Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

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Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

December 24, 2018, 01:04:19 am

I just received a call from my wife that the Original equipment black Norcold fridge with the freezer on top (not a side by side) in our 1997 U270 is not cooling on gas or electric. She detected a unknown odor about 12 hours ago and now the fridge is fully "defrosted" and the normal ice on the fins has melted away (lights on the fridge are normal...IE it has power) . As I am deployed as a contractor 10,000 miles away I am not there to investigate. We live full time in the coach and the Norcold has been faultless until now. I instructed her to put it on gas and it lit I think but still no change in temps to the cooling fins after 10 mins.

Luckily in Huntsville AL tonight it is 31 F outside tonight so she will put the contents of the fridge outside and some in the freezer in the relatives house. I think we need to consider a residential fridge for now as my work will not have me back in the US until the middle of next month to address the problem. We are near Lowes and Home Depot so should we consider buying a new Samsung (or ?) that I can install on my return (it can live in the adjacent barn for now on 110v power). As we have a 1997 U270 with the fridge to the left of the sink floorplan I assume only one model will fit. Also. we have the narrow forward entry door (compared to 98 and newer) so how do we get the new fridge inside the coach?

I am assuming that the original fridge is not easily repairable (is this true?) and may have lost its ammonia (?) charge....any recommendations appreciated. We plan to be live full time as I work in Huntsville and overseas for the next 2 years so though eventually we will resume boondocking the next 2 years we will have shore power. I think many of you have been down this road.....What to do!

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #1 – December 24, 2018, 01:58:35 am

Carl

Shut off the electric and the gas to the refrigerator immediately. Risk of fire is major concern.
Sadly it sounds as if the coach is in Huntsville, not Anacortes. I am in Gig Harbor and am happy to help in any way.
Can your wife drive the coach to Nacogdoches? IS there someone who. Could drive her there if she cant in the coach for a day or two? SOunds like a classic ammonia leak - if so very dangerous to operate the refrigerator in any mode.....
PM me for my phone number if you wish to speak live re options.

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #2 – December 24, 2018, 02:02:53 am

1st thing shut the fridge off, sounds like the cooling unit has failed. Well if you go with a Samsung it will require you to do some extensive modifications, and loose the cabinet below the fridge. With that said you could likely go with a 10 cubic foot or so that would require little to no modifications, around 400 at lowes or the Depot. 3rd option is a replacement Amish cooling unit around 1500 bucks time you get it installed.

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #3 – December 24, 2018, 02:15:16 am

How i might help that is!!!

Cabinet modification not that big a deal depending on the width of your current refridgerator. IN many 1999 U-320 a 33" wide counter depth fit in there perfectly - start by measure it the width of the current cabinet, and see what if any counter depth refrigerator is available in that width.
AJ Madison has a great web site for searching on size of appliances.
Buy Appliances Online | Home and Kitchen Appliances | AJ Madison

Good luck! Let's us know what you decide to do

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #4 – December 24, 2018, 07:21:24 am

If it was me I would contact JR at JC Refrigeration and ask him to refer you to a local tech that installs his cooling units. I am sure there is someone close to Huntsville, but if not my second choice would be to go to Shipshewana, IN (weather permitting) and have JR do the work. Shipshewana is 100 miles closer to Huntsville than Nacogdoches so my last choice would be NAC.

http://jc-refrigeration.com/

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #5 – December 24, 2018, 07:47:43 am

^^^^^ agree 100%.

We are pleased with our new cooling unit from JC Refrigeration. I think it's the perfect option if you don't want to do a residential conversion.

JR is a man of few words but he provides excellent customers service and stands behind his products. My freezer is rock solid at 0 degrees, fridge ranges from 37-40.

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #6 – December 24, 2018, 07:58:22 am

This does sound like the classic symptoms of failure mentioned above so leave it off. This is common enough that a local quality RV shop should be able to handle the labor for at least a cooling unit replacement.
JC mentioned above has both the propane replacement and the new electric compressor units. Another closer option for the labor may be Tennessee RV in Knoxville. They were great to work with on my Norcold on our Arctic Fox.

