Norcold Fridge and Knife don't mix.

SPIKE

SPIKE

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Okay so, there was a block of ice in my freezer section that had a fight with my knife to dislodge. The coil inside lost the battle, and now has a puncture. Freon of course came spewing out. Damn! Had nothing to do with the Happy Hour prior to the battle. Anyway, thinking the coil can be soldered, and new Freon put in. A replacement fridge is very costly. Thoughts?
 
Nope... done ... if puncture is on the lower part coil it filled with water. in honesty after paying someone a few hundred bucks it will fail in a few weeks or months. TRUST ME! Oh that's if u find someone that doesn't ROB u and knows what they are doing . Its sadly just not worth it ....

Sorry.

Rob
 
I didn't think Nevercold had Freon.....thought it had ammonia in their veins.
 
I haven't yet researched. Wonder if there is such a thing as a replacement coil that is re-charged - either with Freon or ammonia.....
 
Hair dryers are much better for ice removal..
If it is ammonia like an RV Norcold you need open access to the back. I replaced my motorhome Norcold cooling unit with an Amish made cooling unit (I think it is better than the original unit) about 7 years ago. It is still going strong.
I had to remove the fridge from my RV and lay it flat in my drive to rebuild. If it is an ammonia unit send me an email, I will see if I can find my vendor.
 
It can be saved but it may not be worth the effort. You have to seal the puncture, install a service valve (because as I recall those units don't come with one) to pull a vacuum (which should deal with the water) and then recharge it through. And perhaps cut a line and install a moisture filter to deal with and water and contaminates in the system at the same time.
 
Bill to what end ??? The drier will become restricted from the moisture ... then another service call. He cant do it himself... Eventually sooner then later compressor will fail. If the puncture is deep and restricts refrigerant flow then he has another issue with a partially frozen coil. After 35 years of doing refrigeration u get a knack when to tell people to walk away. at 120 - 180 per hr for a mechanic ur throwing money away. Not even getting into the Freon 12 BS. So yea walk away.... LESSON LEARNED

Rob
 
quote:
Originally posted by Robski97

Bill to what end ??? The drier will become restricted from the moisture ... then another service call. He cant do it himself... Eventually sooner then later compressor will fail. If the puncture is deep and restricts refrigerant flow then he has another issue with a partially frozen coil. After 35 years of doing refrigeration u get a knack when to tell people to walk away. at 120 - 180 per hr for a mechanic ur throwing money away. Not even getting into the Freon 12 BS. So yea walk away.... LESSON LEARNED

Rob

Click to expand...


What part of, "it may not be worth the effort" did you miss?
:-)

But it can be done. That is all I'm saying.
 
You have options! You can spend big bucks for marine fridges that have no interior light and are not self defrosting. Or you can do as I did and purchase an apartment sized fridge whose measurements were nearly identical to my crappy Norcold. I built an automatic switch over circuit that runs the fridge from dock or genny power when available or an inverter when it is not. Just powering from a true sinewave inverter 100% of the time will work. Loads of inexpensive inverters on EBay.

My cost was $550 for an 8.3cuft fridge delivered. And yes it does have an interior light and self defrost. No need to spend big bucks for inferior marine fridges. JMHO
 
quote:
Originally posted by foggysail

You have options! You can spend big bucks for marine fridges that have no interior light and are not self defrosting. Or you can do as I did and purchase an apartment sized fridge whose measurements were nearly identical to my crappy Norcold. I built an automatic switch over circuit that runs the fridge from dock or genny power when available or an inverter when it is not. Just powering from a true sinewave inverter 100% of the time will work. Loads of inexpensive inverters on EBay.

My cost was $550 for an 8.3cuft fridge delivered. And yes it does have an interior light and self defrost. No need to spend big bucks for inferior marine fridges. JMHO

Click to expand...


How cold does the freezer get? And, how long will it run off of your battery bank?
 
Have not tested for the lowest temperature because that would lower the box temperature too low. But with the box set to 40F (measured with thermometer) the freezer is about -5 to -10F.

Battery bank hold time depends on too many factors. I have a 7.5KW Kohler generator along with 4 solar panels to keep my batteries charged. The solar stuff charges up to 25 amperes for at least 8 hours with sun shining if the charge regulator does not go into over charge shutdown. Solar takes care of all my charging needs, genny takes care of coffee, hot water and cooking.

Before I installed solar and before I installed the apartment size Summit fridge, my Norcold pummeled the batteries. So for a crude comparison, the Summit requires less charging time that the Norcold with all things being equaled. I needed to run the genny for two hours each morning and night to keep the batterys up. But there was also lighting and a 32" led TV on for hours.

I use a Xantrex 1KW true sinewave inverter powered with a bank of 4 golf carts. When the self defrost starts, it draws about 500-700 watts for a couple of minutes. I have ran the Summit off of a modified sine wave inverter with no problems. I recommend a 1500 watt high efficiency true sinewave inverter, many of which are found on EBay. Summit has increased their product line since I purchased mine available then only in white. I sprayed mine black. Today they even offer SS.

Foggy
 
Thanks for the info. I contemplated an AC fridge a couple years ago but ended up going with a dual voltage marine unit. I still wonder if it was the right choice. My freezer only gets down to 14*F which seems typical for this type of fridge.
 
My marine Tundra unit kept ice cream nice and hard. Norcolds never did that.
 
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