Norcold 1200 refrigerator is Not Cooling - I bet you've never heard that before :)

[Bill C]

My Norcold 1200 refrigerator stopped Cooling. It is the original refrigerator, and was repaired once about 10 years ago by the original/previous owner. I am not sure exactly what was done, but was told it cost about $1500 at the time.

Mine was, and always has, worked well since I've owned it, about 8 years now. 

2 days ago, the left door fell off due to a lower bracket failure. The frig was left open/off for about 2 or so hours. Ever since then it really does no cooling. All the door seals seem to be tight, as designed.

I had a spare control ASSY/power board, and replaced the existing one, no joy - still does not cool.

I also had a spare front control panel, and replaced the existing one, still no cooling.

The frig seems to run fine, but just doesn't cool. I tried running it on gas and electric - no cooling. I checked the thermistor; it seems to check out fine. I even took the thermistor off the cooling fin, so it would register the temp inside even warmer. Still no cooling.

I ran the diagnostic and no error codes showed up.

I don't know what else it could be, short of loss of alcohol in the system. Since I have been parked for a few months, that seems unlikely that it would leak out all at once, as I did not see a gradual degradation in cooling over time, and I have a thermostat inside the frig to keep an eye on the temp.

I do not have that third party safety protector on it, which measures the temp in the back of the frig and shuts it off if it gets too warm/hot. I can't remember the name of it, but I've had 3 fail so far, so I finally just left it off. 

Any help would be appreciated. A new one is $5000+ plus installation, and I don't want to go residential as I like to be off the grid without running the Gen all the time.

Thanks,

Bill

 

[Rocketman3]

If you go Residential you will love the Fridge - more room inside and more consistent temps.

I used a Fisher and Paykel (ordered from Best Buy).  When I  added the residential I also added 400w of solar (two 200w panels and a Victron 100/30 mppt solar charge controller). That seemed to be about right - just for the added fridge load.  You could also get a smaller inverter just for the fridge.

we full-time and boondock most of the time. 
 

if you decide to go this route- let me know and I can send photos and things I learned from my install. Our rigs are both Dynasty’s and only one year apart - so probably very close.

Good Luck!

[klcdenver]

If you do not want to go residential then try JC Refrigeration’s mod. It works well. Also known as the Amish.

https://jc-refrigeration.com/

[hex_nut]

Bill

I will echo what Rocketman said.  I went with the Samsung residential since it was much cheaper than the Fisher/Paykel (and it fit my unit).  It has been 8 years and we are very happy with the results.  We boondock extensively and were very pleasantly surprised with how little extra Generator time was required to compensate for the fridge (about an extra hour a day).  I installed a dedicated small inverter for the fridge because I found that the large Magnum inverter was extremely wasteful of  battery power.  If I had it to do over today, I would choose a 12 volt DC powered fridge.  They are much more efficient than using inverters to convert DC power to AC (the power lose in conversion is excessive).  I have heard good things about the 12 volt DC powered units supplied by JCRefigeration.  So, I recommend you do some research before you even consider replacing your unit with another expensive absorption unit.  Anyone who tells you that compressor refrigerators are not compatible with boondocking needs to update their thinking.  It may have been true years ago, but certainly not anymore with the improvements in inverter compressor technology.  My Samsung uses the equivalent of a 75 watt light bulb. Good luck with your replacement.

Richard 

Bill

Since you have already lost the hinges on your Norcold, it would not be practical to replace just the cooling unit in it.  The hinges are a common failure point and cannot be realistically repaired.  I never recommend replacing just the cooling unit in an absorption fridge unless the cabinet is in pristine condition.

Richard 

[hex_nut]

Bill

A short story about why I was required to go with a compressor type refrigerator:

Years ago my wife and I were looking for a dining table and chairs to replace the booth dinette in our '98 Tradewinds.  So, I took my wife with me on a walk through the back lot of Colaw's RV salvage in Missouri.  After a few minutes my wife asked; "Why do all these really nice high-dollar motorhomes have the big burn hole in the side?"  Without thinking I responded, "That's where the propane fridge used to be before it caught fire".  I realized my mistake, but it was too late.  So, that is how I got to do a conversion to an electric compressor refrigerator.  So, always think before you speak.

