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Norcold, not so much

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Norcold, not so much
« on: August 02, 2018, 10:34:24 am »
We just completed a great 3500 mile trip to Boston, passing through 11 states. The new 2552 performed great (though a Saf-T-Plus will be installed before Duluth.)

The only negative was the mediocre performance of the Norcold fridge. We boondocked 5 times at Harvest Host sites, the rest in campgrounds. All food going into the fridge was pre-chilled and I have a Camco fan (thanks Swiftboot) on the bottom shelf.On the coldest setting of 9 the temp in the fridge compartment hovered between 38 and 45. Door openings were kept to an absolute minimum. The freezer performed better, keeping a bag of ice dry and the pre-frozen prepared meals solid.

Am I missing something or is this normal? Thanks for all input!

Steve
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Joseph

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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2018, 11:49:24 am »
If it’s over 90 it will struggle if you don’t have some mods.  Mine wouldn’t get below 60 when set at 8 when the temps hit 115 outside. I installed two 120mm 200cfm fans along with a speed controller.  The speed controller is mounted inside the lower fridge outside access panel. The fans sit exhausting inside at the top outside vent . On a day about a week ago we hit 122 degrees and my fridge was 45 set at 7 with the fans on 3/4 throttle. Now I’m in an area where the day time highs are mid 90s and the fridge is 35 degrees set at 3. The fans are set at about 25percent. All in I’m at about $50 for the upgrade and it took me about 45 minutes tops to do the install.
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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2018, 12:01:00 pm »
Most people would be shocked if they monitored the temps in these refers. I'm going to install an external monitor, so I don't have to open the door much. High temps can make food spoil quickly, create horrible illness, beware all.
Any leads out there for a reliable external monitor?
Doug
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Ron Dittmer

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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2018, 01:04:39 pm »
It sure would be nice to set the actual inside temperature rather than guessing which number.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2018, 01:06:13 pm by Ron Dittmer »
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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #4 on: August 02, 2018, 01:53:49 pm »
Our door fell off. We were driving down the road and there was a big crash, the refrigerator door feel off and hit the floor. Come to find out, this is not uncommon. The bottom hinge broke, it supports the whole door.

  Lynn 2018 2400
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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #5 on: August 02, 2018, 02:07:33 pm »
Quote
Come to find out, this is not uncommon. The bottom hinge broke, it supports the whole door.
Wow, I thought Norcold had issued a fix for that with new hinges.  Guess not.

Quote
Most people would be shocked if they monitored the temps in these refers. I'm going to install an external monitor
I have been using this one since we picked up the coach, working very well so far: Acurite

Quote
I installed two 120mm 200cfm fans along with a speed controller.  The speed controller is mounted inside the lower fridge outside access panel. The fans sit exhausting inside at the top outside vent .
This is a common modification and many people report dramatic improvement in performance.


I have the Norcold DE0061 which is a compressor unit.  One of the reasons I got it was better temperature control.  I can run the refrigerator down well below freezing if I'm not careful.  Of course these units have their own quirks and are not for everyone.
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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #6 on: August 02, 2018, 03:39:00 pm »
Quote from: Time Aweigh on August 02, 2018, 10:34:24 am
We just completed a great 3500 mile trip to Boston, passing through 11 states. The new 2552 performed great (though a Saf-T-Plus will be installed before Duluth.)

The only negative was the mediocre performance of the Norcold fridge. We boondocked 5 times at Harvest Host sites, the rest in campgrounds. All food going into the fridge was pre-chilled and I have a Camco fan (thanks Swiftboot) on the bottom shelf.On the coldest setting of 9 the temp in the fridge compartment hovered between 38 and 45. Door openings were kept to an absolute minimum. The freezer performed better, keeping a bag of ice dry and the pre-frozen prepared meals solid.

Am I missing something or is this normal? Thanks for all input!
We’ve been traveling several years with a portable Engel compressor fridge...absorption fridges are generally useless unless used for chilling liquids or storing canned items in hot weather.  The Engel leaves a small footprint (we have the 2100 PC), can be used as a freezer if we want, runs on 1 1/2 amps when Boondocking and can run at 30 degrees off level if necessary. Option 2 would be to chuck the fridge and have one of the many excellent compressor fridges now on the market installed.
Steve
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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #7 on: August 02, 2018, 06:20:18 pm »
A little disappointing to read this Norcold stuff.  I went through HELL with my Norcold 1200 on my 2001 Diplomat and finally had it ripped out and a residential installed.  My door also fell off.  The only fix was to buy a new door.  Then the new door fell off!  I carefully fixed the broken tab with some JB Weld.  My biggest problem was it finally quit cooling.  I was fulltiming then and this was a major PITA.

