Norcold fridges are this bad? 2 failures in 6 weeks

mobocracy

Active Member
Jun 29, 2014
541
United States
Boat Info
310 Sundancer
Engines
350 Mag & Bravo III
This is my first season with a 2007 310 DA. As luck would have it, the cabin fridge went out a week after getting the boat in the water. Based on model number, I think it was the OEM Norcold the boat shipped with.

I ended up replacing it with its current Norcold model version, a NR751BB. Slightly deeper than the original, but I trimmed out the offset and it worked for about a month and then stopped cooling (compressor & fan still running, light worked, no cooling).

I swapped it with the same model (West Marine was pretty agreeable) and this one only worked for less than a week -- same situation -- compressor and fan appear to run, light works, but no cooling.

I'm gonna swap it again, but I'm curious if Norcolds are this bad or if somehow my boat is eating fridges? Boat is on shore power when we're gone, "Outlets/Refrigerator" AC switch on (DC Fridge switch off) and fridge worked as expected (when it worked).

The docks and power setup at the marina are only 3 years old, so I don't think power quality is an issue. We haven't had any tripped breakers and us and a Regal 3550 are the only boats using AC power on this stretch of dock (the rest are bowriders). I keep my A/C on the dehumidfy setting when I'm gone and haven't had any problems with that, and its likely far more sensitive to voltage sags. We also have the factory original Norcold in the cockpit that works like a champ off AC & DC.

I'm trying to come up with other theories on why I've had two die that aren't quality related. I don't think severe heat is an issue -- the A/C dehumidify setting leaves the cabin sort-of cool, and the fridge has a fan and a kind of built-in ventilation that draws & vents into the cabin, not inside the cabinet itself.

I'm going to swap it out again for this same model, mostly because it is the only one I've been able to track down that is right dimensions for the cabin cutout. There's an Isotherm that close, but needs about an extra 1/2 to 3/4" width and it's not clear that would even work internal to the cabinet space, and it possibly wouldn't even fit the cabin doorway -- the Norcold fits *barely*, another millimeter and it'd need the flange removed.
 
I replaced mine a while back in a 280DA. Purchased the NR-751BB from Amazon. The first one came in with one of the plastic interior door shelves cracked... poor packing. I bench tested it on 120v AC only and installed in the boat. The 12v DC side was inop as I found out after installing it. The installation required some cabinet mods as it was NOT a direct replacement for the DE-0051 that came out of the boat.

Amazon replaced the unit, I bench tested both 120v and 12v sides. It too was poorly packed, one corner of the mounting frame was bent. This unit, installed a few months ago continues to work.

I called Norcold when the first one died. They were of little help and referred me to a local shop for warranty repair and would not replace the unit. Thankfully Amazon worked with me on it. Both units were poorly packed and were shipped to the US from China per the box markings. Poor quality control and poor customer support.

If this one dies outside of warranty, I will look for another manufacturer's model that may fit. Not too impressed with Norcold's products or support.
 
I just put the same model brand new in my cockpit as the old went down-I'm sure interested in what you find out about this model-glad to hear WM standing behind the purchase
 
Both of mine were in perfect shape mechanically (no dented boxes or cosmetic flaws) when I got them. I benched the second one in my garage for 3 days on AC power (I had no DC source to test) and it worked as expected, and I'd wager my garage is hotter than the boat cabin nearly any time.

What's really annoying about this is that other than the packaging (specific design size/configuration), I want to believe these fridges aren't all that different than generic "dorm" fridges. I have one in my garage I bought from the kid next door when he graduated from college 10 years ago, and its been fine despite suffering both 45 degree winters and 90-odd degree summers. About the only worse duty the "marine" fridge would see would be the slight rolling on the water.

Although maybe the AC/DC nature of a "marine" fridge has led to severe compressor motor compromises to keep current draw down. Although when I put a Kill-o-watt meter on the garage fridge, I was surprised to find that its power draw was insignificant, and not really any more than the 40-60 watts I think the Norcold is rated at.
 
If it makes you feel any better, my new Formula came with Isotherm fridges and I'm pretty sure one is failing (drinks get cool but not cold like the other). They're also designed and built in Italy, where wine is a major food group, and you cannot stand up an open bottle (if the cork sticks out an inch or so) because the door/drawer won't shut. First world problems.
 
Regardless of the manufacturer there needs to be good air circulation through the condenser coils which are behind the unit. If the compressor is running then there should not be any issues with coolant charge. If heat cannot be exchanged between inside and outside of the refrigerator then it simply won't cool. I had the Norcold in the 400DA replaced with a Vitrifrigo and also had the air circulation ducts enlarged which made a significant difference in efficiency of the refrigerator. I really like the Vitrifrigo BTW.
 
I am not impressed at all with my new Norcold. It was not a direct replacement either.
 
Only a few months now on our Vitrifrigo but I'm impressed so far. Much colder and quieter than our old norcold. Time will tell though.
 
Delayed update -- I had left the Norcold back on shore power the day I discovered it wasn't working, just to see what would happen.

When I got back out 2 days later, it was running fine and has since then. I'm left wondering what caused it to quit, but I guess for now I will keep it.
 
The PO of our boat installed the Vitrifrigo in '06 & we bought in '07... It has been running like a champ ever since then.
 
I replaced my Norcold with a new Norcold last year and the unit has been a problem ever since. First the hinges on the freezer door broke in two weeks. Then this summer the door handle latch broke. It is really a flimsy piece and not surprised it broke. I have defrost the freezer every couple of weeks or it's unusable.

I called Norcold on both of them and they did nothing. The quality of the one I took out was some much better than the newer ones. The next time I'm going to find a better brand.
 
+ 1 on the vitrifrigo got on back in early spring love it !!!
 
Does anyone have a model number for Vitrifrigo?
How much modification to make it fit?
 
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My 30 year old norcold is stiĺl working great though only on low voltage side which is fine by me I always leave the charger on when at the dock so no battery drain and I have a 12 to 24 volt converter on that circuit. I did repair the thermistor when i hot the boat sinceit was shot i made one up with a rheostat and rocker switch . I wrotea pist on that operation when i did it in late May. .
If I don't gave it set right it will freeze everything so no problems at all getting cold. They do require defrosting.
 
Odd. I have a Norcold in my Itasca Motorhome. We live in the MH and use the fridge 24/7/365. After almost 15 years it works fine and the only problem is the upper hinge on the door broke so the door was falling off and you couldn't close it. I'm an engineer so I redesigned it, made it twice as strong and now the door fits fine and seals well. But the fridge will probably outlive me.
 

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