Residential Reefer Install

[rogo88]

04' Journey 39W

What would be involved with replacing Norcold w/a residential reefer?

Currently have 7500W Gen. -- 300W Inverter [don't think I have the 2000W] -- Only 4 house batteries -- Just the 10W solar panel.

Seems as though there would already be a thread on this, but I could not find it.

Thanks,

   Ron

[Kirk W]

The first issue would be the space for it with the right ventilation. Weight could also be an issue as can weight distribution so take that into consideration when planning. Modern home refrigerators are much more energy conscious and that means less power requirements but you need to look at the refrigerators that you are considering to see just how much you will need in inverter ability while traveling and solar to supply it when dry camping. To determine the inverter needed, you want to multiply the current in amps by the voltage required and that gives you the watts needed to keep it running. If it needs 5a to run at 120v your inverter must supply at least 7,200 watts of run power from the inverter. Solar needs would be less as the batteries store the power that solar generates and so become a fuel tank for the inverter since the refrigerator's compressor will not be running constantly. 

[Bill Joyce]

We did this a few years ago, moving from a 12 cuft 4-door Norcold to a 24 cuft side-by-side Whirlpool.  We went with this model because it was shorter than the popular Samsung French Door models people were using and we could go the full 36" wide. 

First find models that will fit the hole as well as possible, including any required air gaps.  You will probably be looking at ""counter depth" refrigerators, since normal ones stick out too far in an RV.    Good places to buy and do online research are https://www.appliancesconnection.com/ (we bought from them and it took about a month to get delivery) and https://www.ajmadison.com .   If you can find something locally (Best Buy, Lowes, etc.), you will be a head.  Also figure out how you can get the fridge into place, you might have to remove a window or the windshield.  We had to worry about how deep the new fridge was since we had a counter across from the hole and only had 31".  We know people who have had to pay restocking fees since they could not get the  new fridge in place because it was too big in one direction.  Make sure to account for the power pigtail on the fridge.  Also think about how you will secure the fridge to the frame and how you will keep the doors closed during travel.  (Ours is mounted to the floor and we use Gear Ties around the side-by-side handles.)

Second you will need a pure sinewave inverter and to size it get a Kill-A-Watt meter ($20 to $30) to see what the fridge uses.  A good place to get pure sinewave inverters is https://www.donrowe.com/ .  Inverters that do not have chargers built-in are much cheaper than inverter/chargers.  The inverter should be close to the batteries, then you run 120 volt wires to the back of the fridge.  If you go with an inverter/charger you will put in a second circuit breaker box and move the circuits you want on the inverter to it.    We already had a pure sinewave inverter/charger, though we later upgraded from the 2000 watt to a 3000 watt Magnum hybrid.  

[PaHunter]

My thought having delivered appliances for a couple years would be how do you get it inside ?? Power cord on the back, do all the door hinge brackets come off ?? Believe me, as little as 1/4inch and it is not going in.

On our fifth wheel they put the fridge in  before the slide is in place, and replacing it could mean  a very expensive swap out.

[WILDEBILL308]

1 hour ago, PaHunter said:

My thought having delivered appliances for a couple years would be how do you get it inside ?? Power cord on the back, do all the door hinge brackets come off ?? Believe me, as little as 1/4inch and it is not going in.

On our fifth wheel they put the fridge in  before the slide is in place, and replacing it could mean  a very expensive swap out.

I found a 12 cu ft. Sears that would fit through my door (the door opening is 24") by taking the doors and hinges off. I also removed the passenger seat for clearance.

I added a ice maker. It has worked great for about a year now and has never been shut off. I just plugged into the inverter plug that was used to power the icemaker on the old Domectic when it was on propane and no 110 available.

I would have gone with the Sam Sun but it was 3" to tall.

Bill

[Bill Joyce]

This writeup by a friend on his replacement in a 2005 Horizon 40AD might help - https://janeandjohn.org/pages/NorcoldReplacement.html .

[Smitty77_7]

Bill's link to a sister/brother coach is good info for you:)! You might also go to IRV2 Owner' Section and search for Samsung, suspect many have made this mod:)!

I never fact checked this, and too late for me to do so now, but I read recently that Samsung does not honor warranty in RV's(?). So buying a Home Depot or Lowe's (Etc.) Extended Warranty might be good investment. If I had known their was a question about the standard warranty, I would have purchased an EW. 

If you boon dock a lot, beefing up the battery bank and making sure you have an inverter with capacity to handle start up, is further homework:)! Though the Samsung RF18 does have a little less surge demands at startup, then many refrigerators. I know some who do boon dock quite a bit, have added a dedicated smaller inverter just for fridge duty. This way they can turn off their larger main inverter to conserve idle AH draw. 

If you do not boon dock a lot, then the battery bank should be able to be smaller. 

In our coach, very minor cabinet work was required to fit the RF18 in the place of the Norcold 1200. And we did have to come in thru a window for our install. 

Best of luck to you,

Smitty

 

[Bill Joyce]

Unfortunately rogo88 has not visited the forum since he posted here.

[rogo88]

Yes, I have failed to show appreciation for your responses.

I mistakenly thot' that I would get an email notifying me of responses to my post.  I got none, so thot' there were none.

I now see that it is necessary to check a box to request notifications.

Apologies to you all and I thank you for your input.  I think the installation is not in the picture at this time.

     Ron

[hone eagle]

On 4/20/2018 at 12:44 PM, PaHunter said:

My thought having delivered appliances for a couple years would be how do you get it inside ?? Power cord on the back, do all the door hinge brackets come off ?? Believe me, as little as 1/4inch and it is not going in.

On our fifth wheel they put the fridge in  before the slide is in place, and replacing it could mean  a very expensive swap out.

not that big a deal .the windows come out ,thats how my samsung got in.