Who here has pulled there Norcold fridge out? Need weight info.

Rickf1985 · July 27, 2016, 06:14 PM

I need to pull my fridge out to do some restoration work in the cabinet area since it had gotten water in it at one time. Need to repair the wood and going to put thin sheet metal over the entire inside of the cabinet. If, heaven forbid I do get a flame up from a leak it should contain it long enough for the Hydrogen to burn out and not set the wood on fire. I am looking for someone who can tell me if I can remove this thing by my self. How heavy is it?

joanfenn · July 27, 2016, 06:28 PM

my guess is 150 lbs. what are the measurements?

Rickf1985 · July 27, 2016, 07:47 PM

2 feet wide, 2 feet deep and 5 feet high.

joanfenn · July 27, 2016, 07:49 PM

That is what I thought so about 150 give or take ten pounds.

Rickf1985 · July 27, 2016, 07:53 PM

That is more than I expected. It is not on the floor, it is on a platform so once out it has to be lowered or pulled out onto a mating platform. Gonna have to think this one out.

joanfenn · July 27, 2016, 07:57 PM

Can you build a dolly of some kind to shift it on while you work on the cabinet area then slide it back in?

Rickf1985 · July 27, 2016, 08:01 PM

That is what I am thinking but it depends on exactly how deep it ends up being as to whether I will have room to move it over and still be able to get past it. I definitely cannot get it down past the entrance door to be able to enter on the cabinet side of it so no matter what I have to go around or over it.

Rickf1985 · July 27, 2016, 08:06 PM

I still do not have the Pace Arrow over here yet due to logistics of getting a ride over to it when it is not raining. I might use that one as a dry run to get a feel for what I am working with so if things do not work right I am not stuck in a bad position with only four weeks to go before my next trip. That will be here by the weekend no matter what.

joanfenn · July 27, 2016, 08:18 PM

Make sure that if you have to go over it there will be some one there to take pictures. That would be great. :)rotflmao

Froggy1936 · July 27, 2016, 08:20 PM

Rick Look in the projects section Pg 5 there are a lot of pics about your project . I man handeled it in all positions except takeing out the door (had to remove the door seal) I would guess 100 lb The metal shield sounds like a good idea . Is there a fireproof material that would be better ? Metal transfers heat pretty fast To bad Asbestos is out ! Frank

Rickf1985 · July 27, 2016, 08:57 PM

There are flameproof and heat resistant boards for around woodstoves but I look at it this way, there is very little hydrogen in one of these fridges so if it goes off the flame will only be present for a very short time. I actually have a large stack of asbestos house shingles but they are prohibitively heavy. I use them when torching in sensitive areas. I am thinking 20 gauge sheet metal which will weight about 20 lbs. for the whole area that needs to be covered. Insulation around it can be the new Rockwool I think it is called which is fire resistant. This is not the Rock wool from the old days. ( I itch just thinking about that stuff!)

yellowrecve · July 27, 2016, 11:45 PM

Fridges are under 100lb. I just looked in my books, they don't list weight. 85% of the weight in in the cooling unit. You will probably need to remove the doors to get at screws. My wife always helped with the larger units as they are hard to get a grip on. It was not because of the weight.

FN Duck · July 28, 2016, 07:47 AM

I agree with yellowrecve the weight is not an issue the cooling unit is the heavy end and getting a grip is important . You probably will have to remove the doors to access the screws on the hinge side. "2 feet wide, 2 feet deep and 5 feet high." are about the same dimensions as the Dometic I removed last week by myself without any problems. Like yellowrecve my wife was on standby...â˜º.. Don't forget to check for hidden anchor screws in the refer frame at the rear.
You might want to check out aluminum roof flashing (comes in a roll) instead of tin for lining the refer compartment it's light and easy to work with.
Almost forgot. I usually work alone with the wife on standby so I try to stay on the entrance door side when I remove refer, ( you probably already figured that out). Furniture pads are great if you are concerned about nicks and scratches they slide on floors too ... â˜º

Rickf1985 · July 28, 2016, 12:13 PM

Thanks guys, as most of the old timers here know I have had a vast array of injections and surgeries to my back over the last few years so I have to be rather careful what I do. I still tend to be rather stubborn when it comes to these things and will generally try anything. ( Wonder why I have so many back issues?) Hm?
It has been in the high 90's the last two weeks and now the humidity is up there also so nothing is getting done this week.