Richard 

[jacwjames]

My Norcold failed in 2017, I did have the black box and it kicked the fridge twice, I reset it once and that lasted a couple days and then it kicked it again but this time when I went to reset it there was yellow dust all over the bottom.  Shut if off, pulled the plug, turned off the propane.  I used a small dorm type fridge for a while but found a Samsung RF18 on clearance at Lowes for $860 and eventually installed it in the coach.  Don't miss the Norcold at all, I do have to run the generator a little  more, may 1.5 hours a day, not much more then I had to before the install.

Last Nov I had to go up to Visione RV in KY.  Hundreds of salvaged RV's, a bunch with burned holes in the sides.

They had a Foretravel 320 parked out front they were trying to sell, from the outside it looked great.  I asked if I could look at the inside, YIKES, a charred mess where the fridge was.  It might have been salvageable, they wanted $40K for it, I'm sure it could of been bought for less. 

[timaz996]

1 hour ago, klcdenver said:

If you do not want to go residential then try JC Refrigeration’s mod. It works well. Also known as the Amish.

https://jc-refrigeration.com/

I went this route in 2019 and it has it has worked well and I full time dry camping 99% of the time. They have many models for the 1200 model.

[Bill C]

3 hours ago, Rocketman3 said:

If you go Residential you will love the Fridge - more room inside and more consistent temps.

I used a Fisher and Paykel (ordered from Best Buy).  When I  added the residential I also added 400w of solar (two 200w panels and a Victron 100/30 mppt solar charge controller). That seemed to be about right - just for the added fridge load.  You could also get a smaller inverter just for the fridge.

we full-time and boondock most of the time. 
 

if you decide to go this route- let me know and I can send photos and things I learned from my install. Our rigs are both Dynasty’s and only one year apart - so probably very close.

Good Luck!

Hi Michael, please send me anything that you have that will  help, I might go this route.

Thanks,

Bill

[cbr046]

$5000 can buy a lot of lithium / solar.  Oh yeah, and a new fridge too. 😉 

Does the boiler (part with the flame / heat elements) get hot?  If so everything is working, except the chemistry. 

I've heard of the refrigerant crystalizing inside the tube and a few hard blows knocking everything lose.  It might be urban legend, don't know.  Worth a try . . . maybe with a rubber mallet.

You might get lucky and run across a new camper's propane fridge being replaced for a residential.  That's what we did but it took months to run across a unit. 

Good luck,

- bob

[Tom Cherry]

Typically, any good set of batteries, the ancient but reliable Trojan T-105 will get you easily through a 24 hour period.  Manynof us purchased meters and tested….so this isn’t some internet myth.  Putting in a 12 VDC Compressor usually takes the same or more “juice” as the more energy efficient, especially the Samsung, RF 18..

Most of us just bite the bullet and run the Genny.  Some have opted to purchase an inverter genny and run it in the daytime versus the Diesel.

Going LED for the halogen puck or incandescent lights is a must.  Same for new or conversion of the fluorescent fixtures.

One can spend a lot….like $5K….but the most cost effective is to put in a residential.  They work fine with MSW inverters.  No need to upgrade there.  Lithiums are a different breed…and we have a lot of expertise here, but your capital outlay as well as totally understanding what you need, how to do it, the skill set to do it….should be evaluated.  There are several topics here….so search and fully understand the advantages but also the pitfalls.  An improperly installed system or not operating it as required will be or has been, the death of the batteries….   Typically, those buggy whip guys that decades of experience and don’t need the higher capacity or the “latest”, get 7 - 10 years out of our FLA Trojans and exist quite well boondocking.

Solar….as long as the sun shines, is great and knowing what you need, which is fairly simple and not near the outlay for the Norcold.  

I’d look long and hard and you might be able to run a Res Refer easily off a simple solar….not the puny factory 65 watt…but somewhere in the 400 Watt range….

