Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Topic: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style?? (Read 4761 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #50 – June 17, 2018, 12:57:59 pm

We will be in Michigan for August and the UP into September. There is always room at Camp Hastings as well.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #51 – June 17, 2018, 03:35:44 pm

George & Steph - we LOVE our new residential conversion. To answer your question specifically on power draw, we don't know exactly. I'm not sure how to calculate that. We don't have to go from power pole to power pole, but choose it most of the time. Our conversion fridge doesn't require a separate inverter like the big residentials do. Our inverter in generally on all the time. When we are driving, it is on because we are using the Bose surround sound and charging our cell phones and computers, so that means our fridge is on and running all the time. I'm sorry we can't be more exact on what power it is drawing.

Regarding insulation, JR really does a great job refoaming the entire compartment. We used to feel a slight draft from the corners of our fridge before, and it is solid and air tight now. The fridge is cold and the freezer is rock hard. The only downside to us not going with a new residential is that we still can't freeze one of Roger & Susan's strawberry rhubarb pies or one of their famous delicious apple pies - we have to eat them as soon we receive them because they simply don't fit.

I'm assuming that since you have a U270, you can't go full Samsung big size fridge because of space limitations, correct? So if you are considering a "residential," you are looking at one of the smaller units, right? That may work fine without any cabinet modifications, I'm not sure. But yes, I'm not sure about the insulation, and power draw of those units either. I know they didn't come with an ice maker, so that was a deal breaker for us.

Of the 3 options you are considering, I would eliminate the standard Amish cooling unit. If you aren't running propane when you drive anyway, there is no added benefit of going this route. It weighs a TON more than the new Amish "Residential" conversion unit, and I'm pretty sure this is just as power efficient as the standard absorption units, even though I can't back that up with numbers. I also don't hear the "hum" that people discuss with standard residential fridges.

Deciding between a standard residential and this conversion is totally your decision. Price wise, for sure you can get a small residential for cheaper than this conversion; just not sure about the insulation and the power draw and cabinet size alterations.

I'm sure this didn't help you at all.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #52 – June 17, 2018, 03:38:07 pm

Quote from: Roger & Susan in Home2 – June 17, 2018, 12:57:59 pm

We will be in Michigan for August and the UP into September.

Speaking of strawberry rhubarb pies and your really big RV freezer.....whatcha think about putting an extra pie in there for us when we see you in Michigan in a few weeks?

We can eat it together over a game of Quiddler or Uno.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #53 – June 17, 2018, 05:52:45 pm

Thank you Amanda and Douglas so much for your feedback on the conversion. This winter we definitely felt air invasion around the unit.

Yes we have the smaller fridge with no room for anything larger with the CS floor plan. But we are very similar to John in that we are fresh food devotees. We don't need a larger unit.

We spend as much time as possible off the post. Rodger has posted some excellent studies of power usage and we are fairly confident of our power resources. Just checking to see if anything unexpectedly popped up after you left the shop. Or had any regrets. I think it is probably a good fit for us and we are leaning in that direction. Again thanks for taking the risk of being an early adopter and sharing your experience.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #54 – June 17, 2018, 06:06:52 pm

Apple pie, yes. Strawberry rhubarb probably. The rhubarb is late June. Fresh is best but they might freeze OK.

I have one of these, I will bring that along with the pie.
Amazon.com: Extech DC400 Mini 400A DC Clamp Meter: Home Improvement

Very handy for measuring current flow. Your refrig probably has a small steady state load and a higher load while running.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #55 – February 07, 2019, 05:05:21 pm

I would still be very interested in seeing the real-world power consumption of the JC Refrigeration conversion unit.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #56 – February 07, 2019, 06:03:36 pm

JC-Refrigeration Conversion, Measured Power Consumption

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #57 – March 08, 2022, 07:37:18 pm

Does anyone know if they have a compressor solution for a Dometic NDR1492? If so and installed, how well has it worked?

I have an email out to JC Refrigeration to find out.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #58 – December 15, 2022, 09:27:16 pm

12v or 120v?
We have scheduled our conversion at JC Refrigeration for April 2023. We are undecided between the 12v and the 120v compressors. Any/all feedback or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #59 – December 15, 2022, 10:57:13 pm

Quote from: ViewRVs – December 15, 2022, 09:27:16 pm

12v or 120v?
We have scheduled our conversion at JC Refrigeration for April 2023. We are undecided between the 12v and the 120v compressors. Any/all feedback or experience would be greatly appreciated.

if it where me id go with the 12v no inverter needed, if you dry camp much. 120v if you run pole to pole. But you will need to run your generator or inverter while traveling.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #60 – December 15, 2022, 11:05:00 pm

12 volt much better. You said compressors, would that be one for the fridge and one for the
freezer would be awesome as you can run the freezer as a fridge if you don't need the freezer.
I would get the system that the motors slows down and speeds up to maintain temperature as
it is more efficient.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #61 – December 16, 2022, 08:31:36 pm

