Norcold 1210 dead after 1.5 yrs

[sjandbj]

Yesterday i stopped for the day and found out that the Norcold was no longer working. Inside the refrigerator the temp would only get to 68 degrees and the freezer 38 degrees was the best that could be done. This was on both AC and LP. When I looked outside in the refer vent box I saw some yellow stains on the cooling lines and a great deal of yellow dust on the lower shelf . Come to find out the system has lost the gas in the lines. This just sucks!!! Now all I can do is replace the entire cooling system at a cost of $700.00 for a aftermarket unit or $1300.00 for one from Norcold. If I want the dealer or mobil repair shop to do the work it will cost another $500.00. This is just wrong for a unit to go bad in just 18 months. When I called Norcold all they said was, so sad to hear that but I would need to take it to a repair shop. After 1 year they would not cover anything.I don't understand how a $4500.00 unit can be made so poorly. They were, to say the least, are worthless. Come to find out after doing some internet searching this is a very common problem. So now we must decide to fixe the Norcold or bite the bullet and replace it with a residential unit. There are not many units to chose from. So my question to the forum is, what model is in your unit and after reading the posts that show the conversion it appears that the biggest PITA is just getting the new unit into the kitchen. So ANY thoughts and comments to help with the decision would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Westwind]

I'm really surprised to learn that Norcold only warranties the refer for 1 year - I thought that it would be at least 2, ours is long gone but I'm going to check to see how long it was to begin with, I might be wrong, maybe it was only 1 year.

 

[danemayer]

I would expect that the most challenging part of moving to a residential refrigerator is finding one that's an exact fit. If the dimensions are different, some cabinetry work may be required.

Several people who have done refrigerator work have built a platform or ramp so that the frig can be slid out of the unit, onto the platform. This avoids damage to the fascia or kickplates, or flooring.

 

[LBR]

We're close to ordering our new RV and have been leaning towards the residential fridge and with so many members reporting problems with the Norcolds, my mind is made up... residential it is.

 

[GOTTOYS]

NO-COLD...the new standard in refrigeration. Small wonder residential refers have caught on recently. At least it didn't catch fire. I wouldn't spend another dollar on it, what a shame.

 

[Westwind]

I just looked up the Dometic website on our Bighorn's Dometic Refer and it had a 3 year warranty on the whole unit. When I first read your post I thought the Dometic was for more then one year, I'm surprised Norcold is only 1 year, especially when it had to compete with.

 

[danemayer]

I just looked up the Dometic website on our Bighorn's Dometic Refer and it had a 3 year warranty on the whole unit. When I first read your post I thought the Dometic was for more then one year, I'm surprised Norcold is only 1 year, especially when it had to compete with.

The website information might be for units sold at retail outlets. You should check the manual that came with your refrigerator to find out what coverage came with your unit.

 

[OnTheGoGA]

The website information might be for units sold at retail outlets. You should check the manual that came with your refrigerator to find out what coverage came with your unit.

I'm pretty sure that the 1 year warranty they "offer" is the legal minimum for manufactured parts. They aren't legally allowed to offer less. Didn't realize Dometic had a 3 year warranty.

I have a 1210 unit like you and many others I'm seeing here on this thread and have had many of the same issues. I had some venting issues with it and have had to replace the Norcold thermistor and power board 628661 on it. Aside from that, it's worked well for me for the past 4 years. I wasn't under the recall but understand there is a large settlement for it. You might want to call to see if you can get in on the claim before thinking about getting rid of it. If you keep it and need help getting it working, I highly recommend the company I've been using for Norcold parts (Norcold Guy). Affordable and very user friendly for parts and technical info.

Also, I've read a lot of info about switching to a residential unit and it seems like quite the headache for anyone that camps off the grid. If you arne't plugged into shore power you need solar (I'm thinking maybe 800 Watts) and a larger battery bank to handle the discharge. I figure somewhere around $4-6k. Not saying it can't be done but don't think that this is an easy or cheap alternative. I am seeing a lot of people doing it but I'm guessing that they stay plugged in full time? That or run a generator on a regular basis. I'd love to hear how much the entire swap cost including solar, battery bank, and larger inverter. Most interested in the solar expenses because we enjoy our fair share of boondocking!

