410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread**

My pecking order was

1. Nova Kool
2. Vitrifrigo
3. Isotherm

The first two are a the biggest of the lot, and fit in the cabinet (for the most part). The Isotherm is a very nice fridge, but it takes some finish carpentry skills as it a little skinnier that the other two.


Pricing From January (I got a much better deal than this on the Nova Kool from Sure Marine in Seattle)

So here's the lineup. I used SureMarine advertised price for the Nova Kool, marinewarehouse.net price and shipping (they have been the best). Have not check defender or others.

Model/Size/Color/Compressor - Cost + Shipping = Total Estimate

Vitrifrigo 8.1 cu ft BLACK (Single Comp) - $1478 + $150 = $1628
Vitrifrigo 8.1 cu ft SS (Single Comp) - $1760 + $150 = $1910
Nova Kool RFU9000 9.1 cu ft Black (Single Comp) - $1706.47 + $350 = $2056,47
Isotherm CR195 6.9 cu ft SS (Dual Comp) - $2454 + $150 = $2604
Nova Kool RFU9200 9.1 cu ft Black (Dual Comp) - $3083.36 + $350 = $3433.36
 
Citi marine has the Nova Kool for $1629 +$50 (membership) + 250 to a freight terminal = $1929 all in. Thats a pretty good deal.

Vitrifrigo is a few more $$$

One other thing - Door panels If your OK with black plastic, all is good, but if you need the matching cherry/maple Vitricore, you gotta figure that in as well.
 
I have a 2000 410 Sundancer with 3126 cats. When you are starting the engines does the low oil pressure alarm sound as you press the ignition button to start? Mine does not. I had a lot of work done over the winter and the oil pressure sending units were replaced. My old gasser would ring until there was oil pressure. This is a new to me boat and I want to make sure the low oil pressure alarms are working.
Thank you
 
scott1956 said:
I have a 2000 410 Sundancer with 3126 cats. When you are starting the engines does the low oil pressure alarm sound as you press the ignition button to start? Mine does not. I had a lot of work done over the winter and the oil pressure sending units were replaced. My old gasser would ring until there was oil pressure. This is a new to me boat and I want to make sure the low oil pressure alarms are working.
Thank you
Click to expand...

yes, ours do. I silence them while I let the intake air heaters warm up because it annoying. The buzzer kicks on again once they cycle off so I know it’s time to start

to be clear - the alarm sounds if the switch is in the run position but the engines are off
 
Strecker25 said:
yes, ours do. I silence them while I let the intake air heaters warm up because it annoying. The buzzer kicks on again once they cycle off so I know it’s time to start

to be clear - the alarm sounds if the switch is in the run position but the engines are off
Click to expand...
Thank you. Mine are silent all the time... I need to look into this problem.
 
dtfeld said:
Citi marine has the Nova Kool for $1629 +$50 (membership) + 250 to a freight terminal = $1929 all in. Thats a pretty good deal.

Vitrifrigo is a few more $$$

One other thing - Door panels If your OK with black plastic, all is good, but if you need the matching cherry/maple Vitricore, you gotta figure that in as well.
Click to expand...
Dave - did you look at this supplier? They are who I got mine from. Best price, best shipping.
https://www.marinewarehouse.net/
 
ttmott said:
Dave - did you look at this supplier? They are who I got mine from. Best price, best shipping.
https://www.marinewarehouse.net/
Click to expand...

I asked them for a shipping quote as well. WMpro ships for free to the store but their price is a little higher (and out of stock) so if these guys have them I’ll do it here instead. Thanks for a reminder I’d forgotten about their site
 
ttmott said:
Dave - did you look at this supplier? They are who I got mine from. Best price, best shipping.
https://www.marinewarehouse.net/
Click to expand...
Yes they were the best price and lowest shipping on most fridges for me except, they don’t carry Nova Kool. I’ve bought my Isotherm from them, and they are great.

Sure Marine out out Seattle gave me a smoking discount on the fridge, but shipping was a little more. It was the best deal going for the fridge I wanted.
 
My fridge came back to life overnight. Freezer temp is now 2*

still going to order the replacement though, we can’t risk losing it again
 
I went the easier DIY way and just replaced the compressor. I think it was approx $700 for a new compressor quite a few years ago, but saved me well over $1,500 since I wasn’t gonna DIY the frig replacement. Compressor is an easy install. Just remove screws on side of frig and slide it out. Sit it on salon floor, plenty of room to sit behind frig and remove old compressor and install new one - Practically plug and play. It would probably still be working if some genius didn’t puncture a line with a knife when defrosting the freezer, approx 10 years later. :(
 
Dani-Lu said:
I went the easier DIY way and just replaced the compressor. I think it was approx $700 for a new compressor quite a few years ago, but saved me well over $1,500 since I wasn’t gonna DIY the frig replacement. Compressor is an easy install. Just remove screws on side of frig and slide it out. Sit it on salon floor, plenty of room to sit behind frig and remove old compressor and install new one - Practically plug and play. It would probably still be working if some genius didn’t puncture a line with a knife when defrosting the freezer, approx 10 years later. :(
Click to expand...

lol! So many boat/rv fridges have been killed that way. Thankfully I read the stories before trying and go the hairdryer route

as silly as it seems, we really want the stainless look so this is as much of an excuse to replace it as it is a necessity.
 
