Nicely done. Read the comments that came with my system and they were a bit unclear... your video cleared everything up. One thing the directions said was to remove the fins (in red) and I don't see why you need to remove the fins if they stay inside the refer. Anyways good job.
I ordered the exact same Dutch Air unit from JC Refrigeration. I'm in the process of doing the swap on the exact same Norcold 663 refrigerator. Just noticed that the Dutch Air unit's condenser has 3 less coils than the original Norcold unit. (The Norcold has 8 while the Dutch Air has 5). I really don't want to wait to buy and wait for a remanufactured unit to get closer to the original quality, so I'm likely going ahead with the swap. If I could make this decision again I'd buy a remanufactured cooling unit from someone. Overall the Dutch Air unit looks like crap compared to the original Norcold one. This one has a 3 year warranty. Definitely gonna be watching it close though. Hoping it will keep my beer cold.
The one used in this video works better than the original. Build quality was also better. No regrets with this swap! Hopefully you have the same results!
@@1D10CRACY The one I got must have been built on a Friday. It's not gonna be fun getting it to come back out with that expanding foam gluing it to the refrigerator. Geez what a mess.
Do they sell large cooling units? Looks like it might be possible to convert a upright freezer. Be nice to make a HUGE gas refrigerator for 1200-1400. The new ones cost 2-3k.
I just bought a 20ft camper for me, my two toddlers and two dogs. I'm going through a divorce and it's the best cost efficient move but unfortunately I don't know anything about campers much less fridges located in them and why they don't work. Could you help me figure out what maybe wrong? The lights come on but it doesn't get cold at all. Could it be strictly gas powered? If so how do I convert to strictly electric powered for a safer solution to keep our foods cold?
How do I check if I can start the fridge by gas when I haven't yet placed it back in its spot -- as you say to try it before placing it back in the cavity?
How do I find the exact cooling unit replacement for my fridge. There is only one listed on Amazon under my dometic model but I don't know if it's the right one or not... also the cooling unit went bad during the warranty period, but I couldn't get the trailer to a certified repair shop in time, any experience from anyone dealing with dometic customer service or warranty service about getting something repaired that should have been under warranty but is no longer under warranty? Any help is appreciated.
Sounds like you have had some bad experiences with absorption refrigerators. I get it though, anything made in the last few decades has been made and designed pretty poorly. Very few manufacturers seem to be able to get the design right and the coach manufactures don't even vent them properly. But when built and installed right, they are about as efficient as your going to get. We camp in temps above 90 a lot and mine (the one 52 years old) will still freeze in the freezer box. The one in the video is Dads, we did use it last week on 12 volts and did fine, but the temps were only in the high 80s. I like them, but its obviously just an opinion! If a standard compressor that runs on 12 volts works for you, by all means run with it! :D
@@1D10CRACY still a terrible refrigerator the amount of electricity it uses to stay marginally cool is comparable to a electric space heater and the thing is IT NEVER SHUTS OFF. So it is a constant draw versus a compressor refrigerator that uses such little electricity it could run directly off a few solar panels
Yup! You have had bad experiences! LOL. Mine pulls 60 watts and is thermostatically controlled. I haven't put the kilowatt meter on dad's yet to see how much it is using on electricity, but it is also thermostatically controlled. We boondock a lot and that is the main reason we use these style refrigerators because they just don't use much electricity. I'm also not sure why you keep saying marginally cool, as I keep my refrigerator set at 38°. My RV refrigerator actually does better than the standard compressor mini refrigerator that I have in my shop. I may have to do a video on some of these refrigerators, compare them, show what they use on electricity and just explain why I prefer them over a standard compressor refrigerator. In my opinion, they are far superior than any compressor refrigerator on the market.
Nicely done. Read the comments that came with my system and they were a bit unclear... your video cleared everything up. One thing the directions said was to remove the fins (in red) and I don't see why you need to remove the fins if they stay inside the refer. Anyways good job.
Cool project. Well-done.
