We replaced ours with a whirlpool 22 cubic foot. It required trimming in of the cabinet and sticks out an extra 2 inches but this is not a problem because of the trim. It has not affected our ability to dry camp in any way.
2003 Revolution 40C Class A. 2002 Vanguard 22 foot Class C. Diesel smart car Toad or pulling a 2009 Timeout Tent Trailer.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but rather by the moments that take our breath away.
I have an old rv that at some point had a small house refrigerator poorly installed so I decided to install a 1000 watt inverter and power it that way while driving. I can go about 2.5 days on my 6 volt batteries without charging them, Of course an old RV doesn't have much else in it to consume battery power....In my case the furnace is a bigger draw than the fridge.
When your Norcold goes out- not if- a house type refer is the best way to go. I just put 2 in a couple of coaches. Bought the Whirlpool 9.7 cu ft at Lowes- $379. Beatsthe heck out of absorption and you get twice the volume. and they won't catch fire and don't have recall upon recall just to make sure they don't catch fire
erniee wrote: Beatsthe heck out of absorption and you get twice the volume. and they won't catch fire and don't have recall upon recall just to make sure they don't catch fire
Thanks, many good comments so far. You may want to check out a web site by Ernie Ekberg. The site is Ernieekbergflooring.net and is a Yahoo site. He has converted several rv's from gas to home type refrig's. Does nice work and some good information there.
snail
DRIVE A 2001 NEWMAR DUTCH STAR WITH 330 HP CUMMINS AND TOW A RANGER 4X4. TRAVEL WITH SPOUSE AND PET TINKER BELL OUR CORGIE.
My question is... how does this affect boondocking? Is the refrigerator a large drain on a battery setup?
Were it not for that fact, a residential refrigerator would be a nice alternative just because of the fact that they are inexpensive, don't need to be leveled, can run for decades, only require 120VAC, so if the propane gets shut off, food won't get warm, and they cool down almost instantly.
mlts22 wrote: My question is... how does this affect boondocking? Is the refrigerator a large drain on a battery setup?
Were it not for that fact, a residential refrigerator would be a nice alternative just because of the fact that they are inexpensive, don't need to be leveled, can run for decades, only require 120VAC, so if the propane gets shut off, food won't get warm, and they cool down almost instantly.
Well, keeping it simple, for us it has had no effect on our dry camping. We tend to always run the generator 30 to 60 minutes per day during the use of high current devices anyway. We still do. We have a robust solar system that for the most part keeps up anyway even without the generator running but generators like to run so we kill two birds with one stone. Works for us.
In a flash! I replaced my Norcold with a 18.2 cuft Frigidaire 2 door Gallery. I dry camp often and I use my inverter/automatic gen set system to keep it working. No issues other than getting use to having everything cold within 30 minutes to an hour.
Steve,Kathy,Josh & Morpheus the Basenji
2004 40' TSDP Country Coach Inspire DaVinci
350 Cummins, 3000 Allison
2008 Wrangler X Rubicon/Blue OX Tow Bar/Ready Brake
It's funny how attitudes have changed. When mine went out several years ago, I asked on this forum about replacing with a compressor type. A few that had done it had good things to say, but the vast majority of posts were negative - can't dry camp, wasn't designed for the motion of an RV, requires more space around the unit than the compartment allows, I sure wouldn't do it, etc.
WELL, 12,000 miles later and mine is still the best upgrade I've made - Much less expensive, more efficient, more usable space, AND NOT GOING TO START A FIRE!
Obsolete wrote: It's funny how attitudes have changed. When mine went out several years ago, I asked on this forum about replacing with a compressor type. A few that had done it had good things to say, but the vast majority of posts were negative - can't dry camp, wasn't designed for the motion of an RV, requires more space around the unit than the compartment allows, I sure wouldn't do it, etc.
WELL, 12,000 miles later and mine is still the best upgrade I've made - Much less expensive, more efficient, more usable space, AND NOT GOING TO START A FIRE!
All true. It wasn't too long ago that fridges used 3 to 4 time the power of the fridges of today.
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