 

[mlpeloquin]

You can also opt for the Amish replacement for your Norcold. www.jc-refrigeration.com They have non-explosive helium replacement units as well and have a three year warranty. Call them at 260-768-4067

Here is a utube video of it. https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...=yhs-mozilla-002&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-002

 

[OnTheGoGA]

Well, the Norcold system is a gas absorption unit with an ammonia solution. All RV refrigerators use the same technology. Dometic, Norcold, doesn't matter. They told me at The Norcold Guy that I could always swap the cooling unit for an Arcticold unit. Apparently they have a lifetime warranty and it's because they're building their cooling units with thicker tubing and higher quality materials (imagine that). Check out their website, they seem like a great company but I can't speak from experience. My cooling unit is still working fine and I'm sure it will continue to work for years to come with the ARP control on it. Anyhow, if it does fail that's what I'm going to do. Go with a brand that stands behind their products.

 

[wdk450]

Well, the Norcold system is a gas absorption unit with an ammonia solution. All RV refrigerators use the same technology. Dometic, Norcold, doesn't matter. They told me at The Norcold Guy that I could always swap the cooling unit for an Arcticold unit. Apparently they have a lifetime warranty and it's because they're building their cooling units with thicker tubing and higher quality materials (imagine that). Check out their website, they seem like a great company but I can't speak from experience. My cooling unit is still working fine and I'm sure it will continue to work for years to come with the ARP control on it. Anyhow, if it does fail that's what I'm going to do. Go with a brand that stands behind their products.

It seems that the Nitrogen RV refrigeration units DO exist, and are being featured by Atwood. The same ammonia absorption cycle is being used as in all previous RV refrigerators of this type, with the exception that non-flammable Helium gas is being used in the system instead of highly flammable Hydrogen gas (think of the Hindenburg Zeppelin Hydrogen fire disaster). Here is a technical paper by an independent RV refrigerator specialist comparing the 2 cooling unit systems:
http://rvrefrigeration.com/wp-content/uploads/Evaluation-Report-rev4.pdf . You might also want to read this description of the system from Atwood: http://www.rvdoctor.com/2001/02/atwood-to-debut-unique-rv-refrigerator.html . Note the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs.

BTW, I found no mention of using the helium gas instead of hydrogen gas on the J.C. Refrigeration website. But it sounds like a GREAT idea to reduce RV refrigerator fires!! Helium, having a very small molecular size, is very prone to leaking, though. A rubber balloon filled with helium will leak down in a couple of days due to helium leakage through the pores of the balloon. The same balloon filled with room air will last over a week.

 

[OnTheGoGA]

It seems that the Nitrogen RV refrigeration units DO exist, and are being featured by Atwood. The same ammonia absorption cycle is being used as in all previous RV refrigerators of this type, with the exception that non-flammable Helium gas is being used in the system instead of highly flammable Hydrogen gas (think of the Hindenburg Zeppelin Hydrogen fire disaster).

Pretty good review of the two brands. I started doing some more research this morning and foudn that Dometic actually owns Atwood... Did you know this?! Strange comparison between two brands owned by the same parent company.

The fire stuff is scary, no doubt. I put the ARP one on for added safety and since there haven't been any recalls . The only way to prevent the ammonia solution from eventually eating through the flu is by preventing off-level operation. This is the only thing I've found that is designed around that exact thing. I didn't see any mention of this when comparing the helium cooling units but would be curious to see if prolonged off-level running would also result in a leaked out cooling unit.

 

[wdk450]

Pretty good review of the two brands. I started doing some more research this morning and foudn that Dometic actually owns Atwood... Did you know this?! Strange comparison between two brands owned by the same parent company.

The fire stuff is scary, no doubt. I put the ARP one on for added safety and since there haven't been any recalls . The only way to prevent the ammonia solution from eventually eating through the flu is by preventing off-level operation. This is the only thing I've found that is designed around that exact thing. I didn't see any mention of this when comparing the helium cooling units but would be curious to see if prolonged off-level running would also result in a leaked out cooling unit.

Text on the Atwood site talks about off-level detection circuitry, front panel alarm lights for this, and automatic system shutdown if out of level too long. This may have been mentioned in more depth in the product comparison paper linked.