NORCOLD the "TOWMAX" of Refrigerators

[jbeletti]

...The only thing that I wonder about is the durability of a residential refer in a shaky/bumpy trailer for an extended period of time. I spoke with the mfg of ours (Fridigidare) and they said it wouldn't be a problem. We shall see down the road.

Residential refers have been used on motorhomes for many years. In 5th wheels, I believe they've been used maybe 10 years or less.

My personal experience is that while there are pros and cons, on balance, I really like them. We are not boondockers, so they work out well for us.

This all said, you CAN load too much in the refer and cause issues with durabiity. In my 2013 produced Frigidaire, shelving is supported in 2 ways. The upper shelves are supported by a wall track at the back of the case. Really sturdy. The lower shelves have drawers integrated below them. This means the weight of what's in the drawer and what's on the shelf, both add to the support system. In the case of these lower shelves, they are supported by plastic clips/pins that are pressed into the side of the case.

I have 2 broken clips. Only had one broken at first, so I ordered a replacement and a spare (Amazon.com). By the time my order arrived, I noticed a second clip had broken. I plan to replace them both this week.

In our bottom drawer, we load it completely full of bottled water. That's a LOT of weight, combined with the weight of what we store on the shelf above the drawer. Left side, front pin broken.

In our top drawer, we load it completely full with canned beverages. Here again, a LOT of weight, combined with the weight of what we store on the shelf above the drawer. Left side, front pin broken.

In our middle drawer, we store cheeses, fruits and veggies. Not as heavy and no broken pins.

I'll be posting the repair process for the shelf pins for my model of Frigidaire refer. My next coach will have an updated Frigidaire refer. I'm unsure as to any changes in how the shelving/drawers are supported.

So what can one do to guard against these pins breaking? Some ideas:
1. Load the shelving/drawers more lightly
2. Drive slower to introduce less moment weight (is that a real term?) on the shelving from road forces (pot holes, bridge abutments etc)
3. Use a better pinbox (other than a standard pinbox) like a Mor/ryde, Trailair, and others
4. Consider suspension upgrades like Joy Rider Shock System, Mor/ryde IS, Trailair Centerpoint, and others
5. Devise a refer shelf pin support system that can be installed on both sides of the refer case, front and rear

The above thoughts are my personal thoughts based on my own experience and are not the thoughts, views or suggestions of Heartand RVs.

 

[ADIRKS30]

Wow, glad to find this thread. Just the other day my fridge quit on me. Everything shows good, no fault codes, if i switch it to propane it lights fine and stays lit but it never cools off. So i suppose I have a bad element also? Norcold has been less than helpful. Very poor customer service

 

[danemayer]

Wow, glad to find this thread. Just the other day my fridge quit on me. Everything shows good, no fault codes, if i switch it to propane it lights fine and stays lit but it never cools off. So i suppose I have a bad element also? Norcold has been less than helpful. Very poor customer service

Doubt it's your electric heating element. The electric operation uses a heating element but the propane side uses a propane fired flame as the heat source. If yours fails on both, I'd look for a common cause.

The cooling unit is more likely the problem. A bad cooling unit would affect both freezer and refrigerator compartments.

If it is working on propane, it may take several hours before you will notice even slight cooling of the freezer walls, so when you test, give it enough time to work.

 

[JohnD]

OK, my inner frig tech nerd is coming out. First the questions I have for you avid RV'ers with residential refrigerators. I'm guessing they are frost free models which means every 12-18 hours they go into a defrost mode about 20-30 minutes long, which turns on a heating element to melt the frost off. When the frost melts it goes down a drain tube into a collection or "drip pan" under the frig. Normally these refrigerators are stationary and the pans don't spill over. But with the movement of turning and probably stopping more than accelerating, have you ever found water on the floor? Or did they "fix" this problem?

Second, just a new guy here, but if traveling for a day and in warmer weather it might pay to grab some dry ice and put it in the freezer. The cold air will drop down and keep the frig cool. Maybe I'm off base and there is a logical reason not to do this, but seems like a good idea.

Hey Codive . . . welcome to the Heartland Club!

Join the Heartland Owners Club (free for the first year) and join the rest of us for a fun time!

Anywayz . . . we run our Norcold fridge on LP when we are on the road to our destination, but if you can't do that, then you may want to keep your food in a cooler until you get to your destination!

 

[ADIRKS30]

Doubt it's your electric heating element. The electric operation uses a heating element but the propane side uses a propane fired flame as the heat source. If yours fails on both, I'd look for a common cause.

The cooling unit is more likely the problem. A bad cooling unit would affect both freezer and refrigerator compartments.

If it is working on propane, it may take several hours before you will notice even slight cooling of the freezer walls, so when you test, give it enough time to work.

Well we had it on auto when we lost everything in the fridge and freezer 200-300 worth of meat and groceries. We had it on for two days on propane, i would hope thats long enough???????

 

[JohnD]

Well we had it on auto when we lost everything in the fridge and freezer 200-300 worth of meat and groceries. We had it on for two days on propane, i would hope thats long enough???????

Now, one thing that is extremely important is that your trailer must be level when you fire up the LP!

If your trailer is not level, then the LP won't fire up the fridge!

Been there . . . done that!

