Refrigerator advice

Stu Rasmussen

Stu Rasmussen

New member
Jan 29, 2019
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Hi all,

My recently purchased but interior gutted '74 Eleganza came with a
Norcold 778-EG2 propane / 110 volt refrigerator.

Plugging it into AC power it draws about 300 watts but instead of the
interior getting colder it gets warmer, even after letting it run for a
couple of days. It does however make gurgling and farting noises which
are endlessly entertaining.

I'm guessing it is kaput. If it's not, tell me now.

I saw the JC Refrigeration retrofit to 12 volt compressor video but it
looks like my refrigeration unit is integral to the refrigerator
cabinet, not easily removed and replaced.

So, if 'kaput' is the correct diagnosis I plan on taking it to the dump
and eventually installing a newer, more efficient unit when the time comes.

Does that seem like the best route or is there any ridiculous hope of
(or any good reason to) salvaging the cabinet (which isn't in the best
shape anyway)? There is no existing cabinetry in the rig so designing
the new cabinets to fit a modern icebox would be relatively easy.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Stu

I have heard it suggested that if you tried to get a gasoline powered
automobile through regulatory approval now, as a new concept, you'd
never get approval. "You want to have a thin steel tank full of
explosive hydrocarbons in thousands of machines driven by relatively
untrained people! Are you crazy???" - Stuart Wheaton
 
Have you tried the 'turning it upside down for a few hours, then shake
it' trick? (The fridge, not the coach).

It is a free, but often functional way to get them to work again.

-Dave
1978 Transmode near Pittsburgh

-----Original Message-----
From: Gmclist [mailto:gmclist-bounces] On Behalf Of Stu
Rasmussen (97381.com) via Gmclist
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2019 2:04 PM
To: gmclist
Cc: Stu Rasmussen (97381.com)
Subject: [GMCnet] Refrigerator advice

Hi all,

My recently purchased but interior gutted '74 Eleganza came with a
Norcold 778-EG2 propane / 110 volt refrigerator.

Plugging it into AC power it draws about 300 watts but instead of the
interior getting colder it gets warmer, even after letting it run for a
couple of days. It does however make gurgling and farting noises which
are endlessly entertaining.

I'm guessing it is kaput. If it's not, tell me now.

I saw the JC Refrigeration retrofit to 12 volt compressor video but it
looks like my refrigeration unit is integral to the refrigerator
cabinet, not easily removed and replaced.

So, if 'kaput' is the correct diagnosis I plan on taking it to the dump
and eventually installing a newer, more efficient unit when the time
comes.

Does that seem like the best route or is there any ridiculous hope of
(or any good reason to) salvaging the cabinet (which isn't in the best
shape anyway)? There is no existing cabinetry in the rig so designing
the new cabinets to fit a modern icebox would be relatively easy.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Stu

I have heard it suggested that if you tried to get a gasoline powered
automobile through regulatory approval now, as a new concept, you'd
never get approval. "You want to have a thin steel tank full of
explosive hydrocarbons in thousands of machines driven by relatively
untrained people! Are you crazy???" - Stuart Wheaton

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GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
 
Cool! That's why I asked the list. I'm a newbie :)

So how long after I invert it for a few hours and shake it and then set
it right side up should I wait before re-trying it? They're supposed to
work only within a few degrees of vertical so I'm guessing immediately
putting the juice to it would be a bad thing, right?

Stu

Ok, it's official. I'm getting old. The other day I was walking back to
my car from the grocery store. Coming into the store was this smoking
hot 21, maybe 20 year old, blonde. I mean she was hot. My thought? "I
wonder what her mother looks like."

> Have you tried the 'turning it upside down for a few hours, then shake
> it' trick? (The fridge, not the coach).
>
> It is a free, but often functional way to get them to work again.
>
> -Dave
> 1978 Transmode near Pittsburgh
>
> -----Original Message-----
 
The refer is not KAPUT unless you want it to be.

The frig in the video looks like a NORCOLD 3 way, maybe a 2 way, which sounds
like what you have.

You should look at the vid more closely. Also the company supplies the
compressor unit and/or the amonia unit.

Also, they do repairs to defunct friges like yours, only they will just
put the unit in that you saw on the video.

