BAC Forum
General Boards => Redecorating and Updating your Motorhome => Topic started by: Marty and Suzie Schenck on April 27, 2014, 06:32:42 PM
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Well my Norcold finally quit. With a LOT of thought about fixing or repairing we decided to replace. Repairing would require purchasing a new cooling unit (Amish: $1165. plus shipping: $65.) then installing which my wife and I thought we could do ourselves. Then there was the residential refer (Samsung RF-197 $1258.) with a 5 year warranty. Did a lot of research, measuring and a recommendation from Joel Weiss, we decided to go reidential. My No-cold did not catch fire nor was there any indication that it got hot ever. It just quit one day and it was diagnosed failed cooling unit. The No-cold went out the front door with the refer doors removed and the Samsung came in the front door although I did have to removed the entry door at the hinges. The Samsung is taller so we lost the two side by side drawers below the old refer. Other than that it fits right in the opening. Right now it is plugged into the old refer outlet but I did add a circuit to the inverter sub panel that it will be hooked to. I still have to trim it out but I'm to frappin tired and sore. Maybe next weekend. I did all the work myself with the help of my wife and then 4 other guys to get the units in and out the door. Marty
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Oops, forgot the picture! Maybe the moderator could rotate it. Comes up normal on my computer.
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How's this?
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My fridge looks the same. Monaco put latches on the doors. One at the bottom of the side-by-sides, that attaches all three together, another between the upper handles, just for the top 2. Still requires caution opening for the first time after a road trip, as things not only shift around, but the heaviest, most breakable items always position themselves to leap out at th e irst opening.
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Hi Marty
We just used a velcro strap to hold the two handles together and a Sugastine latch for the freezer. If your Norcold had a ice maker then you already have an inverter circuit at the refer in a separate plug labeled "ice maker"
Brad Burgess
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Thank you Glenda for rotating the picture. Richard I'm going to use velcro to hold the doors closed and run it off or the inverter when going down the road. Thank you Dick, I hope my trim work turns out looking good also. Brad, our coach did have an ice maker but it is a 2002 and Beaver did not see fit to run a inverter circuit for just that. The only outlet was 120v. The sub panel for my inverter is in the basement below and over about 2 feet. I came out of the inverter with another circuit and ran the wire through the hole that the propane line previously occupied. Really worked out quite nice. Marty
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Looks great! We also use Velcro straps on the doors, but it took us a while to find a totally reliable way to keep the freezer draw closed. When the freezer is full it weighs quite a bit and that creates a lot of force when you're going around a turn. Here's a simple idea I got from someone on another forum. It's dirt cheap; works all the time and is totally out of sight when the doors are closed.
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Joel -- not sure where those clips are located on the bottom drawer. Look like pins on a hand grenade. :)
Open the refrigerator doors and look down at the top of the freezer drawer. The angle brackets are attached to the bar above the drawer. The top of the drawer is heavy plastic and I just drilled a hole through the angle brackets into it. What you are looking at are hitch pins inserted through the angle brackets into the holes in the top of the drawer. One probably would have been enough, but two reduces the load on each. ;D
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Were you residental refrigertor guys able to get the old reefer out and the new onein through the entry door?
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Our remodeler paid a windshield guy to remove the right windshield. He had the old fridge ready to come out and the new one went in, all in one morning. Not a big deal.
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It is a bigger deal if the windshield is one piece. If I had to replace, I would try one of the side windows. I think they are large enough.
I did this job for my neighbor, exact unit. His was in a Country Coach and everything fit through the door.
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Dennis, My Norcold went out the front door with the doors removerd from the Norcold. For the Samsung to go in the front door I had the doors off of it and I had to remove the door on the coach. Every thing was a tight fit but it did fit. If removing the door did not work I would have removed a side window.
Marty
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Question....if the lower drawers need to be removed for the Samsung installation, how do you access the heater and stuff under the fridge??
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Dick, in my 7 years of ownership of this coach I have never had to access the heater. I did however make the floor under the refer removable just in case. Yes the refer would have to be pulled out. Marty
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My Whirlpool frig went into my 96 Patriot through the street side window with no problems, just slid the screen out of the way and in it went. The old went out the same way.
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Bob, What model number was your Whirlpool in case others would like to do the same.
Marty