Just my unsolicited opinion…

 

[Martinvz]

I did the same as Hex_Nut (Richard Davis) and installed a residential refrigerator and am using a dedicated psw inverter. At 2kw it is oversized but for free, I works perfectly. I can run the refrigerator for 24 hours without a problem from the 2 GC2 batteries. We seldom boondock and then we do need to run the genny to charge the batteries. We just bought a jackery power station and foldable solar panel to keep the refrigerator running while it is in storage. 
I am planning to post a review of our experience with this setup at the end of April.

[Rocketman3]

4 hours ago, Bill C said:

Hi Michael, please send me anything that you have that will  help, I might go this route.

Thanks,

Bill

I thought I did a writeup on it - but the search says I didn’t…

Here is what I remember…

I got a Fisher & Paykel- bottom freezer - 2 doors for fridge - no ice maker.  It was taller and slightly narrower than the old 1200. Ordered from Best Buy and had the two beefy delivery guys  take it through the front door (chairs out and door wide open) and fridge doors off.  As I was looking at fridges, the size came down to two companies- Samsung and Fisher & Paykel- Samsung lately seemed to be having quality issues… I asked my Brother-in-law an appliance repair guy - he said stay away from Samsung and you will like the Fisher & Paykel until you need to order parts - then it will take a while…

I have my furnace below the fridge, so to gain the height needed I needed to lower the furnace. It was 3-1/2” up on a 2x4. The furnace is rated to sit on the floor- so I moved it down. The two holes out (air & exhaust) I moved down - the top one went into the bottom and I drilled a new bottom hole. Used the plug and filled and caulked the top hole. Then got an aluminum plate to cover the area - kinda like the original.

Then we reinstalled the fridge bottom shelf to get the needed height. (My new Kreg Pocket Hole “toy” worked really well to add even more screws).

Built a little platform that had wheels on bottom so we could slide the fridge in and out and roll it out of the way easily.

Plugged up the top hole to the roof. Added some boards on the sides (with carpet) so the fridge can’t move much side to side.slid it in and screwed it down well on the bottom back plate. Measured and tried  a dozen times - then it worked!

used big stretch caulk to fill in all the little vent holes on the old access door. Added some oak trim on one side to take up the space and look good. And to keep the doors closed when traveling added some stainless Bimini top strap pads 1” to run some straps through.

Ready for travel - Bonus! places to hang nieces new art treasures.

Hard to tell that’s not 22 year old oak.

The one place I messed up is when we relocated the 120v plug, we put it in a spot so the fridge has to come out 6” or so to unplug it.  No issues until the rig went into the shop, then no solar and we were out of it for 2 days. My Lithium’s handled it just fine, I was just nervous.  If I could go back - I would relocate the power plug in the furnace area - so I could access it.

For power I had already changed out the inverter- my Victron Multiplus 12/3000 stays on 24/7 and doesn’t use much power. I noticed that Monaco used REALLY big wires for the 12v fridge power - 8ga if I remember correctly. Those wires would support a 600w inverter.i think my fridge runs on under 150w when it is cooling- you will need more for the locked rotor amps to start - but how much more - I don’t know.

i added 400w of solar at the time I did the fridge install as my guess of how much additional power it should use. I think I was close.

My current setup 1400w of solar, Lithium DIY 12v 544ah battery, Multiplus Inverter 12/3000. All the power I need until the clouds roll in - then the generator needed exercise anyway… We full-time and boondock most of the time.

It was not a difficult install- We had three people for moving the fridges in and out of the hole. 

Good Luck with whatever decision you make.

 

[Vince Toscano]

Hi 

Can you tell me the model number of your fridge? Have you looked at the coils in the back of the fridge? If so do you see any signs of a yellowish substance?

[Bill C]

14 hours ago, cbr046 said:

$5000 can buy a lot of lithium / solar.  Oh yeah, and a new fridge too. 😉 

Does the boiler (part with the flame / heat elements) get hot?  If so everything is working, except the chemistry. 

I've heard of the refrigerant crystalizing inside the tube and a few hard blows knocking everything lose.  It might be urban legend, don't know.  Worth a try . . . maybe with a rubber mallet.

You might get lucky and run across a new camper's propane fridge being replaced for a residential.  That's what we did but it took months to run across a unit. 

