Norcold 1210 Floating clog; new cooling unit

[Erika]

Our 8-month-old Norcold 1210 12 cu ft fridge died on us a few weeks ago. First clue was that ice cream was soft. Then it was liquid. Then we noticed that things were too warm in fridge area too. After a week of waiting for a repair tech to come out, then a week of diagnosis (not the control board, not the thermistor, etc.) it was decided that the cooling unit had a "floating clog" which would cause it to work sometimes and sometimes not. A week of shipping, a weather delay, and finally new cooling unit arrived yesterday. Unit replaced and now we wait. Apparently, the chemicals involved in the heat absorption cycle take some time to get into position and actually start cooling. 24 hours later and nothing yet.

Anyone else been through this? How long should I wait before I start to panic that it isn't ever going to cool? We are planning to head out west on the first of April, so we can't wait for another unit if this one is also no good.

At least this was covered by warranty (except for the service call charge).

 

[Jim.Allison]

I do not have direct experience with it , but the unit works off a chemical reaction. There is nothing to combine. the heat source boils the liquid which separates, then recombines when it recombines it absorbs heat. So who ever is saying that there are chemicals that need to be conditioned is stating something that is probably not supported by the chemistry and physics involved with this VERY simple system. This process can be demonstrated in high school chemistry class.

If the chemicals are present, and heat is applied, then the reaction has to take place. I would be jumping on this right away.

Question? I guess your previous unit also failed on electrical and LP? And of course this one is also not working on either one?

If you have flame and or hot elements, then you have another failed unit. IMHO

Search this subject on youtube, there is a LP service company called "Fords" you can subscribe to his videos and learn a lot about LP refer units.

 

[danemayer]

Cooling should start immediately after installing the new cooling unit, but as with all of these gas absorption refrigerators, they can take 24-36 hours to get to the target operating temperature. And of course the hotter and more humid it is, the longer it takes.

That said, the back wall of the freezer should be pretty cold after 24 hours, even if the temp is still high in the refrigerator compartment. If it's not, call the tech back and ask him to check his work.

If the freezer back wall is warm to the touch, and you're running in electric mode, switch to propane mode and see if the freezer wall gets cold in a couple of hours.. It's possible that the tech didn't get everything reconnected properly. If it starts working on propane, that confirms the new cooling unit is working ok, but the electric heater may not be running.

And of course if you're running on propane, try running on electric.

 

[Erika]

Oh. Okay. Well, there is absolutely no cooling going on in there. It's been about 67 degrees in there steadily for about 24 hours now. The back wall is not cool at all. The repair guy did come back out today, and said that it was heating up back there on AC, so it *should* be working. I just changed over to LP, so I'll see if that does anything. I went and checked and the flame is definitely hot back there.

He had called Norcold and someone there told him something about how it could take 48 hours for the fluids and gases to get into the correct positions to begin absorbing the heat. Something like that.

UGH. I'm really frustrated.

 

[RobP]

Had the exact same thing happen to us. Funny thing is ours was also 8 months old when it quit. After almost two months we finally got the new cooling unit and had it replaced. Ours cooled down pretty quick. The tech finished up about 8pm and by 6am the next morning it was cold. Our tech said it should only take about 12 hours for it to become cool. Sounds like you still have an issue. Might want to call the tech again. Sorry for your troubles.......I feel your pain.
Good luck!

 

[Erika]

Apparently, we are waiting for the ammonia to break free, or "burp". When the units lay around unused in the warehouse or during shipment, the ammonia can settle and thicken up. Or so I'm told.

I am really frustrated with all of this, especially because I looked back at my order form and see that I paid $3,000 extra for the privilege of owning this unit. I would like to have this piece of garbage removed from my rig and replaced with a residential unit, but that looks like a huge, expensive ordeal and the only residentials that would seem to even possibly fit in the space seem to have terrible product reviews. Sigh.

 

[Erika]

UPDATE: The upper left freezer is now slightly cooler to the touch. The repair guy came out and confirmed that a pipe in the back that had been frosted-over is now hot, which indicates that things are moving around in the system now. Phew! They had said that it could take 48 hours, and we are at hour 47. I'm crossing my fingers that it continues to cool and that we don't have any more problems.

 

[gwalter]

Whenever we start ours after sitting for awhile it takes about a day to start cooling down completely. The upper left freezer is always where I can first detect the cooling. Hopefully in 24 hrs yours will be working correctly.

 

[icechex]

Apparently, we are waiting for the ammonia to break free, or "burp". When the units lay around unused in the warehouse or during shipment, the ammonia can settle and thicken up. Or so I'm told.

I am really frustrated with all of this, especially because I looked back at my order form and see that I paid $3,000 extra for the privilege of owning this unit. I would like to have this piece of garbage removed from my rig and replaced with a residential unit, but that looks like a huge, expensive ordeal and the only residentials that would seem to even possibly fit in the space seem to have terrible product reviews. Sigh.

I think you should 're-think' replacing your refer with a residential unit. I have heard too many success stories about replacing with residential to be afraid of it. Plus - I spent my career working on residential type refrigerators and air conditioners and am convinced (without a doubt) that a residential refrigerator will be a much more dependable refrigerator for you. I presently have a Norcold (in my rig) that I believe has a 'gremlin' in the liquid because my refer 'warmed up' after a recent move (still acceptable "barely" temps 20 degrees in freezer and 40 degrees in refer) only to return to normal temps "after another move."

I will not 'play' with this too long and am already investigating replacing it. I'm hoping that my 'gremlin' doesn't show back up when I move the rig but I'm not confident of this (especially after reading of the problems others are having).

Right now I'm thinking that I will eventually replace it with a residential but I'm trying to get all the 'mileage' I can out of this thing.