Its up to you if your frige is in good shape to rebuild it or not.
--
GatsbysCruise. \
74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO -
UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
 
Maybe more than you ever wanted to know abour RV refrigerators

Ron & Linda Clark
North Plains, ORYGUN
1978 Eleganza II

This is what I did....

Go here RV Refrigerator DIY Videos to view our many �do it yourself�
videos on minor RV refrigerator troubleshooting and repair. There are
also other videos of interest and we will be adding more DIY videos soon.

RV Refrigerator Education Blog

The Amish cooling unit rebuild guy
http://www.fixyourfridge.com

Leon Herschberger, owner
National RV Refrigeration
5660 N SR 5
Shipshewana, IN 46565

=================
Try this link
http://www.rvcoolingunit.net/servlet/StoreFront
They advertise the Amish Cooling units.
ASk advice about cooling unit unist sreplacement for your model.
On Thu, 28 Feb 2019 11:03:51 -0800 "Stu Rasmussen \(97381.com\) via

>
> Hi all,
>
> My recently purchased but interior gutted '74 Eleganza came with a
> Norcold 778-EG2 propane / 110 volt refrigerator.
>
> Plugging it into AC power it draws about 300 watts but instead of
> the
> interior getting colder it gets warmer, even after letting it run
> for a
> couple of days. It does however make gurgling and farting noises
> which
> are endlessly entertaining.
>
> I'm guessing it is kaput. If it's not, tell me now.
>
> I saw the JC Refrigeration retrofit to 12 volt compressor video but
> it
> looks like my refrigeration unit is integral to the refrigerator
> cabinet, not easily removed and replaced.
 
There are plenty of options out there for DC fridges these days with low draw.
My vitrifrigo pulls about 3.5 amps when running and we have no issue camping for 3 or 4 days. Add in the solar and it's not really even an issue.
We do have 4 6v golf cart batteries.
I wouldn't go back to propane if you paid me :d

No longer have to worry about being level is enough incentive right there to make the switch IMO. No more worries about having propane burning in the
GMC 24 hours a day is also enough incentive. On top of those reasons the vitrifrigo is cold almost instantly and stays that way, which I could not say
for the propane dometic we had before.

Just my opinion.

I do agree that running a house fridge through an inverter is not the best use of battery power :d

--
Justin Brady
http://www.thegmcrv.com/
1976 Palm Beach 455
 
A whole part of this discussion that seems to have been omitted is the bottom right corner of the spreadsheet titled
"GMC Annual Operating Expenses".

We have a very original '73 23'. We really like to travel. We often dry camp over night, and do some longer dry camp in special places and rarely
boondock more that a couple of days.

When the original Nocold 3.4CuFt reefer went bad, we needed a work around fast. That was a single door (so was the Nocold) dorm reefer with minimal
freezer and not much to offer. We powered that with a Hazard Fright 750 continues Modified Square Wave inverter from our house bank of 2ea GC2s. It
was adequate for the rest of that season and the next. Mary did not like it at all.

Hey, if the cook does not like the galley, then something better change. We went little reefer shopping for the second time in two years and the
offering was much improved. The new 3.5CuFt Frigidaire (Chinese) has a separate freezer door and much better internal arrangement. Running, it draws
a little more than 4 amps DC. This unit is also about 8" shorter than the Nocold. So I built a drawer to go under it.

Still powered by the same (actually, this is a replacement as the smoke leaked out of the first) MSqW inverter. I actually carry a spare. They are
small light and cheap. It has the added benefit that we now have 120V AC available all the time. The inverter says it is good for 1500watts (VA?)
peak, so there is always AC power left over.

When you open the door and the light comes on, that is when you hear the fan in the inverter spool up. Replacing that with LED is on the work list.

And some of you are asking how long I can run on the house bank with this drain?
Good Question.
According to the Trimeteric, that is about a day and an half. If we get on station at dinner time of day one, then, after dinner of day two I better
plan on firing the Onan for a couple of hours. With a PD9260 next to the house bank, I can recover the house bank to 90% in less than 3 hours. If it
is someplace with a quiet time, that works out great.

All of this for (not including the custom hand crafted drawer unit) was less than 200$us - cash out of pocket. That includes the cost of the drawer,
but not the upgrade to the converter/charger. We sold off the unloved reefer at a slight loss.

Matt
--
Matt & Mary Colie - '73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan
OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Twixt A2 and Detroit
 
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