Refrigerator Cooling Unit Replacement or just needs burping?

maryk2u · July 27, 2009, 05:45 PM

Sent: 3/2/2008

We have a 483 Norcold refrigerator that is in good shape, but had a leak and lost all of the ammonia. We ordered a replacement cooling unit from Trailer Refrigeration Inc. It arrived 2 days later. We had an issue with the heating element, and TRI overnighted another one to us at no additional charge. They were more than willing to answer any questions we had. Total cost $520 including return shipping and AZ sales tax. We would highly recommend them to anyone who needs to replace their cooling unit. http://www.RVRefrig.com Getting the refrigerator from the garage into the Party wagon was another story completely.....LOL We used it this weekend, and it works great!

ohhmom · July 27, 2009, 05:50 PM

Sent: 3/3/2008

Ok Donna again...can you tell that we are getting deeper into our restoration? Anyway one of the items that we have recently acquired was a Norcold fridge. We believe that it is model 6062. Anyway we have hooked up the DC and the electricity and the gas and it does not cool inside. It has been running now for about 10 hours and it is very warm inside. Tomorrow night we are going to try laying it down on its side overnight and see if the ammonia is in need of burping....but I am skeptical at present. Any other suggestion other than replacing the cooling unit...which I am not sure that I want to do at this point. This fridge was unused for a long time so is there anything else we may be overlooking?

ClydesdaleKevin · July 27, 2009, 05:51 PM

Sent: 3/4/2008

If burping the fridge doesn't work, then it could be something as simple as a circuit board. (When you burp the fridge, you have to turn it upside down, not just on its side...and let it set overnight, then turn it upright and let it set overnight. The most success I've heard from burping is to do this 4 or 5 times.)

The "dinosaur" circuit boards aren't that expensive either.

If you are testing the fridge with it NOT in its cabinet, it might not cool if there isn't airflow across the cooling coils. In other words, the reason there is a vented outside door and then a vent on the roof of your RV is to conventionally create an air current across the cooling coils...sometimes a good fridge won't get cool if its sitting in the open without circulating air. Try aiming a fan at your coils if you are testing it outside its cabinet.

So, if the boiler tube is getting hot, and fridge just isn't cooling, even with a fan, then it could just need to be burped. The coils don't usually EVER go bad unless they are rusted and leak. Usually a circuit board just means the boiler tube won't get hot. (The boiler tube is the place on the back of your fridge where the propane flame lights up...it heats up the ammonia at the bottom of the cooling coils.)

Kev

denisondc · July 27, 2009, 05:52 PM

Sent: 3/4/2008

If its very quiet, you should hear a slight gurgling when you turn the fridge on its side or top and back upright. Thats the liquid inside flowing around. If there is no burping, the liquids could have leaked out. I don't know of anyway to check the internal liquids, without the proper pressure gauges and fittings - and the fittings are NOT the same as for auto a.c. units. (I believe the refrigerant is a combination of water, super-saturated with ammonia, and hydrogen gas).

ohhmom · July 27, 2009, 05:53 PM

Sent: 3/4/2008

Well I am going to try the fan for a while...because we do have it outside the camper for now...and it does get very hot on the outside ...and then by tonight we will try burping our baby. I will let you know in a day or two if anything works. Donna

Oz · July 27, 2009, 05:53 PM

Sent: 3/4/2008

When I had gotten my used, replacement fridge, it had sat, unused, in a rig for about 3 years. It's a large unit, so I had to turn it over about 6 times until the ammonia started flowing. Another 4 times and it was completely lucid... unlike myself.

- Sob

ohhmom · July 27, 2009, 05:54 PM

Sent: 3/4/2008

Sob ....now I want to make sure we are all on the same page...mainly me...when you burped yours did you turn it upside down and back overnight...or all at once. I have seen things telling me both...so I want to know exactly what you did with yours! Donna

Oz · July 27, 2009, 05:55 PM

Sent: 3/5/2008

Actually, I started by laying it on it's side causing gravity to press down on the ammonia in the reservoir into its outlet coil opening. Then, I turned it on it's top. I left it in position for about 12 hours b4 turning it again.

Once I heard the ammonia breaking free, I turned it about every 4 hours until it flowed immediately in each direction.

If the ammonia can be heard gurgling at least a little right away, then it would be ok to turn it again within a short period of time, say an hour or two.

- Sob

ohhmom · August 15, 2009, 04:48 PM

We tried burping it and it never seemed to want to turn loose so we sold it on Craigslist and we have bought us a 9 cubic foot Magic Chef fridge that was white...and we painted it black to match the rest of my appliances and that is all we have done.

jkilbert · September 03, 2009, 04:52 PM

in both my winnie and my shasta i had sibir units in each one. during my investigation i found out that these fridges cannot be rebuilt. i bought 2 rebuit units from rv refrigeration services in canada. they sell on ebay and on their web site. phone number is 1-888-782-6665. both new units cost me $1400 including shipping. they also sell just the colloing units for most norcold and dometic units