Norcold DE-461 is Down!! And out!!

dtfeld

Water Contrails
GOLD Sponsor
Jun 5, 2016
5,519
Milton, GA
Boat Info
410 Sundancer
2001
12" Axiom and 9" Axiom+ MFD
Engines
Cat 3126 V-Drives
2001 Norcold DE-461 finally died. Been dreading/looking forward to replacing this thing. I've been researching replacements, but looking at Isotherm CR-195 (dual compressor) Vitrifrigo DP2600 single compressor and a Nova Kool RFU9200 (dual compressor). All have their pros and cons...capacity, price, fit in existing cabinet, performance etc.

But for now the, old one is dead, and I removed it today. Easy enough to pull out out of the cabinet.

upload_2023-1-13_23-32-5.png


To get it out of the boat, I striped all the hardware off the unit. The mounting flange came off the front, and the cooling hardware came off the back. Once off, the box was easily hauled out of the boat single handed.


Cabinet.PNG



Next, I removed the cabinet, so I have room to get the new unit down into the cabin.

upload_2023-1-13_23-32-56.png





upload_2023-1-13_23-33-44.png



The cabinet needs some laminate work, as the old Vitricore has delaminated and has some sharp edges.

upload_2023-1-13_23-36-14.png


The cabinet is 27" wide over all, and I think If I rebuilt the cabinet, there would be some other and better options for new fridge/freezer combos, but the limiting factor seems to be the 52"-53" height of the cabinet.

More to come...
 
A couple other projects while I'm at it...

1. Rewire/clean up boats ethernet network
2. Clean up the coax wiring
3. Replace front head Poop hose
4. Replace plastic thru hulls with SS (at least the stuff behind the fridge).
 
I vaguely remember seeing the poop hose running through there when I had the fridge out last. Did you get a look if it runs under or through that area? It would make snaking the new one in much easier if I could put hands on it around that area versus pulling it all the way through
 
It definitely runs behind the fridge and up behind the lower galley cabinets to the head. Looks to be wire tied about every 18". Pulling the fridge IMHO would at least make job easier, if mandatory to get to things.

Edit - I haven't looked, but there might be a few more access plates in that area to help get to the hose.
 
Interesting that you pulled the whole cabinet. Was it much work?
I ask, because the 380 is probably close to this, haven’t seen anyone remove it, but that seems to make it much easier to get the fridge down the stairs on the smaller 380


Thank you for the info/pics/details of this project
A couple other projects while I'm at it...

1. Rewire/clean up boats ethernet network
2. Clean up the coax wiring
3. Replace front head Poop hose
4. Replace plastic thru hulls with SS (at least the stuff behind the fridge).
 
Interesting that you pulled the whole cabinet. Was it much work?
I ask, because the 380 is probably close to this, haven’t seen anyone remove it, but that seems to make it much easier to get the fridge down the stairs on the smaller 380


Thank you for the info/pics/details of this project
It was just screwed in with about 25 screws. Some are inside the fridge cabinet some are in the adjacent cabinets.

Finding them all was the had part. Once all found and removed, slid right out.

Now to figure out a new laminate. A full sheet of cherry Vitricore is $650+ shipping. :eek:
 
Not sure what the shipping would be, but that is steep. I think of other things I have bought for the boat. When a spot is bad like that, It would drive me crazy, for <$1000 I would sleep a lot better… lol, it’s a sickness with these boats.

Good luck!
It was just screwed in with about 25 screws. Some are inside the fridge cabinet some are in the adjacent cabinets.

Finding them all was the had part. Once all found and removed, slid right out.

Now to figure out a new laminate. A full sheet of cherry Vitricore is $650+ shipping. :eek:
 
Not sure what the shipping would be, but that is steep. I think of other things I have bought for the boat. When a spot is bad like that, It would drive me crazy, for <$1000 I would sleep a lot better… lol, it’s a sickness with these boats.

Good luck!
Agreed. I'm going to bite the bullet, but I'm going to at least try some cheaper alternatives. It looks like this cabinet has been repaired before. Looks like they got away with a 24" section, so maybe not as bad at $200.

20230113_123158.jpg


If I'm spending that much $$$, I'm wondering if I cant get a bigger/better fridge in that space and build a custom cabinet. I started looking at the various drawer fridges, but no matter how I slice and dice, to get something a little bigger/nicer, the 53" tall cabinet severely limits the fridge choice. Almost all of the next step up are about 58" tall.
 
These are the photos I've always been hoping for!!! Thanks for sharing this thread.

Have you thought about wrapping the cabinet with a 3M vinyl instead of resurfacing it? Tons of options for finish/pattern and super cheap. I've heard it's generally pretty easy to work...
 
These are the photos I've always been hoping for!!! Thanks for sharing this thread.

Have you thought about wrapping the cabinet with a 3M vinyl instead of resurfacing it? Tons of options for finish/pattern and super cheap. I've heard it's generally pretty easy to work...

Some of the other areas, I would consider, and there were a couple good threads a while back on this subject.

I think if I can get away with a smaller section of laminate, I'll just go that direction. This is probably the most prominently visible area of the cabin, so it would be very obvious and drive my OCD wild. I'm going to bring the cabinet home, and clean it up here where I have the all the right tools and make it look right.

I'll dry fit the fridge as well, as I suspect that some trimming or shimming will be necessary depending on which fridge I choose.
 
I hadn’t considered bringing that cabinet home, that’s a great idea especially if I go with the isotherm and it needs the trim work

trouble is my laminate is mint and I’m sure putting it in the back of the truck I’d find a way to ruin it

did you do all of this with the exterior cabin door on or did you take it off? Also, it seems that most take off the back rest of the helm companion seat
 
I hadn’t considered bringing that cabinet home, that’s a great idea especially if I go with the isotherm and it needs the trim work

trouble is my laminate is mint and I’m sure putting it in the back of the truck I’d find a way to ruin it

did you do all of this with the exterior cabin door on or did you take it off? Also, it seems that most take off the back rest of the helm companion seat
Wrap it with something like this. Well worth working at home.
upload_2023-1-14_10-26-49.png
 
I hadn’t considered bringing that cabinet home, that’s a great idea especially if I go with the isotherm and it needs the trim work

trouble is my laminate is mint and I’m sure putting it in the back of the truck I’d find a way to ruin it

did you do all of this with the exterior cabin door on or did you take it off? Also, it seems that most take off the back rest of the helm companion seat
If you strip the old fridge (takes about 30-40 minutes with a set of nut drivers) of the old mount flange and Cooling unit, nothing needs to come out. I left door and seat back in place. We'll see if that has to come out to get new fridge in.

The box itself is pretty light, the weight is in the flange and compressor.
 
Super poor man’s approach. Paint cabinet black. Install Vitrifrigo black dp2600. No one will know it’s not factory.
 
Nova Kool RFU9200 shipped from Seattle this afternoon!!! That was a lot quicker than I thought!!

I guess I'd better get that cabinet fixed!!
 
I think there was a thread on this a long time ago, and remember that material being discussed. However, for this project, I think the Vitricore is the right choice. Expensive, but to make a hodge podge of the finishes would be more than my OCD could take.
 

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