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Norcold fridge questions
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TheOneTrueQuux
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 8:16 am    Post subject: Norcold fridge questions Reply with quote

Two questions:

1.) What sort of internal temp should I expect running on AC shore power, outside temps in the 70's? I'm seeing about 44, which seems high.
2.) My van has two vent terminations on the side, it's a 1995 EVC. The second one is about 18 inches below the first. Was this factory, or added as a retrofit for some reason?
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VolksVelo
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:35 am    Post subject: Re: Norcold fridge questions Reply with quote

How long did you let it run on AC?
I did a quick test last year and the fridge temp was 38° after 2.5 hours. Outside temp was 60°.

The two vents are air vents, factory original. In the bottom out the top.
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TheOneTrueQuux
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:51 am    Post subject: Re: Norcold fridge questions Reply with quote

VolksVelo wrote:
How long did you let it run on AC?
I did a quick test last year and the fridge temp was 38° after 2.5 hours. Outside temp was 60°.

The two vents are air vents, factory original. In the bottom out the top.


Huh, weird, many EVCs don't seem to have the lower one, and the manual doesn't mention it.

I left it plugged in over night and the coldest it got was 44 degrees, with an outside temp in the low 60's over night, but it is warmer now. I wonder if possibly some insulation is missing or it's been improperly serviced at some point.
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TheOneTrueQuux
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 12:19 pm    Post subject: Re: Norcold fridge questions Reply with quote

TheOneTrueQuux wrote:
VolksVelo wrote:
How long did you let it run on AC?
I did a quick test last year and the fridge temp was 38° after 2.5 hours. Outside temp was 60°.

The two vents are air vents, factory original. In the bottom out the top.


Huh, weird, many EVCs don't seem to have the lower one, and the manual doesn't mention it.

I left it plugged in over night and the coldest it got was 44 degrees, with an outside temp in the low 60's over night, but it is warmer now. I wonder if possibly some insulation is missing or it's been improperly serviced at some point.


I pulled the fridge out just now, and found that the reason the fridge doesn't work well is MICE. They have destroyed the insulation blanket around the heated part (generator?) and that likely is the issue. I've patched it up the best I can for now, but am on the hunt for the proper insulation material.
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TheOneTrueQuux
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 8:12 pm    Post subject: Re: Norcold fridge questions Reply with quote

TheOneTrueQuux wrote:
TheOneTrueQuux wrote:
VolksVelo wrote:
How long did you let it run on AC?
I did a quick test last year and the fridge temp was 38° after 2.5 hours. Outside temp was 60°.

The two vents are air vents, factory original. In the bottom out the top.


Huh, weird, many EVCs don't seem to have the lower one, and the manual doesn't mention it.

I left it plugged in over night and the coldest it got was 44 degrees, with an outside temp in the low 60's over night, but it is warmer now. I wonder if possibly some insulation is missing or it's been improperly serviced at some point.


I pulled the fridge out just now, and found that the reason the fridge doesn't work well is MICE. They have destroyed the insulation blanket around the heated part (generator?) and that likely is the issue. I've patched it up the best I can for now, but am on the hunt for the proper insulation material.


And that wasn't the whole story. Looks like my fridge has crystals of sodium chromate stuck somewhere in the tubing. I'm trying the "burping" process, and also some mild vibration (hammer) and we'll see if that gets it going again.
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TheOneTrueQuux
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 17, 2021 7:45 am    Post subject: Re: Norcold fridge questions Reply with quote

Followup for anyone treading this path in the future.

I got the fridge working by inverting it every which way (while off) and by vibrating all the tight points in the refrigeration circuit with a palm sander with no paper. Apparently these units can get clogged up with sodium chromate crystals (which is in there to prevent corrosion). This happens either with disuse, or if the fridge is abused by being run off level. It is possible that this fix will not last, and the problem will re-occur. Apparently being run off level can cause such large chunks of sodium chromate to precipitate out that you cannot recover operation by any means other than rebuilding the cooling unit, which is not feasible to do DIY due to the hazardous materials in there and the proprietary nature of the mix.

An overnight run in mid 70's ambient on 120V resulted in an internal temperature of 33 degrees F.

You can tell that it's probably going to work because the whole condensor (heat exchanger with fins) will get hot, not just the left side where it comes up from the boiler. The left side will still be quite a bit hotter than the end where it goes back down.

I still need to replace the burner and burner gasket to get this thing running well on propane.
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