GIFTED Norcold 3163 3-way Refrigerator - Works!

TheBellHop · May 19

GIFTED. FREE! Original Norcold 3163LGH26R 3-way Refrigerator. Worked well. Removed to replace with chest cooler. Wired with external cooling fans and thermostat control.

Pick up in Seattle area. Message me through this forum.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/zr/hi6zlz73ftcd.jpg

AldebaranJill · July 17

Do you have any notes/instructions/tips for removal?

TheBellHop · July 17

AldebaranJill said:

Do you have any notes/instructions/tips for removal?

I had to remove screen door completely to start with. Remove outside exhaust vents in front. Then take out the stove so you can access top to disconnect power, gas, and exhaust connection. Also remove fridge door so it’s lighter and easier to pull out. It was pretty straightforward.

Midnapore · July 18

Do you have any pictures of the chest freezer that you installed in place of the fridge?

TheBellHop · July 18

Midnapore said:

Do you have any pictures of the chest freezer that you installed in place of the fridge?

It’s a chest fridge.

hammerstone · August 6

Hi, i live in New Mexico, and having trouble with my 3163, same model as yours. I might be driving through Washington in a couple of months, but i think my problem is the thermostat assembly (seems like i'm not getting any propane to the burner).

How much longer are you going to hold your unit before giving it the heave ho?

If no one claims it, would you be willing to remove and ship (i'll pay) the thermostat assembly?

If i do make it to Washington i would then pick up the whole unit.

thanks in advance!

@al@AldebaranJill, i've got removal and reinstall down to about 45 minutes each way and could type this up if you're still interested. Note that mine doesn't have the stovetop over the frig.

TheBellHop · August 6

hammerstone said:

Hi, i live in New Mexico, and having trouble with my 3163, same model as yours. I might be driving through Washington in a couple of months, but i think my problem is the thermostat assembly (seems like i'm not getting any propane to the burner).

How much longer are you going to hold your unit before giving it the heave ho?
If no one claims it, would you be willing to remove and ship (i'll pay) the thermostat assembly?
If i do make it to Washington i would then pick up the whole unit.

thanks in advance!

@al@AldebaranJill, i've got removal and reinstall down to about 45 minutes each way and could type this up if you're still interested. Note that mine doesn't have the stovetop over the frig.

It was gifted months ago and I'd edited the post, so sorry about that. I've now edited the post title so it's more clear.

hammerstone · August 6

OK, thanks for the update, my mistake. How are you enjoying the slideout? Would you be willing to share what you purchased for the rollers? And how much battery you have? I've got a 2007 T@B with the one lead acid battery and one 2 x 2 solar panel, and wondering what upgrades i'd have to do to get a compressor frig working.

Thanks in advance.

TheBellHop · August 6

hammerstone said:

OK, thanks for the update, my mistake. How are you enjoying the slideout? Would you be willing to share what you purchased for the rollers? And how much battery you have? I've got a 2007 T@B with the one lead acid battery and one 2 x 2 solar panel, and wondering what upgrades i'd have to do to get a compressor frig working.

Thanks in advance.

I used these drawer slides: https://www.cabinetparts.com/p/knape-and-vogt-drawer-slides-bottom-mount-pantry-slides-KV800016-p29443?oc=referral

I have 2 12V lead acid batteries, but may be switching to 2 6V lead acid batteries, and we have a Zamp 200W suitcase solar panel.

hammerstone · August 6

thanks!

AnOldUR · August 6

@TheBellHop
How are you liking the Domende? After almost five full season, ours still works the same as when we installed it. Either great minds think alike or our fridge mod was your inspiration.

I'd suggest passing on the 2x6V lead acid batteries and going to lithium. Between the weight difference and extra available power, it might be a better choice for you. We're well into our third season with two 100Ah LiFePO4's and they're a huge improvement from the lead acid that they replace. So much so that I'm already considering going bigger.

hammerstone · August 6

OldUR, i'm curious what you had to do to convert to LiFePO. I've got a 2007 Dutchman with the original inverter, i'm suspecting it won't handle lithium batteries. Did you swap out an inverter, or did yours come with a suitable inverter?

BellHop, that might be a consideration for you too.

AnOldUR · August 6

@hammerstone
We purchased our 2020 320S used with a 80Ah battery in the plastic tub up front. I removed the tub and put a truck box in its place. There's plenty of room for the batteries, propane and other gear.

There's really no reason to change the converter when moving to lithium. The two options are solar or a standalone charger.

Most solar controller can be configured to fully charge a LiFePO4 even though the old converter will only get it to maybe 90%. If you don't have solar now, a suitcase and a lithium compatible controller is a great investment.

We have solar, but have mounted and hardwired a Victron charger in the truck box to be able to top off the batteries even if solar conditions are poor. It seldom get used.

(Just a heads up. An inverter changes 12V to 120V, a converter changes 120V to 12V.)

TheBellHop · August 8

AnOldUR said:

@TheBellHop
How are you liking the Domende? After almost five full season, ours still works the same as when we installed it. Either great minds think alike or our fridge mod was your inspiration.

I'd suggest passing on the 2x6V lead acid batteries and going to lithium. Between the weight difference and extra available power, it might be a better choice for you. We're well into our third season with two 100Ah LiFePO4's and they're a huge improvement from the lead acid that they replace. So much so that I'm already considering going bigger.

I just tested this out in the garage this week and within 2 days, this cooler completely killed my 2-year-old 2 12v batteries (they were basically new). Expected better performance than that. What was your experience? How many days do you get on lithium now?

AnOldUR · August 9

TheBellHop said: What was your experience? How many days do you get on lithium now?

How many amp hours are the two 12V lead acid batteries? Are they AGM's? Two years is still pretty new, but if they've been run too far down too many times they may not be in good shape.

We use less than 50Ah per day running the 12V chest fridge, television, lights and other accessories. With lithium you can drain down to almost zero, so 3-4 days is not a problem. That's if it's cloudy. With decent sun, we're back to 100% well before it goes down every day. This past winter I swapped out the 100W rooftop solar panel with a 310W. It's made a big difference in keeping up even with poor sun. Even on cloudy days we get back a fair amount during the day. We also use a suitcase when necessary.

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Categories

GIFTED Norcold 3163 3-way Refrigerator - Works!

Comments