Does anyone work on Norcold fridge/freezer- Vancouver

[Captainofnothing]

Does anyone know of any companies that service or will work on Norcold AC/DC fridge/freezer in the Vancouver, Canada area? I have checked the list of service agents and have contacted pretty much everyone on the list from their website. Most are RV places that either do not respond or do not work on that type of fridge. The only marine company on their list is Bluewater rigging and they do not answer emails and if you phone they tell you to email them

https://norcold.com/customer-support/dealer-and-service-center-locator/


My fridge is very old and drawing way too much power and running 24/7, killing my battery life at anchor. I am looking to either convert it to the Danfoss compressor or get a new one all together.

 

[Peter B]

Welcome to TF, and I've taken the liberty of moving your post from 'How to use the forum, etc' to somewhere where it should get wider readership for that topic.

 

[Captainofnothing]

Thanks very much, first time caller long time listener!!!

 

[Insequent]

I have a Norcold fridge in a 41 year old boat, but don't know if the fridge itself is that old. It may well be. Mine already has a Danfoss compressor - your might as well? It is working fine at present, and is not that big of a power hog, but still my largest overnight power user by far.

Friends with an almost identical boat (including age) told me yesterday their Norcold, also with a Danfoss unit, has just failed. For them the compressor runs, and bypassing the thermostat to force it to run continuously still doesn't get the fridge cold so they are planning to replace. Even if you find someone who is willing and able to work on it, you will likely be a few hundred out of pocket with no guarantee regarding future lifetime.

I suspect I will be in the same situation fairly soon. Even if a re-gas or whatever would fix it, the power draw will still likely be higher than a new fridge that has better insulation etc. I'll try and find an AC powered one when the time comes as it should be half the price or less than a 12V unit - who knows why? Of course the final determinant will be getting something the right size or only needing minor carpentry to get it in place.

You did not mention whether it gets cold - if it does then there are some suggestions in the manual for troubleshooting eg thermostat, door seals

 

[Captainofnothing]

I have a Norcold fridge in a 41 year old boat, but don't know if the fridge itself is that old. It may well be. Mine already has a Danfoss compressor - your might as well? It is working fine at present, and is not that big of a power hog, but still my largest overnight power user by far.

Friends with an almost identical boat (including age) told me yesterday their Norcold, also with a Danfoss unit, has just failed. For them the compressor runs, and bypassing the thermostat to force it to run continuously still doesn't get the fridge cold so they are planning to replace. Even if you find someone who is willing and able to work on it, you will likely be a few hundred out of pocket with no guarantee regarding future lifetime.

I suspect I will be in the same situation fairly soon. Even if a re-gas or whatever would fix it, the power draw will still likely be higher than a new fridge that has better insulation etc. I'll try and find an AC powered one when the time comes as it should be half the price or less than a 12V unit - who knows why? Of course the final determinant will be getting something the right size or only needing minor carpentry to get it in place.

You did not mention whether it gets cold - if it does then there are some suggestions in the manual for troubleshooting eg thermostat, door seals

Much appreciated for the information, I actually have no idea which model compressor it has as I need to rip the cupboard apart to get to it to find out. I only know that one refrigeration company that I contacted said they only did Danfoss and didn't work on Norcold??

The fridge does get cold but only on AC power, when I turn my inverter off and try and sit at anchor for longer period it gets progressively warmer despite me only opening it around 5 times per day as the beers are kept elsewhere. I also get a loud buzzing from the fridge and the compressor is constantly running. My power draw on it is 15 amps which is brutal overnight. I just installed a new battery bank with approx 450 amp hours of usable charge, with that huge draw I am still having to run my genny every night to keep the battery bank from dipping too low, even with a solar panel.

I am loath to buy a new fridge despite assuming this is what I am going to have to do. Every review I read about AC/DC fridges is that people are never fully happy and they don't get cold(and are crazy expensive)!! I don't want a straight AC fridge as the whole idea behind dropping a boat load of money on my battery bank was the ability to not run my inverter constantly.

 

[Comodave]

We had a Norcold (Never Cold) in our current boat. It stopped cooling. I used the troubleshooting guide and had a question so I called. Their answering system said they wouldn’t help customers troubleshoot a product but to call an authorized repair center. Same problem as you all of the centers only wanted to work on ammonia based refers. We finally cut up the old refer and took it out. Found an Isotherm that would fit in the door. Been using it for the last week and a half on a cruise and absolutely love it. My wife had it completely loaded at the start of the cruise and we had to turn it down because it was too cold. Not sure exactly how much power it is using but however much it is worth it because it cools and freezes.

