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Which Res Refer for Norcold with Furnace under it.. 2005 Endeavor/Diplomat


Will52
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I have decided against going RES FRIG, but still wonder when I hear these threads.  Aren't there still RES FRIGs that vent heat up the back or do virtually all of them in take air and vent heat out the bottom front?

I thought, that I saw some of the smaller Res Frigs and Apt size frigs, while we were last Frig shopping, that still had coils up the back which need to vent upwards?

OH and to the original post.  NICE CLEAN LOOKING FRIG INSTALL

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5 minutes ago, TomV48 said:

I have decided against going RES FRIG, but still wonder when I hear these threads.  Aren't there still RES FRIGs that vent heat up the back or do virtually all of them in take air and vent heat out the bottom front?

I thought, that I saw some of the smaller Res Frigs and Apt size frigs, while we were last Frig shopping, that still had coils up the back which need to vent upwards?

OH and to the original post.  NICE CLEAN LOOKING FRIG INSTALL

I don’t understand your comment.  As long as you have air space around the sides and the refrigerator is sitting on the floor, there is no issues.  When folks get cutesy and want that flush built in look,…like the gas, then they have issues.  It’s common sense. You don’t have a surround around the refrigerator in your home,  at least 90 - 95%, me included, after installing a Res Refrigerator, say.mm”Why did I wait so long?”  Even if you had a Norcold and popped a considerable sum for one of the compressors, it has to have air circulation….and you then worry about the doors sagging or getting out of alignment.  They do NOT sell gaskets.  My Dometic was “SAFE”, but it was not a “hoss” when it came to cooking,  I added an upper exhaust fan to improve cooling and many here followed suit.  But, my Samsung RF18 is like going from a Yugo to Cadillac…. And I knew Yugo’s as my company made their carburetors…. LOL.

BUT it is your call.  

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My Diplomat has an emergency exit window behind the coach on the drivers side. This is in the slide out. I opened the emergency window and held it open with a rope. I removed the doors on the Norcold and using a fork lift, the unit went out the window. It was replaced by a Whirlpool unit, purchased at Home Depot, that came in the same way the Norcold went out. It fits in the space, without modification to furnace, has much more storage, gets cold faster and stays cold, and can run 24 hours on the inverter with no issues. The whole process took 45 minutes and the help of three good friends. It took a month of planning and many trips to appliance dealers with tape measure to locate the right replacement, but the upside is if it quits, $700 buys a replacement and it will go out and come in the same way, but it is much lighter so two guys can handle it.

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52 minutes ago, pulsarjab said:

My Diplomat has an emergency exit window behind the coach on the drivers side. This is in the slide out. I opened the emergency window and held it open with a rope. I removed the doors on the Norcold and using a fork lift, the unit went out the window. It was replaced by a Whirlpool unit, purchased at Home Depot, that came in the same way the Norcold went out. It fits in the space, without modification to furnace, has much more storage, gets cold faster and stays cold, and can run 24 hours on the inverter with no issues. The whole process took 45 minutes and the help of three good friends. It took a month of planning and many trips to appliance dealers with tape measure to locate the right replacement, but the upside is if it quits, $700 buys a replacement and it will go out and come in the same way, but it is much lighter so two guys can handle it.

I got mine in & out the main door. 

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On 12/6/2022 at 8:06 PM, Will52 said:

Has anyone replaced a Norcold 1200 and gotten it out the curb side window? Going to a Samsung RF12 in the same window 2005 Holiday Rambler Endeavor Looking for Idea's THX ALL.

I just replaced mine with a fridgdarie an fit both in & out front door, take hinge loose on top of door an opening is 26 in & fridge was 25.1 with door off. Beefed up frame work above furnace got heights to 68 in fridge was 67.9 fit good anchored in back an put air bags on top an sides. Good luck. 

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If your coach has a Suburban brand furnace under the fridge, Suburban support (and the installation manual) says it is a "zero underneath clearance" appliance...that is, it can be mounted DIRECTLY to combustible material.  Mine was mounted on a framework that raised it almost 4".  Without lowering it to the floor, I would never have been able to install my Samsung fridge.  Even lowering the furnace, (and leaving the Suburban recommended overhead clearance) I had barely 1/8" clearance overhead to slide the fridge in.

Yes, you do have to bore an additional hole for the intake/exhaust of the furnace through the wall of the coach.  Spooky sounding, but ridiculously easy.  Cover the extra (unused) hole any way you choose.  And, yes, you still have to make a support for the bottom of the fridge.  I'm a machinist, so I made a bulletproof welded metal one.

As Tom Cherry (and dozens of other contributors) have noted, going to a compressor-type fridge is like going from a Yugo to a Mercedes.  And the "Twin-Cooling" introduced (?) by Samsung is a change that was decades overdue.

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On our 08 Dynasty the emergency window  in the slide out behind the driver is easy to remove. It slides in a groove just like an awning. Remove the screws at the end of the groove. Apply some wd40 and slide it rearward. Voila, you have a space that should handle any fridge. We were removing the original JennAir and installing a new 22 cu. ft. monster. Removed the fridge doors and there is about an inch to spare. I did not have a forklift so hired a local mover that had a liftgate on his 5 ton. Worked great. No seats to remove or worry about hitting the dashboard. The old fridge was quite accessible through the rear solid paele that Monaco installed instead of a vent. The new one would require the fridge to be moved forward to get into the  box of the fridge. I may build a platform that will be the right height.

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RV type absorption fridges are great for "campers" who only use their RV a few times a year. As a previous Full-Time RV'er now Part-Time I couldn't get rid of the NotSoCold fast enough. Our Windsor has the Samsung RF-197 which has been working great ever since it was installed in 2012. The new owners love the coach. Our 2006 Dynasty came with the Samsung RF-197 already installed so we didn't have to go through updating to a residential fridge again and by the way, we will NEVER go back.

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On 12/6/2022 at 9:35 PM, Old Dog said:

I got mine in/out the front door. Pulled the doors off the old and new units, covered everything in the entry way with heavy cardboard and 2 of us went straight in/out, set it on the top of the driver/passenger seat then slid it aft. Didn't do anything to the coach. Had a little less then a inch of clearance. Not all that heavy, just bulky and few places to get a hold of it. Out is much easier then in since you're going with gravity. Believe it or not, it can be done.

Information on the new fridge, please 

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