I ordered the exact same Dutch Air unit from JC Refrigeration. I'm in the process of doing the swap on the exact same Norcold 663 refrigerator. Just noticed that the Dutch Air unit's condenser has 3 less coils than the original Norcold unit. (The Norcold has 8 while the Dutch Air has 5). I really don't want to wait to buy and wait for a remanufactured unit to get closer to the original quality, so I'm likely going ahead with the swap. If I could make this decision again I'd buy a remanufactured cooling unit from someone. Overall the Dutch Air unit looks like crap compared to the original Norcold one. This one has a 3 year warranty. Definitely gonna be watching it close though. Hoping it will keep my beer cold.
The one used in this video works better than the original. Build quality was also better. No regrets with this swap! Hopefully you have the same results!
@@1D10CRACY The one I got must have been built on a Friday. It's not gonna be fun getting it to come back out with that expanding foam gluing it to the refrigerator. Geez what a mess.
Do they sell large cooling units? Looks like it might be possible to convert a upright freezer.
Be nice to make a HUGE gas refrigerator for 1200-1400. The new ones cost 2-3k.
I just bought a 20ft camper for me, my two toddlers and two dogs. I'm going through a divorce and it's the best cost efficient move but unfortunately I don't know anything about campers much less fridges located in them and why they don't work. Could you help me figure out what maybe wrong? The lights come on but it doesn't get cold at all. Could it be strictly gas powered? If so how do I convert to strictly electric powered for a safer solution to keep our foods cold?
Just what I was looking for! Thank you sir! Liked and Subscribed
Very informative vid - thx for posting.
Thanks for a very helpful video!
Excellent video, i tried the link and it doesn't load, i guess they took the link down?
Sadly it sure looks that way. :(
Good commentary but...you didn't do a follow up making sure it cooled. I'm assuming it did.
Sure did, and it's still working well.
@@1D10CRACY Is the cooling power better than the original? I'm thinking of changing mine out because cooling performance is dismal.
How do I check if I can start the fridge by gas when I haven't yet placed it back in its spot -- as you say to try it before placing it back in the cavity?
Probably run an extension line like you use for gas fireplaces to hook gas line to the fridge and test it that way.
Where's the link for the cooling unit supplier?
rvcoolingunit.trueims.com/
How do I find the exact cooling unit replacement for my fridge. There is only one listed on Amazon under my dometic model but I don't know if it's the right one or not... also the cooling unit went bad during the warranty period, but I couldn't get the trailer to a certified repair shop in time, any experience from anyone dealing with dometic customer service or warranty service about getting something repaired that should have been under warranty but is no longer under warranty? Any help is appreciated.
I emailed support on the rvcoolingunit.com/ website and they are able to help me.
So how do you get the fridge out in the first place???
Unscrew it
These absorption refrigerators are garbage you should have replaced it with a 12V unit while you took it out not worth putting a penny into
The one in my RV is 52 years old and still working. I wouldn't call them garbage. LOL.
@@1D10CRACY it works but very subpar and usually once the ambient temperature outside reaches 90° or above these refrigerators are useless
Sounds like you have had some bad experiences with absorption refrigerators. I get it though, anything made in the last few decades has been made and designed pretty poorly. Very few manufacturers seem to be able to get the design right and the coach manufactures don't even vent them properly. But when built and installed right, they are about as efficient as your going to get. We camp in temps above 90 a lot and mine (the one 52 years old) will still freeze in the freezer box. The one in the video is Dads, we did use it last week on 12 volts and did fine, but the temps were only in the high 80s. I like them, but its obviously just an opinion! If a standard compressor that runs on 12 volts works for you, by all means run with it! :D
@@1D10CRACY still a terrible refrigerator the amount of electricity it uses to stay marginally cool is comparable to a electric space heater and the thing is IT NEVER SHUTS OFF. So it is a constant draw versus a compressor refrigerator that uses such little electricity it could run directly off a few solar panels
Yup! You have had bad experiences! LOL. Mine pulls 60 watts and is thermostatically controlled. I haven't put the kilowatt meter on dad's yet to see how much it is using on electricity, but it is also thermostatically controlled. We boondock a lot and that is the main reason we use these style refrigerators because they just don't use much electricity. I'm also not sure why you keep saying marginally cool, as I keep my refrigerator set at 38°. My RV refrigerator actually does better than the standard compressor mini refrigerator that I have in my shop. I may have to do a video on some of these refrigerators, compare them, show what they use on electricity and just explain why I prefer them over a standard compressor refrigerator. In my opinion, they are far superior than any compressor refrigerator on the market.