Norcold Question

Fatman1966

I'm winter camping at this point. This weekend highs were 40 and the lows were 21. When I picked up my unit the "walk through person" told me to always run the fan if I ran the Norcold. I'm on 100% electric power and I have been running the fan. It seems like overkill! Does anyone run the fan in this type of weather or should I always run it like I was advised? The unit is cooling to the point that it will freeze drinks on med power so it's working fine I just was questioning running the fans in this cool of weather

Nomad

No, you don't have to run the aux fan all the time. In fact in those temps I might not run it at all and let the fridge help heat the cabin. At most I might just turn it on when the main fridge fan kicks on.
Note: The main fan kicks on far more when running on electricity. I'm usually on propane and it rarely kicks on unless the sun is beating down on that front corner. This week, the fan has only kicked on for two very short periods. When I was running on electric waiting to get the fridge fixed, it ran several times a day.

Nomad

In thinking back to the week on electric and how often the fridge fan ran, I'm not sure I'd chose the electric option even when I have a hookup. The fridge is fairly miserly on the propane from my experience and propane is fairly cheap. I'd just go propane.

AldebaranJill

PXLated said:

In thinking back to the week on electric and how often the fridge fan ran, I'm not sure I'd chose the electric option even when I have a hookup. The fridge is fairly miserly on the propane from my experience and propane is fairly cheap. I'd just go propane.

So you are saying you think the fridge outputs more heat when running on shore power than propane? Very very interesting. Do all models have a fridge fan? Where does it blow out of? 

Verna

AldebaranJill said:

So you are saying you think the fridge outputs more heat when running on shore power than propane? Very very interesting. Do all models have a fridge fan? Where does it blow out of? 

Jill, the auxiliary fan came into being in 2015 after Pleasant Valley changed models of 3-way fridges on the later 2014 models. Your 2013 may not need one. The countertops were getting hot enough to melt chocolate,  melt bread wrappers to the countertop, etc. The factory fan that is on the left sides of our fridges were not enough to draw the hot air off of the top of the fridge, so the factory "invented" the auxiliary fan. 

Also, since you have the 2013 model, your experience with the degree of warmth put out by the fridge might differ from the later models. 

Nomad

Must - Main fan is thermostatically controlled. Spent two seperat weeks on either hookups or generator and was surprised how often it ran. I'm on propane 90/95% of the time and the fan has never been bothersome. It was on electric. Of course, even on propane the fan runs more in hot weather.
All 3-ways have an internal fan - don't know about the 2-ways. The heat rises to under the counter and then out the vent on the side right of the door. The aux fan just expediates that flow and draws the warm air out from under the counter. There's a fresh air intake in the floor inside the lower right cabinet under the fridge.

AldebaranJill

@Verna @PXLated - just to satisfy my curiosity, since Verna says I don't have a fan, and PXLated says I must, where would this theoretical fan exist? I just took off the vent to the right of the door to paint and add a screen, and there was no fan visible.

Nomad

The main fridge fan is down by the black coils - Don't think you can really see it unless you pull the fridge. There's another aux fan built into the outside vent on newer models (2016/17) that's controlled manually by a small switch inside. This was added to help ventilate and keep the countertop from getting too warm. The factory offers a free aux fan kit that you can install yourself. Search the forum for "fridge fan" or "auxillary fan" or "vent fan" or "fan kit" and you should find all kinds of stuff with pics. All you have to do to get the kit is call or email Ed (possibly Elsie).

AldebaranJill

Is there a photo somewhere of this auxiliary fan? In the winter I don't mind the heat, but in the summer I think it would really be bothersome.

ericnliz

AldebaranJill, That's where folks have installed the fans, some have used dual computer fans, and there are several threads here with photos. Maybe somebody who has done these mods can chime in here as mine came with the auxiliary fan. Hope this helps, or someone else can be of more help. Have you searched "auxiliary fan"? 

Nomad

Search - There's all kinds of info/pics. Very easy install, the hardest thing you'll have to do is drill a hole for the switch. I did the wiring hookup at a really small town park while watching some kids play football.

AldebaranJill

Found  it: http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/1551/norcold-3-way-fridge-exhaust-fan-kit/p1

ericnliz

Jill, Mod on!

AldebaranJill

ericnliz said:

Jill, Mod on!

:-) Just when I get to the bottom of my list, I discover another one! Yay! 

ericnliz

You mean the "never ending list" like mine?

Tabaz

Check out "Noisy Norcold" for pics and more info.

Dalehelman

If you take off the plastic  panel to the left of the frig you should be able to see the factory fan that is  thermostatically controled.

ericnliz

I had the choice of O.D. green, or dress green, not even cool camo!

Nomad

Gals, ladies, ?? ... I worked with mainly females in my career and over those 40 years never found a term that "all" females would agree on. No matter my greeting - Good morning ladies - I was in trouble with someone in the group...So, you females decide :-)

GrandmasKid

One of the mistakes I've made is to let my battery run almost completely down a couple of times in the seven months that we've had it by forgetting to turn off the 3way Norcold while it was running on the 12v DC. It's odd that the Norcold manual doesn't mention the green light switched auxiliary fan but luckily I found good information here. My question is, when traveling and keeping food cold in the frig, when you stop for gas or a rest do you turn the Norcold off? I think I see now that I should have the auxiliary fan off while driving. I use to think that turning off the battery switch inside the battery box was a good idea when stopped for gas, but apparently the T@B is drawing power from the TV even when the TV is off while I fill up. Does all this make sense? Of course I don't want to run down the TV battery either.

