Norcold problems;

[nwirt74@gmail.com]

Has anyone changed out their Norcold side by side refrigerator/freezer? Ours quit and isn't currently working? I have a service call scheduled for a few days from now but the service tech told me when I talked with him that if it is a cooling system or AC heater issues that it will be quite costly to repair? It is likely one of the two issues? I checked the circuit board and it isn't the problem. It isn't working on AC or propane, the burner works on propane but no cooling??? Firstly, will the current unit even come out of the door? 2013 36RE, Secondly can we replace it with a residential side by side? And if so what are the replacement options for anyone who has undertaken the endeavor?

Thanks in advance for any feedback and or photos?

[piper guy]

First, a bunch of us have been there and done that and gotten rid of the NeverCold.

If you do a search, there should be a bunch of posts on the subject. Your RE is the same as my RL other than where the tv is. We changed ours to a Samsung RF18 residential frig about 2 years ago and absolutely love it. It's not that hard to do and I did it myself with some younger "muscle help" to get the units out and in.

Short answer is yes, old and New will fit through door but doors must be removed from both to do so. Will make it through the door with about an inch on each side.
To put the RF18 in, you will lose the drawer that is currently under the Norcold. It comes out pretty easily and you will not need to do any cabinetry work. You'll wind up with about a 2" high opening above the frig, which is fine as one of the advantages of the Samsung is the cooling apparatus is on the top. You can shove it as far back as you want to. You will need to re-route some wiring behind the frig and move the receptacle over to the front wall. You need every bit of the depth to miss the island when the slide is in. When I finished ours, it fits side to side like it was made for the opening and I have it in far enough that it clears the island by 1" when the slide is in.

Initially I didn't add an inverter. Found if we went 6-7 hours it would only rise about 5 degrees in the frig and about 3 degrees in the freezer. Having said that, I'm about to add a inverter as we are headed west this year and may be boondocking occasionally.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like or post more on here and we'll all lead you through it. It's so nice to have ice cream that's actually as hard as it should be and also not worry about losing meat, etc just because the frig decided to warm up.

[Char & Steve]

Vaughan,
Could you let me know the distance your door needs when fully open and also while you are at it, how far does it stick out past the cabinets when door is closed.

I kind of forgot we were going to change the fridge when I built the center island so maybe it will still fit.

Steve

[ET156]

My Norcold stop working a few days ago and I took the thermometer off the fins and disconnected it from the lite. I cleaned the thermometer and the metal clip that holds it on to the fins. I solved the problem. I then called Norcold and asked there opinion and they said the thermometer does need to be cleaned over a period of time. Hope this will be of some help to you.

[nwirt74@gmail.com]

We’ve successfully changed our frig out with the Samsung, did you trim around the new one? If so what did you use? We’re getting a lot of air coming in around the new frig? Thanks, any pics?

[piper guy]

If you didn't close off those outside vents ....... you're gonna freeze !! I used two layers of foil tape to seal off the vent openings no then a thin pice of acrylic plastic to seal the whole vent assembly. I can still remove the outer panels to get to the back of the fridge but no air leaks from outside.

[AlanN]

Well, after five years of full-timing and three years of fussing with the Nevercold, it's time to follow the path to sanity and replace the monster. Like most others, we'll go for the Samsung RF18. My question is: in order to remove/replace both the new and old units in a 2014 38GK, is there room to maneuver without either pulling out the slide or moving the island? I've seen no mention of this in the 42,000 (!!!) posts regarding swapping out reefers. If I can avoid paying $2K to pull, I'd certainly rather invest that in good bourbon. Thanks in advance,
Alan

[Jim & Mary]

We had it done at the dealer for ours. He swears they had to "move the island a little bit" in order to keep the island and fridge from colliding when the slide was brought in for travel. I of course didn't see them do it, and close examination inside and outside of the island doesn't show it was moved. Our clearance when the slide is in is very small. They also custom framed trim around the opening and it looks quite good.

[piper guy]

Alan - can't say for the GK, but I think you'll probably be ok. When we switched ours for the Samsung, as long as I took the doors off both units, I was able to maneuver them out and in. My freezer drawer clears the island by about 2". W put a piece of foam there to keep the drawerclos d.

[XCMARK]

looking at our RL , I think at the very most the left side door may have to be removed and the freezer drawer. I think pulling it 90% of the way out then just the right side min will come out with out getting into dealing with the island. cover the floor with some plywood to prevent damage and Get-R-Done.


When we started looking at larger 5th wheels I was looking for a 2 way RV frig but in the end I am happy with the performance of the inverter and home style 120v unit. less issue with freeze stuff in the frig and ice-cream is frozen but not rock hard every time I grab a cold treat! set it and forget it , no battery fans on the self , no thinking about how hot it is and back wall cooling fans.

[AlanN]

Thanks for your input here today.

[AlanN]

Thanks for your information - it should come in handy.

[AlanN]

Originally Posted by XCMARK

looking at our RL , I think at the very most the left side door may have to be removed and the freezer drawer. I think pulling it 90% of the way out then just the right side min will come out with out getting into dealing with the island. cover the floor with some plywood to prevent damage and Get-R-Done.


When we started looking at larger 5th wheels I was looking for a 2 way RV frig but in the end I am happy with the performance of the inverter and home style 120v unit. less issue with freeze stuff in the frig and ice-cream is frozen but not rock hard every time I grab a cold treat! set it and forget it , no battery fans on the self , no thinking about how hot it is and back wall cooling fans.

I think we've settled on an LG single-door, counter depth 15 cu ft solution: no handle clearance to worry about, less width to maneuver with and no more "No-Cold Blues" to sing. Space left over for the inverter too on the side wall.

[Ford truck guy]

when my 38RL was hit by a tree, I removed the SS fridge before it went to salvage..

I had to remove ALL the doors for it to fit through the main door, so I just removed them before moving it from the hole it was in...

I may have gotten it out of the spot by just removing the left door, but what the heck, no sense scratching the RW ! !

[mhs4771]

Alan, are you thinking of putting the Inverter next to the Fridge?? You need to put the Inverter as close to the Batteries as possible to keep the connection cables between the Batteries and the Inverter as short as possible.
My Inverter is mounted on the Front Bulkhead of the Basement with the Batteries just on the otherside, so the cables are very short.

[travelin' texans]

Originally Posted by mhs4771

Alan, are you thinking of putting the Inverter next to the Fridge?? You need to put the Inverter as close to the Batteries as possible to keep the connection cables between the Batteries and the Inverter as short as possible.
My Inverter is mounted on the Front Bulkhead of the Basement with the Batteries just on the otherside, so the cables are very short.

Not to mention having to move the fridge to occasionally tighten the connections.

[piper guy]

Same as Michelle. When I added the inverter it is mount d on the sidewall of the generator compartment right above the batteries.