 

[Codive]

Hey Codive . . . welcome to the Heartland Club!

Join the Heartland Owners Club (free for the first year) and join the rest of us for a fun time!

Anywayz . . . we run our Norcold fridge on LP when we are on the road to our destination, but if you can't do that, then you may want to keep your food in a cooler until you get to your destination!

Thanks JohnD,

I will probably join HOC after I buy a trailer. Right now trying to learn the in & outs, getting feedback and learning what I will still have to do to a trailer when I do buy.

Like my first post said, I used to work on residential refrigerators and to unfortunately quote Leo Gettes from Lethal Weapon 2, "when's the last time you cleaned out the pan under the refrigerator?" Riggs: "There's a pan under there?"

So I was wondering if there is a spillage issue, especially on the humid locations of you take off with a pan full of water.


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[JohnD]

Thanks JohnD,

I will probably join HOC after I buy a trailer. Right now trying to learn the in & outs, getting feedback and learning what I will still have to do to a trailer when I do buy.

Like my first post said, I used to work on residential refrigerators and to unfortunately quote Leo Gettes from Lethal Weapon 2, "when's the last time you cleaned out the pan under the refrigerator?" Riggs: "There's a pan under there?"

So I was wondering if there is a spillage issue, especially on the humid locations of you take off with a pan full of water.


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I love the Lethal Weapon's series . . .

Matter of fact, I have a DVD with all four of the Leathal Weapons movies that I leave in our trailer for when we are on the road!

I also love 'Walker, Texas Ranger' episodes, which my wife doesn't understand . . .

Must be a guy thing . . .

 

[Erika]

My 8 month old Norcold died on me this past week, too. I've had the repair guy out twice now and we are still trying to figure out the problem.

First, I unplugged the thermistor to see if that was it, and it did cool down more than it had been (when I set it to 9 and left it overnight), but it still wasn't as cold as it used to be (at 6 or 7). Still water in the ice cube trays.

The repair guy thought it was an improper venting of the fins up top, which had sun beating down on that area, so he took the cover off, plugged the thermistor back in and told me to watch it when the sun was off of it. We talked about installing a back-up fan for really sunny situations, even though there is a fan in there already. In the morning, still not any colder.

I tried switching over to LP from AC and the thing started up and seemed to be going, but by morning it was still not any colder in there. Back to AC, still not cold. It's been a week of trying one thing or another an waiting a day/night for evidence of improvement. It cools just a little (thermometers inside read about 35 in freezer and 55 in fridge, but occasionally go down lower and come back up again). Now he's thinking control board. He'll be out for his third visit today.

I'm willing to stick this out because it is under warranty, but I am also going to start researching residential units. We have the 12 cu ft model (paid a pretty penny extra for the privilege, too!) so I'm betting that will limit my options for units that will fit properly.

Question: aside from the water pan issue mentioned previously, any other problems with residentials? Don't they weight a lot more?

Thanks for listening,

Erika

 

[TxCowboy]

Like my first post said, I used to work on residential refrigerators and to unfortunately quote Leo Gettes from Lethal Weapon 2, "when's the last time you cleaned out the pan under the refrigerator?" Riggs: "There's a pan under there?"

Knowing that eventually our installed frig is going to fail, I've been watching this and similar threads and never considered the drip pan issue. Just something else to think about.

 

[Jim.Allison]

This guy has a bunch of videos, from troubleshooting to training. He seems like he know what he is talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqAHaTpexc

 

[Erika]

UPDATE: apparently the cooling unit is bad. Norcold is sending one out by the end of the week, and it will be replaced. I understand that this is no small job, but after extensive testing and four visits from the repair guy, this is the diagnosis. The thermistor, control board, heating elements, everything else seems to be working fine. I'll update if anything else comes up.

 

[jbeletti]

UPDATE: apparently the cooling unit is bad. Norcold is sending one out by the end of the week, and it will be replaced. I understand that this is no small job, but after extensive testing and four visits from the repair guy, this is the diagnosis. The thermistor, control board, heating elements, everything else seems to be working fine. I'll update if anything else comes up.

Nice to have a diagnosis. Is Norcold covering the cooling unit replacement under warranty?

 

[RobP]

I had the exact same thing happen. Took Over two months to go through all the tests and then get the approval for the cooling unit. Just had the new cooling unit installed a week ago. Took them right at three hours to get it done. So far no more issues. Norcold covered the unit and Heartland is sending the reimbursement on the labor.

 

[Erika]

Yes, Norcold is apparently covering the parts and I don't know who is covering the labor, but not me. I think it is also Norcold. I am so fortunate to have found a repair guy who was willing to come out multiple times in a short time frame in order to perform the tests. We are moving to Texas at the end of the month, so I didn't have tons of time to spare.

Apparently this was the infamous "floating clot" problem in the cooling unit.

 

[Codive]

What is a recommended frig if you don't want to go residential?


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[Jim.Allison]

Go look at the ENGEL website. Scan down to the "built in" models. Since their units are fridge/freezers, you could stack two as a built in and use one as a fridge and the other as a freezer. They are exceptionally efficient using only 4 amps DC. They use a very innovative and efficient compressor.

What is a recommended frig if you don't want to go residential?





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