 

[OldDan1943]

I think even fewer people work on Splendide washers/dryers.
The difficult part is getting the fridge or washer out of the cabinets/cave.

 

[Comodave]

To get the Norcold refer out of the boat I had to remove the compressor, coils, control box and cut the rear feet off the box to get it out the door. I have 21.25” opening at the door. The new Isotherm refer with the doors off is 20.5” deep so it went in easily. The combo washer dryer can be disassembled to get them in and out but it is a real PITA.

 

[Bmarler]

i prefer a straight d.c. fridge. that eliminates the extra power supply and switching pieces that can fail.
don't know what the norcold looks like, is it just a fridge or is it a split fridge freezer, or ?
if it's just a one door thing you might be able to retro fit an adler barbour setup into it, but really, is it worth it? it's probably about the same cost or less, to simply replace it with something modern. it seems like some folks here have used a cheap a.c. unit and installed a stand alone inverter to power it. not my preferred way, but if it works, why not?
when i tried to source a new fridge for my last boat the wait time was months. even with that, they would not say for sure if it would come in within that time frame. lots of maybes.
a.c. fridges are cheap and easy to get. anywhere. any time. so are small inverters.
that setup might let you shut down the big inverter like you want.
with a modest power budget, that size battery bank should last a couple of days or more, especially with a solar addition.

 

[koliver]

In the Vancouver BC area there is only one place to go for your boat refrigeration. North Shore Refrigeration:
(604) 987-8544
55 Bewicke Avenue North Vancouver, BC V7M 3B6 Canada

Ask Geoff, aka "Freddy Freezer".
A friend with fridge issues this month has reported Geoff's waiting time is into September, but is confident that Geoff is the "go to" guy.

My own experience with Geoff, is that he has taken over from the original "Freddy Freezer" who fixed my Norcold "Never Cold" issues decades ago, and knows more about your boat refrigeration than any other local fridge guy.

 

[Comodave]

That was the problem with the one guy that said he could work on the NeverCold was it would be late August before he could look at it. Then he couldn’t buy parts because he wasn’t an authorized dealer. So we bought a new one, but not Nevercold.

 

[kthoennes]

This isn't very helpful I know, but we ditched our Norcold DE-461 last year and replaced it with an LG super efficient 7.0 cu foot model, 110v, but it runs on our 12v system with a dedicated (single purpose) inverter mentioned above. There was a long thread on TF at the time on my project and other similar projects. That inverter is certainly not the most efficient or ideal way to do it, but the greater efficiency of the new fridge more than makes up for the relatively small inverter loss. The new fridge is highly, highly efficient, keeps everything very cold, didn't cost a million dollars, and I'm no longer hostage to an obsolete, less efficient, "marine" model where I search for hours online for a replacement door hinge. I sure understand wanting to keep that Norcold going -- I had the same instinct. I even had the wire racks sandblasted and powder-coated when they started to get rusty, that's how far I went to try to keep that thing working well and looking decent. Complete and total waste of money and time and effort trying to keep that stupid, annoying, lukewarm, corroding Norcold going.

My only challenge was finding an ac model that would almost exactly fit the cabinet, and then I did have to do a little carpentry to make it pretty and hold it securely because of course most residential fridges don't have the screwed-in edge molding like boat and RV fridges. But in retrospect I should have thrown that Norcold overboard years ago. Life is too short to burn your time on this planet trying to keep an obsolete fridge alive. My two cents anyway.

 

[koliver]

decades ago, when I had FF look at my NC, I took it out of the boat and dropped it off at NSR. When I picked it up again, FF had removed its AC/DC inverters, motors, controls, and had installed a DC Danfoss. That unit draws less than 1/3 the 12v than the old NC, and after all these years is still going strong. I contacted Geoff recently, looking for a new control knob and some trim bits. My very old fridge box is back looking like a new NC, but I know its heart is way better. Now, if I could find the piece of trim that spells out the name, without the NC name, I could complete the fridge reno.

 

[Comodave]

You have owned that boat for decades???

 

[koliver]

You have owned that boat for decades???

Dave
Unlike you, I can't seem to get through my "to do" list, so I just keep plugging along with the same old boat.

