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Refer madness

Yahoo Message Number: 88881
Last Saturday we were scheduled to leave on our summer trip from Tucson to the pacific northwest. Went out at 4 in the morning to get things rolling, and I noticed the norcold refrigerator had stop working, the little black box recall #2 had shut down. I spent the morning dismantling the old norcold. Went to Home depot and ordered the Samsung RF197acrs. It was to be delivered by Thursday, it finally came today Saturday. I had done all my prep work this last week, so the install went very well about 2 hours total. The Samsung refer got down to 38 in the fridge and -2 in the freezer in about 2.5 hours. So far so good. I guess I'm writing to the group because when I removed the Norcold the foam backing on the coach had been burnt. The insulation on the hear exchanger was also burnt and almost gone above where you can see from the outside. Even though we are a week behind our travel plans, in which we had to make several cancelations. I'm glad it happened in my yard. Hope this helps if you are planning to make the change.
Jim 2006 Allure 430 #31317

Re: Refer madness

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88882
Don't get me started, after my weekend wine - I'll say something about Norcold that is deserved:)!
What a Mickey Mouse series of recalls. I refused the last one, as it was just too comical to believe that they even had the nerve to go in that direction.
Glad your Samsung install went so well, and that you only lost a week in the schedule vs losing a life or property.
I wanted to retain propane as an option for boondocking, so we went with the Amish Cooling unit, added a few extra fans on the rear that we can control, and the SS-30 extinguisher and a stand alone smoke detector too...
Enjoy your travels, and hope your electrical demands of the Samsung matches your planned usage.

Smitty,

04 Allure 31017
04 Allure Sold to a nice new owner! Now enjoying a 07 Magna Rembrandt 45' ISX600 #6775
"We're ONDROAD for THEJRNY!" (Toad and Coach license plates, say Hi if you see us!)

Re: Refer madness

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88883
I have had my Amish cooling unit for almost a year, and love it, had to turn the fridge down to 3 and I can keep ice cream frozen solid. A friend called today and their Norcold bit the dust on their 05 Inspire, so it seems like the older coaches are experiencing problems rapidly. The tubing insulation on my unit was burned and melted also where it could not be seen, and the inside of the fridge cabinet was scorched, so I feel like I dodged the bullet, If you own an older coach you might want to think about taking some kind of action on the Norcold . It was a scary situation when I saw the evidence of burning and personally know of 2 coach fires of people I know.

Jerry

2004 Inspire 51012

Re: Refer madness

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88884
Jim - Sorry to hear of your dilemma. As you point out, it could have been much worse. I'm presently working on a replacement controller that I hope will help those wanting to keep the Norcold unit. That said, if anyone has a Norcold control unit they can part with it would help this effort. Sadly GACUs have gotten a very bad wrap because of irresponsible design. I say sadly because the technology is basically sound. The Amish have been using it for decades. Good luck and safe travels.

Best - Scott

2006 Allure 430 40' #31349

(Bus-Stead Lemon) My Allure Page http://www.muniac.com/Allure%20Page.html

Re: Refer madness

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88890
Jim....Please tell me more about what you had to do to install your Samsung....My coach is an '07 Tribute and it may be different but I'd still like to know. Were you able to get the old and new fridges in and out the front door? What cabinet modifications did you have to make? How did you hook up the wiring? Did you install more chassis or Home Batteries? Sorry for asking stupid questions. David ......Coach #80217

Re: Refer madness

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88941
David, we have been on the road the last few days to try to make up some time lost. I removed the passenger seat, after removal of the norcold, I routed the 110v electrical below and behind the two lower drawers, there was alot of wires in the back on the far right hand corner that I tighten them as close to the back wall as possible. I then removed the wood header as the fridge goes up to the ceiling. When the samsung arrived I removed front doors and freezer compartment, the refer went through the front door with no problem. Placed refer upright and re-installed just front doors. Placed Samsung on a plywood box I made 32"x24"x13 1/2" in front of cavity, measured my wood blocks for support, mounted the blocks 2 3/8" wide by 17" long. Rolled the Samsung in the cavity drilled through the front leveling mounts and through bolted to my wood brackets. As I was rolling the new refer back I went outside and to feed the electrical through the hole I had drilled. Total time about 2 hours. After the new fridge was in I put freezer compartment back in. The new fridge is great, I only wish I had done this months earlier. I guess the only negative is that my wife needs to use a stool for the top shelf, as this unit sits aprox. 14" off the ground as is 70" high. I told her that I could remove the drawers and mount it lower, she said no way I like the storage and its no big deal to use the stool. Hope this helps.
Jim 2006 Allure 430 #31317