Help! Refrigerator stopped working

Oregonbound · 02-08-2014, 10:06 PM

Hi all,

We have a 12cf Norcold 1210 IM refrigerator that just quit working. We recently had a 4 day stretch of around 0 temperatures and, from reading the manual, this apparently has caused a "refrigerator disruption". There is no error code. Everything looks normal (except things thawing). Have turned unit on and off several times. Have switched over to LP and confirmed that the burner is working.

Does anyone know how to go about reversing this "disruption"? Do I need to warm up the cooling system? Thanks.

Adamsvr · 02-08-2014, 11:23 PM

Does it need to be defrosted? Check both the frig and freezer.

Oregonbound · 02-08-2014, 11:34 PM

Both are completely defrosted.

RifRaff · 02-09-2014, 03:18 AM

We had to TURN OFF ALL CIRCUIT BREAKERS. Let system for ( I did for 30 minutes ) It seems to work today, we'll see.

Oregonbound · 02-09-2014, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RifRaff

We had to TURN OFF ALL CIRCUIT BREAKERS. Let system for ( I did for 30 minutes ) It seems to work today, we'll see.

thanks...i'll try it.

Tobys Home · 02-09-2014, 01:30 PM

At least you still are able to heat your coach. The weather this year has surely tested our Redwoods and our nerves. We're sick OF tired.! Winter has to go. Good luck, we hope you find a solution and get back on track.

Oregonbound · 02-09-2014, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobys Home

At least you still are able to heat your coach. The weather this year has surely tested our Redwoods and our nerves. We're sick OF tired.! Winter has to go. Good luck, we hope you find a solution and get back on track.

Agreed about winter. We have had two really bad cold snaps (0 or below) this year but are on the West side of the Continental Divide so have fortunately avoided most of the "Polar Vortexs". Feel badly for those folks who've had to weather those!

Where abouts are you Jay/Linda? You've gone through winter without the ability to heat your coach? If so, what happened? Hope things have improved.

So far our furnace and fireplace have kept us pretty toasty (but at a high price in $). In the FL, the Living room and bedroom are generally colder than the rest of the coach indicating the end cap insulation is maybe less than ideal.

Still, except for the current refrigerator issue, frozen PVC sewer line (during the first cold snap), the ice maker water line freezing twice, we've had a pretty smooth winter here in Montana despite reg. temps in the teens/twenties.

Rick and Mindy · 02-09-2014, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oregonbound

Agreed about winter. We have had two really bad cold snaps (0 or below) this year but are on the West side of the Continental Divide so have fortunately avoided most of the "Polar Vortexs". Feel badly for those folks who've had to weather those!

Where abouts are you Jay/Linda? You've gone through winter without the ability to heat your coach? If so, what happened? Hope things have improved.

So far our furnace and fireplace have kept us pretty toasty (but at a high price in $). In the FL, the Living room and bedroom are generally colder than the rest of the coach indicating the end cap insulation is maybe less than ideal.

Still, except for the current refrigerator issue, frozen PVC sewer line (during the first cold snap), the ice maker water line freezing twice, we've had a pretty smooth winter here in Montana despite reg. temps in the teens/twenties.

Just curious, when your icemaker water line froze did it split the line either time and what did you do to thaw it out? I have wondered about that line especially since it isn't really insulated. I wondered about placing a heat tape around the line behind refrigerator.
Any thoughts?

Oregonbound · 02-09-2014, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick and Mindy

Just curious, when your icemaker water line froze did it split the line either time and what did you do to thaw it out? I have wondered about that line especially since it isn't really insulated. I wondered about placing a heat tape around the line behind refrigerator.
Any thoughts?

The first time it froze (Dec) it did not split the line (thankfully). At that point I was going to put on heat tape but it was soooo cold out that I simply bought some bat insulation and stuffed it up under the slide around the line. That seemed to help enough to thaw it out (till now).

This time, with temps down to -18F for a couple of nights, the insulation prob. was just not enough. Heat tape is the way to go and we will certainly be putting it on this summer if we plan to spend another winter in Montana.

Rick and Mindy · 02-09-2014, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oregonbound

The first time it froze (Dec) it did not split the line (thankfully). At that point I was going to put on heat tape but it was soooo cold out that I simply bought some bat insulation and stuffed it up under the slide around the line. That seemed to help enough to thaw it out (till now).

This time, with temps down to -18F for a couple of nights, the insulation prob. was just not enough. Heat tape is the way to go and we will certainly be putting it on this summer if we plan to spend another winter in Montana.