 

[Comodave]

I never get through the to do list either. I just get a different boat with a different to do list. I did own a boat for 8 years once.

 

[C lectric]

In the Vancouver BC area there is only one place to go for your boat refrigeration. North Shore Refrigeration:
(604) 987-8544
55 Bewicke Avenue North Vancouver, BC V7M 3B6 Canada

Ask Geoff, aka "Freddy Freezer".
A friend with fridge issues this month has reported Geoff's waiting time is into September, but is confident that Geoff is the "go to" guy.

My own experience with Geoff, is that he has taken over from the original "Freddy Freezer" who fixed my Norcold "Never Cold" issues decades ago, and knows more about your boat refrigeration than any other local fridge guy.

I will second Kolivers suggestion. THey have been KNOWN as the experts for these types of refrigerators. Often swapping out the OEM Norcold compressor and installing the Danfoss units. Often needed when a fridge is built in in such a way as the cabinetry would need to go through major modifications.

I had a Norcold and had similar trouble. I got suspicious something was wrong, when I unplugged the DC and then used the AC. I could hear the motor speed up. When I pulled it out I realized there was a wiring schematic. They built their own inverter of sorts to produce an AC voltage/current and the thing needed an adjustment. Once done it ran far better as the adjustment raised the frequency to 60 Hz from about the 54Hz it was operating at.

Anyway , I eventually changed to a Nova Cool fridge and simply replaced the Norcold and dropped the current draw about another 40%.

Talk to them and I suspect they can install a Danfoss compressor unit which is much more efficient than the old "Swing" motor pumps. I've known more than a few go that route when a replacement fridge would not fit without major modifications to the cabinetry.

 

[catalinajack]

Much appreciated for the information, I actually have no idea which model compressor it has as I need to rip the cupboard apart to get to it to find out. I only know that one refrigeration company that I contacted said they only did Danfoss and didn't work on Norcold??

The fridge does get cold but only on AC power, when I turn my inverter off and try and sit at anchor for longer period it gets progressively warmer despite me only opening it around 5 times per day as the beers are kept elsewhere. I also get a loud buzzing from the fridge and the compressor is constantly running. My power draw on it is 15 amps which is brutal overnight. I just installed a new battery bank with approx 450 amp hours of usable charge, with that huge draw I am still having to run my genny every night to keep the battery bank from dipping too low, even with a solar panel.

I am loath to buy a new fridge despite assuming this is what I am going to have to do. Every review I read about AC/DC fridges is that people are never fully happy and they don't get cold(and are crazy expensive)!! I don't want a straight AC fridge as the whole idea behind dropping a boat load of money on my battery bank was the ability to not run my inverter constantly.

We have 12-volt only fridges (Vitrifrigo). Even in very high summer temps, they keep cold such that I do not have to turn the theromstat to max. If I do, delicates such as lettuce will freeze. Fridges that are combination AC/DC simply have a module/inverter that changes AC into DC to power the Danfoss 12VDC compressor so it is fallacy that combo-supply fridges are problematic. I chose 12VDC-only because I see no sense in inverting from DC to AC when away from shore power only to have the module change it back to DC to run the compressor, thus avoiding double inverter losses. Plus, those modules fail not infrequently are expensive replace.

 

[OldDan1943]

Buy a new control module. They have 2 kinds, straight DC and an ACC/DC module.
Choose your "poison".
I have the DC only module

 

[koliver]

Fridges that are combination AC/DC simply have a module/inverter that changes AC into DC to power the Danfoss 12VDC compressor so it is fallacy that combo-supply fridges are problematic. I chose 12VDC-only because I see no sense in inverting from DC to AC when away from shore power only to have the module change it back to DC to run the compressor, thus avoiding double inverter losses. Plus, those modules fail not infrequently are expensive replace.

A basic understanding of AC to DC and of DC to AC is necessary.

To get DC from your batteries, a direct connection is all that is required.

To get AC while not connected to an external source of AC (shore power) or an on -board source, Generator, you need an inverter.

Older fridges (Norcold is the one I know) run on AC, and their "AC/DC" fridges had a built in inverter to accomplish this. As reported above, their power consumption can be ridiculously high to provide that AC to the fridge.

The solution for me, and many others, has been to remove the Norcold power system completely and use a DC only, by Danfoss, connected directly to DC power.

Once the power consumption of your fridge has been tamed, all those new and expensive batteries become redundant and you can reduce the size of your House bank when the present bank needs to be renewed.