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Replaced Norcold 1200LIRM

miacasa_2000

By miacasa_2000
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Ivylog

Ivylog

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Posted (edited)

Like Bob *^^ we do a lot of dry camping in the summer and I bought into a residential isn’t suited for off the grid camping. I spent way too much money on my NoCold, even a Amish cooling unit which helped but not in hot weather with extra fans.

Finally figure out a modern refrigerator draws 1 amp and runs less than 50% of the time…costs 16-18 cents/day to run. Thought I’d found a 21 cuft Whirlpool that would fit perfectly in the 1200 hole …ended up being 1/2” to tall. Without a doubt, the BEST MOD EVER and 2 batteries will run it 30+ hours.

Before going residential I had to run the generator 2 hours/day to keep my 600AH of batteries up. By adding 2 more batteries and a $160, 100amp charger my generator time is less than 1.5 hours with the residential when boondocking. I powered it off the block heater outlet beside the engine.

Edited by Ivylog
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Bob Schmeckpeper

Bob Schmeckpeper

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1 hour ago, Ivylog said:

Like Bob *^^ we do a lot of dry camping in the summer and I bought into a residential isn’t suited for off the grid camping. I spent way too much money on my NoCold, even a Amish cooling unit which helped but not in hot weather with extra fans.

Finally figure out a modern refrigerator draws 1 amp and runs less than 50% of the time…costs 16-18 cents/day to run. Thought I’d found a 21 cuft Whirlpool that would fit perfectly in the 1200 hole …ended up being 1/2” to tall. Without a doubt, the BEST MOD EVER and 2 batteries will run it 30+ hours.

Before going residential I had to run the generator 2 hours/day to keep my 600AH of batteries up. By adding 2 more batteries and a $160, 100amp charger my generator time is less than 1.5 hours with the residential when boondocking. I powered it off the block heater outlet beside the engine.

How many years have you been using it? 

Did it fit through the door or did you have to take a window out.  

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Ivylog

Ivylog

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A 21 is not counter depth (will not come in the door) so took out the drivers window (fairly easy) and slid it in off a forklift. I took the 1200 out the window by myself (didn’t remove the seat and left the doors on) and the DW helped me get the 21 in… that was 10 years ago in our 04 Dynasty which is still in the family and no problems with it.

 The 08 Nav came with a 20 Jenn Air residential and a PSW inverter. Put a KW meter on it and it uses 1.2-1.4 KW/day, slightly more than the Whirlpool but within the margin of error.

I did add a DIY 1000W of solar ($1200 with a 80A mppt controller) but only use it in the summer so I figure it’s a 30+ years payback. Still have to run the generator some and added a 100A charger… parking in the shade so we do not need AC is more important than maximizing the solar.

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Dennis H

Dennis H

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When my cooling unit failed I had insurance to cover it. They gave me a choice, Amish or residential. Not being as smart as I am today, I went with the Amish unit. It lasted a little over a year...about the time the insurance ran out. (head slap) I made the change to the residential myself at my cost. $1100 for the fridge and about $250 for parts. Installed it myself while in a campground. Took me three days. Best move I made....Dennis

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Bob Schmeckpeper

Bob Schmeckpeper

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Corkman

https://rvcoolingunit.com/Norcold-Cooling-Units-Amish-Built-Brand-new-C4437.aspx

Had one for 5 years now. Might want to look at the helium unit. They weren't available at the time I changed ours out.  We mostly boondock with solar. I don't like running my gen. If you stay were you are hooked up to power then by allmeans go residential. I can't really find anyone who has been residential for a few years who mostly boondock. Right now were in the mid 80⁰ to 90⁰ fridge is set between 3 & 4. If you do it i recommend 2 extra fans at the top of the vent. I used my old ones an put a separate switch so I can turn them off when not needed.  Also use his fans for inside in front of the fins.

 

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Ivylog

Ivylog

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“I can't really find anyone who has been residential for a few years who mostly boondock.” Pretty sure I posted ^^^ that In the summer we do and have been residential for 10 years. Generator run time before going residential was 2 hours but by adding 1000W of solar and an additional 100A charger it’s down to 1 hour with a residential refrigerator.