Good luck,

- bob

I took Bob's advice and tried the rubber mallet technique. Upon completion of the rapping, I turned the frig back on. In A/C mode, for some reason, there did not seem to be heat on the tubes, but perhaps I did not know where to feel. I changed over to gas and, after an hour, the lowest tube, and to some extent, the large round reservoir got warm, especially the lowest tube, but none of the other tubes above that, the ones that cross back and forth, did not have any warmth.

[Ivylog]

Don’t make the same mistake I did of putting way too much money into a NoCold 1200  because of Boondocking misinformation about a residential refrigerator. As others have said, $5000 will buy a lot of solar and lithium batteries, not to mention the money saved by dry camping. One 100AH Lithium battery will run a residential refrigerator 24 hours and can be bought for $200.

[Bill C]

51 minutes ago, Vince Toscano said:

Hi 

Can you tell me the model number of your fridge? Have you looked at the coils in the back of the fridge? If so do you see any signs of a yellowish substance?

Here is my info: Norcold, Serial #: 885123FA, Model: 1200LR (manufactured Oct 2000), Group Code: 01004

I did not see any yellowish substance.

I took Bob's advice and tried the rubber mallet technique. Upon completion of the rapping, I turned the frig back on. In A/C mode, for some reason, there did not seem to be heat on the tubes, but perhaps I did not know where to feel. I changed over to gas and, after an hour, the lowest tube, and to some extent, the large round reservoir got warm, especially the lowest tube, but none of the other tubes above that, the ones that cross back and forth, did not have any warmth.

Thanks

25 minutes ago, Ivylog said:

Don’t make the same mistake I did of putting way too much money into a NoCold 1200  because of Boondocking misinformation about a residential refrigerator. As others have said, $5000 will buy a lot of solar and lithium batteries, not to mention the money saved by dry camping. One 100AH Lithium battery will run a residential refrigerator 24 hours and can be bought for $200.

Holly cow, I did not realize lithium batteries had come down so much in price!

Thanks

[jacwjames]

IMHO

If you can't get the fridge to start the cooling process I would shut if off.  With it on there is a risk of fire. 

 

[Joint Venture]

I have a 2003 version of the 1200 Norcold and when we bought our coach it would not cool very well. We put up with it till we got to JC Refrigeration in Shipshewana, IN. The removed the fridge and converted it to dual 12V compressors, one for freezer and the other for the fridge.  Freezer maintains -1* easily and fridge is consistantly 37-39*. Best $1500 I ever spent.

Edited March 18 by Joint Venture

[cbr046]

25 minutes ago, Joint Venture said:

I have a 2003 version of the 1200 Norcold and when we bought our coach it would not cool very well. We put up with it till we got to JC Refrigeration in Shipshewana, IN. The removed the fridge and converted it to dual 12V compressors, one for freezer and the other for the fridge.  Freezer maintains -1* easily and fridge is consistantly 37-39*. Best $1500 I ever spent.

And with an appointment they can do the work in a few hours . . . That includes putting in a new absorption unit or compressor. 

- bob

[Bill C]

2 hours ago, cbr046 said:

And with an appointment they can do the work in a few hours . . . That includes putting in a new absorption unit or compressor. 

- bob

Good info Bob, thanks

[Tom Cherry]

16 minutes ago, Bill C said:

Good info Bob, thanks

Be aware….that the door gaskets must be in good shape.  Folks have sold or given away good doors.  There is a small company that has limited gaskets….as Norcold had three or so different designs.  Folks have also been creative and stuffed tigon tubing and other materials into their old gaskets.

I had a Winnebago (2004) and the gaskets failed in 2007….the cost was over $1200 as the doors had to be replaced.  I was holding off to add additional extended warranty items and then lucked into a good deal on the Camelot.  Believe me….the chiming will drive a person with good hearing batty….ask my wife.

The Winnebago was a low usage unit always stored indoors…..

Just a comment to ponder ….  If I were doing such, I would search here and get the supplier info and call them and purchase a new set prior to spending 4 figures….for a conversion….