JR conversion a nice option. It solves the problem of getting the old unit out and the new unit inside. It requires no engineering of how to mount a residential unit safely and providing the correct airflow around the unit. Plus no cabinet work required! It's safer than propane and rather efficient for a compressor fridge. Also the doors don't fly open when you turn a corner. My 10.1 Magic Chef res refrigerator averages 2.2 amps per hour which includes auto defrost. Our Norcold box was falling apart and not a candidate for converting. We love our Magic Chef but it would never have worked off grid with our old house batteries. Thank you Roger for your help in thinking through our lithium upgrade.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #62 – December 16, 2022, 09:50:14 pm

Has anyone considered a Peltier cooler for the coach basement ? A fellow bought one at an estate sale but without cord so advertised it for free. I picked it up, bought a 12V cord for the car and 110V to 12V adapter in case we want to use it in the house. It holds 48 quarts and does an amazing job keeping things cold. We throw it in the back of the SUV for trips to Costco/Winco and in the basement of the coach for trips. Amazon has examples here: Amazon.com : electric coolers for vehicles Ours draws 6 amps.

No moving parts so it can be mounted at any angle and should last forever. Not as efficient as a compressor fridge but the kits are cheap so one could build a well insulated box for little $$. Not much skill required to make these work. Amazon.com : peltier cooler kit

Pierce

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #63 – December 17, 2022, 09:16:37 am

Quote from: ViewRVs – December 15, 2022, 09:27:16 pm

12v or 120v?
We have scheduled our conversion at JC Refrigeration for April 2023. We are undecided between the 12v and the 120v compressors. Any/all feedback or experience would be greatly appreciated.

That's easy: 12V. This saves you the conversion loss of running an inverter for the 110VAC.

I want to think that JC is using the Danfoss rotary scroll compressor and variable frequency drive as this is state of the art and the most efficient way to use scarce electricity. But I don't know and I'm happy with my Amish cooling unit. As long as the outside air temperatures stay out of the 90s I have hard ice cream.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #64 – December 17, 2022, 12:55:34 pm

Another vote for 12v. Why take 12v power and invert it to 120v at way less than 100% efficiency when you can use 12v power and not have to have your inverter on 100% of the time?

We had JR install the 120v conversion and had him take it out a year later to install the 12v system.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #65 – December 17, 2022, 01:13:49 pm

The one comment I would make about installing a new cooling unit in an old refrigerator has to do with defrosting. We updated our old Dometic with a new propane/electric cooling unit from JR Refrigeration had major frost issues when camping for extended periods in Florida and the cooling unit failed after about 5 years of use. I don't know whether or not I defrosted it improperly, but it failed while in Florida. I replaced it with a Samsung RF18 and have been extremely pleased with the larger size, the lack of frost and the overall improved cooling performance.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #66 – December 18, 2022, 12:49:08 pm

Thanks. I totally get the concept of the 12v being more efficient and eliminates the inverter. I am leaning that direction.

I was hoping to find people with experience with the 12v and 120v conversions. It seems the 120v conversion is very popular in other RV forums.

While I know it is an option, I am not interested in a residential conversion. We want to maintain the wood cabinets that match the coach.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #67 – December 18, 2022, 02:12:08 pm

Quote from: ViewRVs – December 18, 2022, 12:49:08 pm

While I know it is an option, I am not interested in a residential conversion. We want to maintain the wood cabinets that match the coach.

While I certainly appreciate your opinion, there ar three key factors that make the residential refrigerator the appropriate choice for us.
1. The much larger capacity serves us much better for our extended stays in the motorhome.
2. The significantly improved cooling is a major plus.
3. The automatic defrosting when in the humid Southeast is nearly a necessity.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #68 – December 19, 2022, 08:31:31 am

We had JC Refrigeration install their Amish cooling unit in our coach. The unit died on our first trip, to Ft. Desoto in Fl. To JC's credit they overnighted a new unit and sent a tech to do the replacement on site. We still had cooling issues when facing the sun and we were always worrying about keeping it cold enough. We did have an ARP unit but still worried about fire...not worried but ait was always in the back of our minds.

We didn't want to cut into the cabinetry and installed a Hotpoint 10.1 CF residential fridge. We have never looked back. The fridge takes up the same footprint but is much larger inside. Everything stays cold, even if the fridge side is in the sun.

Now we wonder why we waited so long to go residential.

Re: Whats This? convert existing Dometic/Norcold to a residential style??

Reply #69 – February 09, 2023, 06:53:20 pm

Has anyone had MOT install the JC Refrigeration 12v unit?

We need a bunch of things fixed and Shipshewana, IN. is pretty far out of the way. We're considering having it shipped to MOT and having them install it.

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