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Ivan K

Ivan K

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When our generator stator burned out few weeks into our 4 months trip out west, I was very glad to have propane. Only went to parks every 10 to 14 days for a weekday night for obvious reasons. Norcold with safety upgrades made it possible. Having said that, if it quits on us, residential goes in along with whatever it takes to keep it going.

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Notn2bars

Notn2bars

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Last year we purchased an Amish unit from JC Refrigeration.  We installed a 120 volt Amish unit to replace the cooling unit in our notcold 1200.  It works wonderfully with our inverter.  Currently we have 4-6volt batteries and if we run the fridge on the inverter all night it takes all of 20 minutes running the genny to fully charge the batteries in the morning.   We do the same thing when we are traveling down the road.  Run the fridge on the inverter and recharge the batteries when we stop.  The freezer keeps ice-cream rock hard and the fridge at a constant 36 degrees even when it is 100 outside.  Very happy with the unit.  However if we did it over again we would purchase the 12 volt compressor unit instead.  

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scottjo02

scottjo02

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We2dynasty

I also have a 120 volt Amish unit. I choose that one because JC said it would give the coldest fridg temperatures. I also added two batteries for a total of six, just to be sure for overnight running. Even if you were to use a 12 volt Amish unit it still takes X number of amp hours from the batteries to run the fridge. The only savings would be the efficiency loss from using the inverter. Not sure about your comment about having to charge the batteries after a drive down the road. My house batteries are charged by the Cummins alternator when driving. 

Scott

02Knight

 

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cbr046

cbr046

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15 hours ago, scottjo02 said:

My house batteries are charged by the Cummins alternator when driving. 

Same here but I would be concerned with turning a weak engine alternator into a non-working one with additional load.  The 360W Norcold elements at 12V would be 30A.  I know it's a 160A alternator, but how much do the other systems draw?  Not more than 100A running down the road including house batt recharges? 

FWIW My Norcold died Friday night.  KAPUT.  Boiler tube still gets hot but the collection tank, which used to run ~140F, was cold to the touch.  I knew it was close to it's time (boiler tube pretty rusty, not cold on a hot day, not cold while driving).  18 yrs old, old enough to vote itself out of existence.  Well, getting stuck in the mud with 2 axis out of spec didn't help, but that's another story. 

I still prefer absorption fridge, and I was just in Northern Indiana last week (Shipsewanna, IN).  Heading to OK on Friday (maybe).  Thinking a college dorm fridge to limp through until I can line up replacing the guts.  Probably sit it in the shower . . .

- bob

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waterskier_1

waterskier_1

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17 hours ago, We2dynasty said:

Last year we purchased an Amish unit from JC Refrigeration.  We installed a 120 volt Amish unit to replace the cooling unit in our notcold 1200.  It works wonderfully with our inverter.  Currently we have 4-6volt batteries and if we run the fridge on the inverter all night it takes all of 20 minutes running the genny to fully charge the batteries in the morning.   We do the same thing when we are traveling down the road.  Run the fridge on the inverter and recharge the batteries when we stop.  The freezer keeps ice-cream rock hard and the fridge at a constant 36 degrees even when it is 100 outside.  Very happy with the unit.  However if we did it over again we would purchase the 12 volt compressor unit instead.  

When traveling down the road, with the fridge on the inverter, the main engine alternator should be powering the fridge and keeping the house batteries charged so that you should not need to recharge the batteries when you stop.  You may have a problem with the alternator charging or the isolator circuitry.

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saflyer

saflyer

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On 8/9/2021 at 10:02 AM, Corkman said:

I’ve asked this question before but never heard back and answer. Could somebody please tell me what the Amish solution is?

A company in Indiana makes improved, more robust cooling units for Norcold and I think Dometic refrigerators. They have a loyal following but some people aren’t really excited about them. I believe they make two way units, AC and propane, as well as DC only ones.

I installed a Whirlpool 17cf residential a few years ago but wish I had of known about the 12v Amish unit. Might have gone that route to reduce energy consumption while boondocking. My Whirlpool uses close to 100ah per day.

https://jc-refrigeration.com

Ed           
‘05 HR Ambassador 
 

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