The aluminum is a good idea, will look into that. This is all brought about due to the original wall on the one side has disintegrated and left a large open area and the fridge is not drafting correctly and the flame is on high all the time to maintain the cool. If I back the thermostat down (warmer) a hair the burner drops down, but as soon as the temp stabilizes at the new setting it flares up again to maintain it. I need to close in that area and also close in the top of the fridge that was never done. I am also going to put two computer fans at the roof vent pulling hot air up and out.

PwrWgnWalt · July 31, 2016, 02:33 AM

Never pulled one out, but since my MH came sans fridge, I did install a Norcold about the dimensions you list. I did it by myself, with a little help from the wife, and although not a cake walk it went well. I'd guess closer to 85# for a modern Norcold. It's just unwieldy being so big.

Oz · August 21, 2016, 12:10 PM

I put in a Norcold that size. Wasn't easy by myself, and I was still in my 40s. Definitely should use some type of come-along. Don't take a chance and end up breaking yourself.

Rickf1985 · August 21, 2016, 06:26 PM

Thanks, Now I have real world info to work off of. I did not get the chance to get it out before my trip next week so I am hoping it hangs in there. A couple fans and I am going to set up in a different spot so the sun is on the other side may help.

RANGERRICK · August 21, 2016, 08:01 PM

Because of the year of the frig I think 150 is going to be pretty close to the weight.The depth is going to be 24 inches.The newer frigs are lighter.Don't pull your back out get some help.

Rickf1985 · August 21, 2016, 09:17 PM

Don't have to pull my back out, it is permanently out! Yea, I think I will see what happens with this trip and decide what way I am going after that.

tiinytina · August 22, 2016, 06:50 AM

We pulled and replaced Gone's fridge.. was a Dometic about the same size... about 100lb or maybe less as I manhandled the fridge into my truck from loading dock location at work where I had it delivered. We had to remove the entire door frame to get old out and new in... pretty easy to move when empty, I'd just have some sort of platform maybe one of those large tuppy bins to set it on. and slide it down the center aisle. Getting ready to replace the plastic drain line in ours as it has broken so drains into base of cabinet... vs poked through door grate to drain out... always something! may want to make sure that line is new and or flexible while you have fridge out as it is tucked up inside coil nearer to top than bottom....

Rickf1985 · August 22, 2016, 10:49 AM

Thanks for the heads up on the line. We leave for Virginia next Wednesday. RV goes in for alignment and driveshaft repair on Friday. Nothing like cutting it close! It was supposed to have all that done last week but I had a retinal tear and had to go to an eye specialist instead. Always something. So we are hoping the fridge holds out for this trip. I still have the fridge in the other RV I am stripping. It is a two way and not a tree way like this one but I can live with that. It is free! If worst comes to worst I will swap that one in after this trip. This one still gets nice and cold, I think I just need to rebuild the enclosure. It is fighting too much open space behind and next to the fridge.

EldoradoBill · September 06, 2016, 08:12 PM

I'll venture a guess you got your fridge out, but on the off hand you didn't I noticed on the data tag of my model 876 2-way it says "weight 66 lb."

Rickf1985 · September 06, 2016, 08:22 PM

No, I did not get it out. We went to Virgina last week and I am going to Gilbert Pa. in two weeks and then my season is done and I will address it then. Thanks for the info though.

Rickf1985 · September 17, 2016, 07:24 PM

Quote from: EldoradoBill on September 06, 2016, 08:12 PM
I'll venture a guess you got your fridge out, but on the off hand you didn't I noticed on the data tag of my model 876 2-way it says "weight 66 lb."

You had me curious so I looked at my tag and what I saw was refrigerant R-717 - 66lbs.
I think maybe what you saw was the amount of refrigerant in the system and I am thinking that is a pressure reading not a weight. There is no way there is 66 lbs. of liquid mix in there.