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #7 – December 24, 2018, 08:01:57 am

http://www.buddygregg.com/rv-service.aspx

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #8 – December 24, 2018, 10:20:03 am

This is exactly the scenario that pushed us in the direction of a residential fridge. We went with a full-sized model and lost some storage space. Friends have preferred the smaller unit and happily boondock for long periods with just their roof solar handling the load. BUT ... if you decide to replace the cooling unit on this Norcold, and do not already have a fire suppression plan in the fridge compartment ... GET ONE NOW! If your wife had been away for a day or so ... or deeply asleep ... and the ammonia leak had taken a different turn .... Don't want to think about it.

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #9 – December 24, 2018, 10:37:19 am

Absolutely-- Turn off the refrigerator NOW. With a compromised cooling unit it is a significant fire hazard.

Choices:
Replace with another absorption refrigerator
Install a new cooling unit in the existing refrigerator
Replace with a residential refrigerator

Pluses and minuses to each.

Short term "work arounds": Many areas have dry ice available-- will easily and without a mess keep the freezer frozen. Small piece of dry ice wrapped in newspaper will keep refrigerator cold. We do this all the time in the boat when going off shore to reduce compressor run time.

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #10 – December 24, 2018, 12:10:40 pm

If the cooling unit has gone bad, I would replace it. That can be done inside the RV if necessary.
Was your coach level when the problem happened? An un-level coach can cause the cooling unit to fail.
Good luck!

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #11 – December 24, 2018, 12:26:03 pm

If you have an ice maker, you can put ice in bags and keep your refrigerated goods from spoiling.

I recommend replacing the refrigeration unit. A residential fridge draws too much power.

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #12 – December 24, 2018, 12:26:11 pm

If you full time, are planning on keeping coach a while and you are always plugged in this is an easy decision. Residential.
More space inside, better cooling and freezing, no defrost and no chance of fire.
Cost difference not meaningful over 3-5 years Only defensible reasons to fix old unit are - you wish to extensively boondocks without solar and without running gen set, or you are getting rid of coach soon and saving a bit of $44 matters. Even the second reason might not hold up, most (not all) buyers would view the residential unit as more "modern" and desirable. So the price difference might come back somewhat even in a near term resale.
Had propane in 1989, 1999, and 2000 .
Had leak in 199 with no fire. Scary!11 Replaced cooling unit. Failed within 6 months, PITA to change out cooling unit. Bought new fridge (propane) for 1989. Traded for 1999 U-270 with propane. Put in fires suppression, costs $$$$.
Traded for u-320 2000 (wanted slide and aqua hot. Upgraded refrigerator rather than put in fire suppression on then 10 year old unit.
Almost unanimously praise their propane refrigerators.
Folks on the forum who have upgraded to residential would almost universally say they would never go back.
Anybody out there on the forum having put in a resedential miss their propane and want to go back to a gas/electric refrigerator? If so please let us know your thoughts and reasoning.
Count me strongly in the never going back crowd. Also not giving up power windows, cruise control in my vehicles, automatic headlights and most of all soft close toilet seats......
Let us know what

Folks that have never had a reside-dentils on the forum

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #13 – December 24, 2018, 12:32:23 pm

Tim, the small residential does not draw too much power. My average is 40 watts

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #14 – December 24, 2018, 12:40:13 pm

Agree Mike, but willing to concede point. Gas refrigeration draws less power than electric refrigeration. For some it may matter a lot. For most full timers, matters not a bit. For most non full timers, matters little.
As Dave Metzger often said, 'do what makes you happy" '

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #15 – December 24, 2018, 01:15:22 pm

Just had a JC Refrigeration gas elec unit put in ours to replace the still working Dometic unit. We enjoy boondocking with out having to hear the generator run, but hey that's us. Everyone I know with a large res fridge, even with solar seems like generator is running every time you walk by them. As always the choice is yours DWMYFG. 😎

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #16 – December 24, 2018, 02:01:46 pm

My Dometic 3863 refrigerator quit so I ordered a cooling unit from RVCool and it arrived 9-20-2017. I did the change out inside the coach and reinstalled yesterday. Everything is working perfectly, making ice in freezer and 35 dg in the bottom. cost $425 plus $45.00 shipping with a lifetime warranty. Hope it lasts another 20 years like the original, I probably wont need it after that.
Bill

Still working great 12=24-2018
Bill

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #17 – December 24, 2018, 04:40:13 pm

Look no further than the link in the next paragraph. All your answers are in it. The Samsung being used by many on our Foreforums will not fit as it is too wide.