I thought about just a new compressor on the Norcold. The problem with the old Norcold was no parts available, especially the door seals and the cross bar that the seal mated to was rusted beyond repair. Just a compressor and evaporator was almost as much as a new fridge, so I didn’t think that was smart money.

One thing I learned about the Nova Kool is it’s been in production for a long time, so parts are available, and the way it’s assembled would allow a new compressor/evaporator to be installed very easily. I would think several screws and a can of foam insulation would get the job done.

I don’t plan to find out…
 
dtfeld said:
Citi marine has the Nova Kool for $1629 +$50 (membership) + 250 to a freight terminal = $1929 all in. Thats a pretty good deal.

Vitrifrigo is a few more $$$

One other thing - Door panels If your OK with black plastic, all is good, but if you need the matching cherry/maple Vitricore, you gotta figure that in as well.
Click to expand...

Thank you for all the intel, @dtfeld . I really appreciate the info. Now I have decisions to make!
 
Strecker25 said:
My fridge came back to life overnight. Freezer temp is now 2*

still going to order the replacement though, we can’t risk losing it again
Click to expand...

I retried mine...again and again. No joy. My Monday will be spent seeing what I can find in-stock out there in between all of my meetings :)
 
Sgrochow said:
It’s a PITA. The cabinet that the fridge is in has to come out. The top trim piece that runs from the door across to the microwave has to be removed, that’s held on by Christmas tree fasteners. The microwave has to come out, there are screws behind it that hold the cabinet in place. If you replace with the Norcold direct replacement, you’ll have to remove the two vertical vinyl trim pieces at the top of the stairs. Mine were pretty beat, so I sliced it up, found the screws and removed. Recovered with 1/4 foam backed vinyl and reinstalled. Used Dap almond caulk and it was a good match.


Also took the helm passenger seat off. Undo 6 or 8 nuts and it pops right off. No chance of damaging during fridge install and you won’t have to lift the new one over it.

When reassembling, I left the screws that hold the fridge cabinet to the stairs out. This way the stairs can be removed without taking the fridge out of the cabinet.

Came in handy when I replaced the sanitation hose and ac lines, they run under the steps.
Click to expand...

I'm still trying to rationalize the two sides of the fridge replacement story (400 vs 410). I've looked at a whole bunch of pictures online and it sure seems like the 410 fridge/cabinet/entry door setup is the same as the 400.

Once you get inside the layout of the galley is different but this view makes the approach look the same (the photo below is a 410)?

I'm wondering if the less painful stories exist due to fridge model selection vs difference in construction of our boats?

upload_2023-5-30_7-49-0.png
 
Stee6043 said:
I'm still trying to rationalize the two sides of the fridge replacement story (400 vs 410). I've looked at a whole bunch of pictures online and it sure seems like the 410 fridge/cabinet/entry door setup is the same as the 400.

Once you get inside the layout of the galley is different but this view makes the approach look the same (the photo below is a 410)?

I'm wondering if the less painful stories exist due to fridge model selection vs difference in construction of our boats?

View attachment 145267
Click to expand...

I agree, I’ve thought the same looking at both boats. I also wonder how much of this is people reading they have to disassemble so much of the boat and just doing it without checking? Can’t hurt to have extra room but I sure wouldn’t take that cabinet out if I didn’t need to
 
Strecker25 said:
I agree, I’ve thought the same looking at both boats. I also wonder how much of this is people reading they have to disassemble so much of the boat and just doing it without checking? Can’t hurt to have extra room but I sure wouldn’t take that cabinet out if I didn’t need to
Click to expand...

As murphy’s law would have it, the genius I mentioned above, broke my Norcold during Covid. Fortunately I work part time at West Marine, but unfortunately there were zero frigs in stock, so there goes my employee discount. After many calls and google searches I found a Vitrifrigo. Would have preferred a bottom freezer, but there was a multi month wait, with very soft unknown dates of availability.

Long story short, the installer removed the cabinet to remove and install the frig. I think they still had to remove the frig doors before removing the old frig and carrying the new one into the cabin.
 
If the fridge is dead, I'd suggest pulling it and then you can see what you are dealing with. Make some measurements of the actual opening in several places.

I personally would take the fridge cabinet out. It makes getting the old one out and the new one in a breeze (as long as you have stripped both old and new fridge down). There are about 20-25 screws holding it in place, but relatively easy to find, and replace. I took pictures of the screws locations and bagged them up so I would have them when re installing.


The one gotcha I had to deal with was the way the cabinet was installed at the factory, it was no longer square, so fitting the new fridge required shaving down the inside edge of the cabinet with a wood rasp. There was a "hump" where the cabinet was fit up against the counter top, bowing the right side of the cabinet in the middle. See post # 22 in this thread --> http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/new-nova-kool-rfu9200-fridge-arrived.112034/page-2.

But at the end you have lots of cold beers and fresh food!
 
Stee6043 said:
I'm still trying to rationalize the two sides of the fridge replacement story (400 vs 410). I've looked at a whole bunch of pictures online and it sure seems like the 410 fridge/cabinet/entry door setup is the same as the 400.

Once you get inside the layout of the galley is different but this view makes the approach look the same (the photo below is a 410)?

I'm wondering if the less painful stories exist due to fridge model selection vs difference in construction of our boats?

View attachment 145267
Click to expand...

For a Norcold DE0061, if there is a way to get it in there without taking that cabinet out, I couldn't figure it out! Only thing I could strip off from the fridge was the doors.
 
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