It shouldn't be too difficult to put a heat tape around the line at the back of the refrigerator but I can't tell where it goes once it goes underneath the floor. Is the line inside the slide floor or does it get exposed with all the other wires and then continue into the underbelly? Do you think the heat tape at the back of the refrigerator would solve it or would it have to extend further under the refrigerator floor?

Oregonbound · 02-09-2014, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick and Mindy

It shouldn't be too difficult to put a heat tape around the line at the back of the refrigerator but I can't tell where it goes once it goes underneath the floor. Is the line inside the slide floor or does it get exposed with all the other wires and then continue into the underbelly? Do you think the heat tape at the back of the refrigerator would solve it or would it have to extend further under the refrigerator floor?

As far as I can tell (at least in our 36FL), the line is exposed under the slide for a few feet before it goes to the underbelly. I won't be able to look at it till spring

If yours is similar (you'd have to crawl under the slide to see), I doubt that putting heat tape at the back of the refrigerator will make much difference but may be worth a try.

Rick and Mindy · 02-09-2014, 06:37 PM

I did glance under the slide and I couldn't see the line but I didn't lay underneath and study it. Is it located where the electrical lines are or somewhere else? The next time I use it and have the slides extended I will climb underneath and take a closer look. I can't believe that the line would be exposed since the Redwood is supposed to be ready to use in cold climates.

atom ant · 02-09-2014, 06:42 PM

Ours came wrapped with that black foam stuff. Not saying that keeps it from freezing, but might help you spot it better.

Adamsvr · 02-09-2014, 06:56 PM

If you all are going to all the trouble to putting heat tape on the ice maker line behind the frig, may I suggest replacing the ice maker line with a metal braided line and wrapping it with heat tape before reinstalling it. Don't forget to do that with the line running in the basement. It gets cold down there too.

Rick and Mindy · 02-09-2014, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atom ant

Ours came wrapped with that black foam stuff. Not saying that keeps it from freezing, but might help you spot it better.

Thanks, gives me something to look for. I like to know where these thing are in the event a disaster occurs.

Tobys Home · 02-09-2014, 07:09 PM

Ian and Cara: We're at home in CT. The coach was returned to us ten days ago with a new roof. We now have a foot of snow on the roof waiting for spring. We have no heating problems as yet just thinking about the end of single digit wether and getting back to camping in April. Hopefully all will work as it did before it went to the shop. Again good luck with your fridge and the cold weather.

RifRaff · 02-09-2014, 08:38 PM

Hi, RifRaff here, been awhile since I've been on. If anyone can help, I have a 2012 36fl, having refer issues. It is a dometic 1350. Has anybody replaced their refer with a Residential unit, if so please let me know as much as your are willing. Big question, how do You anchor the unit? What size, did you worry about the weight.
We are having a VERY HARD TIME keeping Refer cool, even in this temperature.
So we are going to REPLACE, TIRED of getting worked, on 5 times last a few days. Besides warranty ran out while I was fighting an illness.

johnboytoo · 02-09-2014, 11:29 PM

We ordered ours with the res pkg and believe it or not it is NOT anchored from the factory.

And I can tell you where the ice maker line is...
it's the one with water squirting all over behind your cabinet when it gets above freezing

I turned mine off under the sink...

on our 38gk it comes out from the body at the front of the drivers side kitchen slide and runs along with the gas line...
then goes up into the underbelly and behind the 3 drawers to the left of the fridge...

atom ant · 02-10-2014, 02:01 AM

Riffraff - that profile pic is an award winner!

homeguy · 02-10-2014, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RifRaff

Hi, RifRaff here, been awhile since I've been on. If anyone can help, I have a 2012 36fl, having refer issues. It is a dometic 1350. Has anybody replaced their refer with a Residential unit, if so please let me know as much as your are willing. Big question, how do You anchor the unit? What size, did you worry about the weight.
We are having a VERY HARD TIME keeping Refer cool, even in this temperature.
So we are going to REPLACE, TIRED of getting worked, on 5 times last a few days. Besides warranty ran out while I was fighting an illness.

We recently replaced our Dometic with a Samsung residential. We removed the Dometic, took out the shelf it was sitting on, removed the drawer assembly beneath it and installed the new fridge. Have not anchored it yet and also have not brought in the slides yet. We currently have it skirted for winter and do not want to undo all of the skirting, but according to all of the measurements I have taken, it should clear with about 1/2 to 3/4". The weight on the Dometic and the Samsung is about the same. The way I have it installed, it will not run unless plugged into shore power but for us, that is not a big deal. We went with the 17.8 cu. ft model that I used in the RW residential package.

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