From what I have been told and read, the newer Norcolds are performing better.  I have noticed that those with complaints here have the fridge in a slide.  Mine will be the passenger side and hopefully will be vented better than those in a slide.  It appears that Phoenix Cruisers now come with the "new and improved Polar series. I'll keep my fingers crossed. 

BTW, I was a participant in the class action law suit against Norcold (trust me, I am not the litigious type).  All I did was send an email.  I was awarded around $600.00 to be paid out over three years.  I recently received the second installment.

Barry T
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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #8 on: August 02, 2018, 08:30:30 pm »
Quote from: Joseph on August 02, 2018, 11:49:24 am
I installed two 120mm 200cfm fans along with a speed controller.  The speed controller is mounted inside the lower fridge outside access panel.

Joseph,
Are the fans 12v DC or 110v AC? I can see how that would be an active exhaust method instead of the passive as it comes stock. The fridge plugs into a 110 v outlet in the lower exterior compartment. Does anyone know if that is a full duplex outlet? Can it accept a second plug into it? The cover only provides access for the fridge plug.

I have a small thermometer hanging in the fridge. The degrees are  marked plus zones, red and blue. The blue starts at 40° so it is easy to check at a glance while frantically pulling out cheese and beer.

Thank you for all the great feedback!
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rvrunner

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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #9 on: August 02, 2018, 08:40:36 pm »
My Norcold works great, I was shocked when my door fell off. I have mine set on the lowest setting and it stays in the low 30's.and food stays frozen in the freezer.

  Lynn     2018, 2400
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Ron Dittmer

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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #10 on: August 03, 2018, 12:45:15 pm »
Quote from: rvrunner on August 02, 2018, 08:40:36 pm
My Norcold works great, I was shocked when my door fell off.

Lynn     2018, 2400
I thought Norcold resolved the broken door hinge issue some years ago.  Our 2007 Norcold had the design flaw.  I was pro-active and added the reinforcement hinges before any such failure.  You can read about it HERE.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2018, 12:46:52 pm by Ron Dittmer »
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hutch42

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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #11 on: August 03, 2018, 03:00:31 pm »
Winnebago has started to use both the Norcold and Nova-Kool compressor fridges in their Paseo, Travato, View/Navion. and Fuse lines.
All the units now have 200 amp solar systems standard but still using the smaller Group 27/31 12V batteries.  All seems fairly well since
the change early in 2018.
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donc13

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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #12 on: August 03, 2018, 03:16:27 pm »
Interesting, my 2015 2551 had exhaust fans factory installed at the top vent.  They are thermostatically controlled.... Or so it seems as they only cycle on/off when it's above the mid 80's inside the refrigerator vent space.
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bftownes

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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #13 on: August 03, 2018, 03:36:53 pm »
Quote from: donc13 on August 03, 2018, 03:16:27 pm
Interesting, my 2015 2551 had exhaust fans factory installed at the top vent.  They are thermostatically controlled.... Or so it seems as they only cycle on/off when it's above the mid 80's inside the refrigerator vent space.

One of the things I discussed on my recent visit to Elkhart was the installation of a fan, such as you speak.  The reply was they install fans on all fridges that are installed in slides.  This is because of not being able to vent it like a fridge on the curb side.  Curb side fridges, such as the 3100, are vented straight through to the roof.  Once I take delivery, I will closely monitor fridge temps and outside temps.  If I feel it is necessary, I will install a fan to blow over the coils. 

Also, these are the thermometers I bought from Amazon to monitor temps in both the fridge and freezer.  Tested them at home and I like them.  I have always had good results from AcuRite products.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QJVU78/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Barry T
« Last Edit: August 03, 2018, 03:40:13 pm by bftownes »
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Re: Norcold, not so much
« Reply #14 on: August 04, 2018, 09:34:01 am »
Thanks for the link Barry T!

I have been following this thread, and was just approaching the need for temperature monitoring.

 tymote
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