Need help with refrigerator

I

imspacemancraig

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I am posting this for a friend who has a 1990 34' Santego. He has the original refrigerator in it and needs to get the freon charged as it isn't getting cold but the unit seems to be running fine outside of that.

He called a service place but they asked what kind of freon was in it? He doesn't have the manual for this and we can't seem to find a model number on it, it is a Norcold though.

Anyone have any clue what kind of freon is in it or a manual you could share/email? It has a freezer on top and the regular fridge on the bottom. Dial to turn up or down is inside on the back wall of it.
 
It should be printed on a label on the compressor. Norcold may also be able to tell you when they switched to r34a.
 
I assume to get at the compressor we need to pull the fridge out, correct? Never put these things in easy to get at places...
 
Typically, if you are low on freon, it means there is a leak in the system. If the fridge is a 1990 model, it is probably not worth trying to fix as the compressor is shot or the evaporator (cold plate) has micro cracks in it that cannot be fixed. Usually, the power supply goes bad on Nocolds and the cost of the repair just about equals the cost of a new fridge. Most folks opt for a cheap aftermarket with straight 120v operation.
 
Thanks, I will pass that along to him, although fridges aren't cheap, any recommendations of makes to keep the cost down?
 
If you don't need the 12vdc & can use only 120vac you can get a same size household fridge for 20% of the price.
 
Like Bob said, household fridge is 1/5 the cost of a new Nocold. Haier, GE, Maytag etc all make similar sized fridges for under $300. IMO, that is the way to go. Nocolds are well named.
 
I put a new vitrifrigo in two months ago not cheap but well worth the money
 
Cool, I will run that past them and let them know. Might be an option for them. They haven't really stayed out somewhere over night that didn't have power hookups...
 
We switched out the original 1987 Norcold last year to a 120 volt from Home Depot
One of the best projects done so far.
I took 4 guys to lift it thru the main entry door after I removed
all the cooling equipment from the back.
It will stay cold all day if you don't open the door a lot.
Just my thoughts
 
That's kind of what I was thinking. Thanks for the suggestions, I will relay to him. Not to mention, will save some cash for the tanks instead. :)
 
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