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Gas Absorption Frig

Yahoo Message Number: 75714
Hi,

I feel the pain of those dealing with irresponsible designs for which Norcold and Dometic clearly have a hand in.

This was posted here some time ago but I'll put it out here again:

http://www.muniac.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=68#Post68 It's our trek through the OEM gas absorption cooling unit fiasco. Yup - We smelled ammonia. I'll add a few comments here that might help some folks out there.

The Norcold OEM cooling unit's vertical tube with cartridge heaters isn't insulated as well as it could be. Also the upper mounting tabs can pull loose from the back of the frig causing the assembly to swing back and forth. Over time, while driving, I'd imagine this can lead to tubing fatigue and leaks. Also the OEM unit doesn't use thick wall tubing which means it's weaker and subject to premature failure. It all boils down to $$$ and Norcold went as cheap as possible. And, per usual, the consumer bears the ultimate price.

Our cooling unit did fail and a picture of it is in the link. There was no fire in our case. We went with the Pines RV Refrigeration cooling unit which has been properly designed and manufactured. Link is

here: http://rvcoolingunit.com/Default.aspx For the Norcold 1200 LRIM, it's $1K delivered. The cooling unit is heavy and clumsy to handle. What they did was use thicker tubing and also the vertical tube has a sheet metal sleeve around the insulation. Not the silver stringed paper junk Norcold used. As for the installation, it took Jeannie and I about 15 hours to do it. It wasn't my idea of fun, relaxation and enjoyment. But we got through it! Not having done a repair like this before, we needed to move slowly. Our frig works quite well now and the ice box can hit -10F. I think the Pines RV cooling unit is well made, safe and reliable. It's an option for those wishing to stick with their original frig. Like so many things on our busses, you need to keep a constant eye on things. Stay in touch with your equipment, read this news groups, read recall data and be diligent about repairs/replacements. You can never be too careful IMHO. I wish everyone safe living, safe travels and an enjoyable experience when out and about.

Best - Scott

2006 Allure 430 #31349
(Bus-Stead Lemon)