. I noted the same things on my former norcold 1210. Another thing I found odd was that the vent for all of the heat used by the gas or electric is stubbed out right next to the upper coil in a 1" pipe. I wondered about somehow extending that out to the vent and at least get rid of that extra heat going into the compartment. Didn't do it because I was afraid of modifying that pipe. As mentioned earlier, I just completed the conversion to a Samsung RF18 residential. Wow, what a difference. Yes the Samsung will run on a modified sine wave inverter just fine.

 

[boatto5er]

Exact same fridge and inverter that I installed!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[avvidclif]

Only problem is my max height is 65" and it's 70+" tall. Otherwise I would already be there.

 

[boatto5er]

No room to remove cabinet above or below (preferable area)?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[avvidclif]

The bottom is sitting on the slide, no drawer or cabinet. The top has abt 4", maybe.

 

[lynndiwagoner]

I probably got the idea from one of your posts. It works great. RF18 draws 150 Watts when running. Just what I expected. Getting ready for first trip with the new fridge.

 

[wdk450]

They have cooling units at RVCoolingunit.com . There are DIY instructions for most all makes/models on Youtube. There are baffles and fans on this webpage:
http://rvcoolingunit.com/-Improve-your-Cooling-Items-C320215.aspx?sid=298