Replacing an Absorbsion Refrigerator with a Residential unit in a 1997 U270

or

Replacing an Absorbsion Refrigerator with a Residential unit in a 1997 U270

BTW, it is much better to replace long before the original fridges fail. Do it at a convenient time without stress. Old original propane fridges will all fail and some failures can be catastrophic.

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #18 – December 24, 2018, 05:29:03 pm

And if you insist on turning the fridge on, I would recommend that you first park the coach right next to a manned fire station.
Also, check your insurance coverage. If insufficient you should increase it to what ever the price is on a newer coach you have been contemplating.

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #19 – December 24, 2018, 06:13:20 pm

Quote from: Tim – December 24, 2018, 12:26:03 pm

If you have an ice maker, you can put ice in bags and keep your refrigerated goods from spoiling.

I recommend replacing the refrigeration unit. A residential fridge draws too much power.

Tim Drager, not Tim Fielder, maybe you just need more solar or battery storage than 1920 watts and 14KWH lithium batteries? Sarcasm, or am I missing something?

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #20 – December 24, 2018, 06:34:55 pm

yes, I feel solar challenged at only 1180 Watts on roof and only 6 L-16 lifelines!

Tim Fiedler

Sure Start Soft Start - home of SureStart soft starters TCER Direct - home of Generac Approved Aluminum and Copper TCER Composite cable generator-gas-prod - home of X-Riser Gas Risers for PE installation Call me at 630 240-9139
Gen-Pro

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #21 – December 24, 2018, 07:03:15 pm

We replaced our Dometic fridge with the same model that Barry used. We do not run gen at all and have 970 watts of solar and 4 -8D batteries for power. We are very frugal with all electric accessories and run this fridge off a dedicated 1000 w PS inverter mounted under bed. We are not parked while travelling in an RV park so all our power comes from solar or alternater. All LED lighting makes a big difference,and we do not watch TV more than an hour a day (if we can get it) as no sat unit on roof. Solar panel took that spot.
JohnH

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #22 – December 24, 2018, 11:30:20 pm

We too have gone from a Dometic unit to the Samsung - about 5 years now. We do not boondock much, but when we do we must run the gen set twice a day for a total of 5 hours +/-. Not great. We also use a lot of power and have some parasitic draw that I haven't tracked down.

We were scheduled to do solar last winter but our schedule for the next couple of years are set and will not boon-dock much. Therefore the cost does not make sense to me yet.

We much prefer our Samsung and it cost less for me to install than replacing the coils + I sold the Dometic unit for $$$ too.

With the difference in cost you might be able to squeak out another 8-D. Just make sure you cable the new battery properly - using buss bars. That 4th battery will just about run the Samsung alone.

Lots of conversations here about this topic and lot's of opinions.

The hardest thing for any owner is to understand their power usage and what to do about it. Plug in or power up.

Good luck with your decision. Which ever way you go will be right.

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #23 – December 25, 2018, 04:50:50 am

Thanks for all the great advice! Given that I will be working/deployed for the next 2.5 years and we will be plugged into shore power we will go with a residential unit. More space and safety and we can do the job ourselves. Looking at the write-up from Barry and Cindy I am hopeful we can weasel the fridge through the entry door rather than remove a window to save time (the 1997 U270 has the narrower door unfortunately but measures just over 24" wide so it might be possible). For the time being we have the use of a fridge and freezer in the nearby house so we are not suffering too much.

Being fairly new to RVing (but no stranger to living self contained aboard our sailboat for many years)...the best tool we have is this forum...many thanks to all.

Best Regards,
Carl and Kathleen

Re: Norcold Fridge emergency on 1997 U270...advice needed

Reply #24 – December 25, 2018, 09:45:23 am

Carl,

Plenty of sailors and retired sailors here on the ForeForum as well.

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