[Tom Cherry]

On 3/16/2024 at 1:14 PM, Bill C said:

My Norcold 1200 refrigerator stopped Cooling. It is the original refrigerator, and was repaired once about 10 years ago by the original/previous owner. I am not sure exactly what was done, but was told it cost about $1500 at the time.

Mine was, and always has, worked well since I've owned it, about 8 years now. 

2 days ago, the left door fell off due to a lower bracket failure. The frig was left open/off for about 2 or so hours. Ever since then it really does no cooling. All the door seals seem to be tight, as designed.

I had a spare control ASSY/power board, and replaced the existing one, no joy - still does not cool.

I also had a spare front control panel, and replaced the existing one, still no cooling.

The frig seems to run fine, but just doesn't cool. I tried running it on gas and electric - no cooling. I checked the thermistor; it seems to check out fine. I even took the thermistor off the cooling fin, so it would register the temp inside even warmer. Still no cooling.

I ran the diagnostic and no error codes showed up.

I don't know what else it could be, short of loss of alcohol in the system. Since I have been parked for a few months, that seems unlikely that it would leak out all at once, as I did not see a gradual degradation in cooling over time, and I have a thermostat inside the frig to keep an eye on the temp.

I do not have that third party safety protector on it, which measures the temp in the back of the frig and shuts it off if it gets too warm/hot. I can't remember the name of it, but I've had 3 fail so far, so I finally just left it off. 

Any help would be appreciated. A new one is $5000+ plus installation, and I don't want to go residential as I like to be off the grid without running the Gen all the time.

Thanks,

Bill

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator
 

BTW….there is NO ALCOHOL in the system.  Ammonia is the refrigerant….and if there is a leak…HYDROGEN and most likely a fire….

Have you followed the trouble shooting guidelines.  MEMORY….there will be a NO CO (No Cooling) error code is the door seal fails.  There is a small pressure differential and if the pressure or Delta P is too low….bingo the system will not cool.

Read the manual….it goes into a lot of good detail as to how to diagnose “NO COOLING”.

Just reread your entire original post….if the gaskets are bad and there is a gross leak, I can’t recall if it will power up and start to cool.  BUT, I can tell with 100% confidence that when it is cooling and your door has a gallon of milk in it and you drive and the door seals flex and then it is OK…then fails the pressure (maybe vacuum) test, that buzzer or alarm will sound off like Big Ben…(as described by my wife),  Me, had to be back there…but it was obvious.

If the doors fail the “Dollar Bill” test….forget it….Super experienced tech showed me….had several spots….as in the gaskets were “wavy” and not sealing 100%…

That’s GOTTA work for the new 12 VDC to work, or that was posted here….check it out….

[Bill C]

UPDATE (probably my last): Frig seems to run fine, been running on propane for 26 hours now, fins hot at the top, fan runs periodically to cool the fins, yet after 26 hours, freezer is 47 deg F and frig is 62 deg F. Frig tech said everything seems to be good, he could not see why it was not cooling properly.

With everything seeming to be running normal, WHY ISN'T IT COOLING? Seals are good, and besides the freezer and frig seals are diff, yet both have low temps.

I give up, unless one of my support gurus can assist, I guess I'll be buying a new frig.

Thanks to everyone for their advice, and words of wisdom. No comment is to small, or insignificant 🙂

Regards,

Bill

[96 EVO]

30 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator
 

BTW….there is NO ALCOHOL in the system.   

There ALWAYS is in mine 😂!

[Bill C]

On 3/16/2024 at 1:48 PM, Rocketman3 said:

If you go Residential you will love the Fridge - more room inside and more consistent temps.

I used a Fisher and Paykel (ordered from Best Buy).  When I  added the residential I also added 400w of solar (two 200w panels and a Victron 100/30 mppt solar charge controller). That seemed to be about right - just for the added fridge load.  You could also get a smaller inverter just for the fridge.

we full-time and boondock most of the time. 
 

if you decide to go this route- let me know and I can send photos and things I learned from my install. Our rigs are both Dynasty’s and only one year apart - so probably very close.

Good Luck!

Hi Rocketman3, which model Fisher and Paykel did you get, the Model:RF135BLPX6-N?