ScottG

The auxiliary fan was added to later models by Pleasant Valley to mitigate heat build-up under the counter. It's unrelated to the Norcold unit itself, and therefore not mentioned in the manual.

Power from the trailer harness bypasses the battery, so you are correct that T@B can still draw power from the the TV, even if your battery mounted disconnect is off. Some vehicles kill power to the 12V auxiliary when the key is off, some don't. If yours doesn't, you probably should turn off the Norcold (or unplug the trailer harness) when stopped for any length of time.

Personally, I don't even bother with the 12V fridge setting. The Norcold is a pretty good cooler as is, so a couple jugs of ice along with pre-chilled food will keep it cold enough for several hours while in transit.

ericnliz

GrandmasKid, I agree with ScottG on this one. I've only used it ( auxiliary fan ) occasionally even when on propane, and never on shore power. Really, the only time I've ever turned it on was when the counter top got overly warm, and that's only been a couple of times. Never have used the fridge on 12v.

ChanW

Yes, it's a really good idea to turn off the Norcold when running it on 12v, if the tow vehicle is not running. It draws a lot of amps, and if you decide to take an extra long lunch break, it will drain your battery pretty quickly. We've made that mistake a few times.

We have an isolator installed in our TV, which prevents the truck battery being drained by the Tab, but draining the Tab's battery down is no fun too.

Like scottg and ericnliz said,  we've started avoiding using the Norcold 12V mode. The controversial 'propane on while driving' method hasn't been very reliable for us (it blows out too often), but it's better than running the Tab's battery down. And we depend on frozen quart bottles of water in there, too.

Twinpsb

We are getting ready for our maiden voyage with our 2017 T@B Max S.  When I started the Norcold refrigerator this morning, it never got cold.  I turned the switch to AC and turned the temperature gauge to high.  It has been on for about 4-6 hours, but nothing.  The vent on the right side of the door (out side wall), is warm and the black fans outside seems to be running.  If we turn the switch to DC we can hear a fan running, but as soon as it gets turned back to AC, we hear nothing.  Anyone have any suggestions as to what we are doing wrong or if there is a problem with the unit???  Please help...

ericnliz

Are you SURE it's not working? Mine doesn't make noise on AC. Do you have a thermostat to check it? Make sure the plug under the sink is plugged in....top cupboard, back right hand side, that would be a good starting point. Let us know if that helps.

Twinpsb

Thanks for your response.  We have already checked the plug.  It is good to know that you have no noise on AC.  We did not put a thermometer in, but it obviously has no cold to it at all.

ericnliz

Did you check the breaker box? Also, look under "Fuses for Newbies", as there are fuses under the stove top as well. You can find this under User Manuals/PDF Files down towards the bottom of the Categories column. First one on the list, go to page #1 and scroll down until you find the fridge fuses. Let me know.

Twinpsb

Thanks.  We did check the breaker box.  We are going to check the fuses above the refrigerator.  We also checked the "Fuses for Newbies" section with the pictures.  That was all very helpful.  Meanwhile, if we replace the fuses, wouldn't the fuse just blow again if we didn't correct the problem that caused it to blow originally?
Thank you very much for your help.  We will let you know what happens when we finish troubleshooting the problem.

Verna

If you have the S model, the Norcold should be plugged into an electrical outlet under the sink. Try plugging a hair dryer or something with an electrical cord on it to see if you have power at that outlet. 

Does the hair hair dryer work?  Yes, put a thermometer in the fridge and see what the temp is (that's first question that will be asked by warranty service). If no power, the 110V breaker has blown and you'll need to reset it in the converter like you would at home. 

Your Fuses for Newbies is for the 12V Fuses and, while you haven't checked the temperature, you said you can hear a fan running, so the 12V side at least has power.  

Twinpsb

The outlet seems to be ok. I did the hair dryer test you suggested. There is no cooling at all since about 11 this morning.
The heat coming out of the side vent is concerning when on AC even though the refrigerator isn't cooling. We have unplugged it at this point and have given up for tonight.
Thanks for your help. 

Ratkity

Twinpsb said:

The outlet seems to be ok. I did the hair dryer test you suggested. There is no cooling at all since about 11 this morning.
The heat coming out of the side vent is concerning when on AC even though the refrigerator isn't cooling. We have unplugged it at this point and have given up for tonight.
Thanks for your help. 

@Twinpsb, you are now armed with the things the warranty or repair folks will ask (make sure to write all these things you've done down). The service people will be impressed and since those easy things have been eliminated, they can isolate the issue faster. That heat is being generated on the fins while in AC mode (write that down) means something may be wrong with the circuit board. Also do a "propane" test. It'll cool faster on that mode as well and you can eliminate that off the check list.

Sometimes pictures are worth a 1000 words. A thermometer inside on each mode would be a bonus, but not necessary. Don't forget to write the times the DC got the Norcold cooling and the propane cooling, and then show the sad picture of what happens on AC mode.

Best of luck on your quest for answers!! Please post your resolution to the issue. I'm curious as to what the problem ends up being and how it was solved