Norcold Refrigerator

Big Ben · 03-30-2006, 05:19 PM

Was wondering if any body has had this problem? Refrigerator quit working, as burner seemed to work and ele. was pulling amps. Went to out side frig excess port and found that the large black tube , which I beleive carries the ammonia, hab a lot of what looks like corrosion, that is yellowish brown color. Apparently the ammonia leaked out here.
Had a service man come out and he said he has never seen this happen before. New cooling unit cost $1600 and new fri. installed $3500.

Big Ben · 03-30-2006, 05:19 PM

Was wondering if any body has had this problem? Refrigerator quit working, as burner seemed to work and ele. was pulling amps. Went to out side frig excess port and found that the large black tube , which I beleive carries the ammonia, hab a lot of what looks like corrosion, that is yellowish brown color. Apparently the ammonia leaked out here.
Had a service man come out and he said he has never seen this happen before. New cooling unit cost $1600 and new fri. installed $3500.

rebelsbeach · 03-30-2006, 05:48 PM

Ben,it is necessary to upload your pic to the web before you can use the image tags....There are easy to follow directions on our photo gallery page.

Big Ben · 03-30-2006, 06:17 PM

I finally figured it out. Thank you .

Dougmyers · 03-30-2006, 06:31 PM

All I can say is check out ebay on the replacement cooling unit. I bought one for mine on ebay for about $450 and replaced it myself in about 6 hours work.
Yes its a some work but nothing you cant do if you set your mind to it.
Most of the cooling unit builders will send you instructions with the unit on how to replace it.

You need brand name and model of fridge unit to search for it.
A lot of the same units are interchangable on the same brand name.

Norcold

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/norcold-rv-refrigerator-...dZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Dometic

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/dometic-rv-refrigerator-...dZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

A dozen screws maybe 4 bolts in back, a water line if it has ice maker, a 12 volt wire off. a 110 volt unplug and a propain line off, then reverse it and all back together.

Big Ben · 03-30-2006, 06:43 PM

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not very handy and we are full timers so we are going to op for a new one. We are hoping for some help from American Guardian.

Kazoo Tom · 03-30-2006, 07:09 PM

Not sure where you are, but if you can get anywhere near Elkhart, Indiana you can get some great deals on new refridgerators. I had one go out a few years ago in a class C. Retail replacement cost for me was about $1400, bought a new "surplus" fridge for $650 and installed it myself. It was sold as brand new and had a full manufacturer (Dometic) warranty. The really aren't that difficult to install.

NeilV · 03-30-2006, 11:30 PM

Ben,

That should not have happened on a 3 or 4 year old unit. Depending on when you purchased yout MH you could still be under warranty or just a little bit out. From your picture it could have rotted like that due to an incorrect amount of chromate in the refridgerant charge, a bad weld by Norecold on the vertical brace or improper installation allowing water to puddle against the tube causing it to rot. I would gently but firmly press the issue with Norecold and see if they will give you some coverage.

I used to maintain and repair 5 ton ammonia absorption units and would not trash a cooling unit that was this new but would just steel weld in a new section of tube instead. I guess most tecs don't want to deal with the extra precautions one has to take when welding an absorption unit. They tend to develope pockets of hydrogen which is non-condensable which will also stop a unit from cooling. If the only problem is lack of cooling due to the build up of hydrogen then the solution is to use the upper bleed valve to release the hydrogen into a bucket of water which will protect you from a sudden release of anhydrous ammonia. When a weld repair is required or the system needs a full recharge you need to purge it with an inert gas such as nitrogen first so that any remaining hydrogen will be displaced. Hydrogen in a sealed tube and a welding torch are not a very good combination.

See if Norcold will take care of this since it seems like a manufacturing defect. Don't stop at the first no and see if you can get someone higher up to take responsibility.

Regards,

Neil

troth · 03-31-2006, 01:42 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">We are hoping for some help from American Guardian. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Ben, keep us posted on the response from American Guardian...

CruiseData · 03-31-2006, 06:47 AM

Ben, There have been a few recalls on "Norcold Ref. You might check with them, providing that it is a Norcold. The Norcold folks are great to work with. Good Luck, Kent Farndell

Tom N · 03-31-2006, 02:37 PM

I had the cooling unit rebuilt on my old Vectra frige. Cost $660 and they gave me a 2 year warranty.

Big Ben · 03-31-2006, 04:26 PM

I'm in Punta Gorda Fl. Neilv, Thanks that is what I was looking for. A possible reason. Tom I always seem to have to pay more for a job than others. I had 3 service guys all very close in price. This is the big 4 door Norcold. The price to buy new is almost double over the big single door.
Ebay is the same deal, all coolers were for smaller units. Haven't heard from the warranty company yet but will post as soon as I do. Thanks every one for your suggestions

Tom N · 04-02-2006, 05:00 PM

The fellow that rebuilt mine charges the same $600 for any model or make.

TheRVGuy · 04-02-2006, 05:05 PM

Ben,

Be SURE that you check the recall listing on Norcold's site. You will need the cooling unit number on the collection tank (visible just in front of you when you open the service door.

Norcold had a large number of units that had questionable or defective cooling units from their supplier and they did the right thing and recalled them all. The age of your unit is about right for the recall period.

Hope this helps out.

Mike & Lisa

Big Ben · 04-03-2006, 05:10 PM

We checked the recall list first thing. I have checked 3 differant repair men and all were with in $150 of each other.
We decided to go with new unit. Inspector from warranty company is coming out tomorrow.

Big Ben · 04-05-2006, 06:17 PM

Well I got the word from American Guardian Warranty. They will not cover the cooler because the damage was caused by rust.
Thanks for all the suggestions. One of the differants in prices is because of the size of this unit.. It is a 12 cubic ft.unit and it looks as if the side window will have to be removed to get it out of here.