Norcold DE 704 repair or replacement

[Despacio]

My refrigerator/freezer, which appears to be original with the boat, still works, but on 12 volt only (the 110 ac died years ago), but now cycles off and on about several times a minute, which can't be a good sign.

I have looked at replacements, the new Norcold units appear to be slightly smaller. There are several replacement options, like the Novacool R4800-R4500, but none of the sizes jumps out as the obvious choice. I'm kind of tired of looking at photos of refrigerators that have fewer shelves and smaller freezers than I have now.

After some research and asking around, I found a guy who rebuilds marine refrigerators. He puts in all new Norcold parts and, presto, a new refrigerator. Parts $400, labor $300.

For another $700 he will build a custom new box that is the same size outside and 6 inches taller, 3 inches deeper, and 2 wider inside with better insulation. I think I would be spending this much if I were buying a new Novacool or other.

Not sure which direction I'll go, but I sure didn't like any of the new refrigerators I saw.

[DougSea]

I'd be interested to hear if you go the "new box" route. That's a fair amount of added volume. And you can never have too much room for cold beer!

[Despacio]

Changed my mind twice this morning so far.

The total is $1520 with the new box (using the old frame and door), $730 with the existing box. A lot, but I'd probably be spending that if I bought anything else, and the critical parts has the Norcold guarantee either way.

After pulling the refrigerator I discovered that there is a false back on the cabinet that has 3-4 inches dead space behind it so the new box can be that much deeper. Made the cut out this morning, no reason not to remove that panel and have the new custom box be 26 inches deep instead of the 18 the old one was, and it would increase air flow. I'll beef up the sides with 2x2 pieces of some kind of hard wood.

With the new Danfoss compressor, and the new hardware, I should have a pretty nice refrigerator, that looks from the outside, like the old one, but is a lot larger.

Another America's Cup race today, even though we have power boats, that is a show we all might enjoy watching. It's amazing.

[C lectric]

Figure out how and where to install a muffin fan to evacuate the warm air out of the cavity that the compressor will throw off. That fan will make a huge difference in the cycle time of the compressor also reducing the total current draw from the batteries.

Best if the fan is at the top of the cavity blowing out.

I used a 12VDC 4" muffin fan drawing about 185mAmps. Your Danfoss control box should have the output already and can handle up to about 500mA. I phoned Novacool and asked. Fuse the fan just in case.

[Despacio]

There will be no more back to this cabinet, the compressor will be under the deck.

Looking at the old installation, I don't know how it ever got any air circulation as there were only small holes at the bottom. I should have cut a big hole in that cabinet years ago.

Inside the refrigerator I might install a small fan, like a computer cooling fan. I've done this in my motorhome refrigerator and it works great. If I need to add one.

[rebuckley]

That is an odd setup - I had pulled mine out a year ago - and it was not "finished" behind the fridge (36 DC '83) - the plug for the 110 was "finished" (and only one double plug outlet). The vent is the teak vent right by the cabin door - and it is a little small, but has done the job so far.

[Despacio]

Progress Report
This is taking longer than was promised, but, I like the looks of where it's going. This is a very large and deep refrigerator.

The inside is to be machined Starboard. I find out custom refrigerators aren't uncommon even though I've never seen one before.

[C lectric]

Find a way to add that fan. You may not realize how much difference it will make, especially in hot weather, but the difference will be huge.

[Despacio]

I'm rethinking my objection to a dorm type refrigerator. My objection is that they look odd in the space available, are too small, tiny freezer, which often isn't a freezer, have no door latch, are very cheaply made and are an indication of the problem solving skills that probably extend to the rest of the boat.

However, if I were doing this again I'd probably buy one of these:
Frigidaire FFPH44M4LM 4.4 Cu. Ft. Stainless Look Undercounter Compact Refrigerator
http://www.amazon.com/Frigidaire-FFPH44 ... frigerator

It looks to be EXACTLY the right size for the opening, has a huge freezer, and is around $200. It even has a door latch. It isn't going to work on 12 volts without an inverter, however a 200-300 watt inverter could be screwed to the back of it. This unit looks like it needs a lot of venting, but that would be easily accomplished by cutting out the back of the cabinet.

The original Norcold is 3.8 cu ft, just about any marine replacement, 3.1 with a smaller freezer, this unit, 4.4, with a huge freezer. My custom box is to be 5.8 cu ft with the standard DE 704 freezer.

Custom refrigerator- $1500
Replacement marine unit- $1000+
The above unit- $200

[brookesmith]

Funny thing I replaced my Norcold because it ran too much and was a real drag on the batteries. I could only get it to work on 12V. It would make a surging sound when the 120V breaker was turned on. ONLY when I slid it out to replace it did I find that the Norcold was plugged into a duplex socket that had hot and neutral reversed. I corrected the socket wiring and the Norcold ran fine on the 120V. (Previously,I had found all the other sockets on the boat had the hot and neutral reversed, I believed the Norcold was hardwired and had no idea there was a socket it was plugged into.) Anyhow, I replaced the Norcold with a U-Line 1175R refrigerator only model that is 120VAC only. The U-Line is meant for a kitchen island and needs no back ventilation. It sucks air in 1/2 floor vent and blows the heat out the other side for it's cooling. This is a very efficient refrigerator. We wanted the extra room a refrigerator only model has. We have an Engel MT45 freezer and a Koldfront portable ice maker. We do not have a generator only a 2500w inverter. When anchor out the batteries are better in the morning than they were with the Norcold.

[Despacio]

I had an electrician go over my entire boat to make sure all of the hot and neutral connections, and all of the rest of the wiring was proper. After years of people adding things there was the chance for a lot of costly errors, and he found quite a few. I know far too many of my neighbors are putting a lot of stray voltage into the water.

The Frigidair refrigerator I referred to pulls air in from the back at the bottom. A simple cut out solves any problem of air circulation. And that cabinet does not need a back.

That Uline refrigerator looks like a great choice. It's big, 5.7 cu ft, and it looks like it might just barely fit in the space.

I had gone to West Marine to check out the new Norcold models and was not impressed by the cheap plastic and lack of intelligently used space in an expensive unit, that's too small to begin with.

My intention of starting this thread was to see what others have done about replacing the old Norcold DE 704.

[crowra]

Our Norcold DE 704 died last June. We went with a Vitrifrigo C115 12 volt model to replace it. The unit actually has the same cubic feet interior as the original fridge, but the overall size of the box is smaller. You can get a trim kit for the C115 to make it fit the 704 space. We simply installed a shelf a few inches off the sole and installed the fridge. The C115 has the newer Danfoss compressor, and it does not add all of the heat that the old unit generated in the main salon. The Danfoss compressor is quiet, efficient and can be serviced just about anywhere without specialized parts. The power consumption is considerably less than the old unit. You can get AC and DC fridges but we always run off DC and figured it was worth saving $100 by not getting an AC/DC unit. We also love the light inside the fridge -- something our old unit did not have.

[Despacio]

Another great choice, far better than the Norcold for about $300 more. There's really no reason to run off of AC, is there?
With our setup, the remote compressor is a great option.

The only unit I see in a marine store is the Norcold, probably the worst choice, and there are a lot more options than that one.

I'm still partial to that Frigidair, but the quality of the components (no Danfoss compressor) and the insulation, and AC only, is a concern, but, it is $200, and otherwise perfect.

I chose the path of a custom box, and here it is week 6, and I'm still living out of an ice chest, even though the appliance store is only a short drive away. I could have a perfectly acceptable unit in less than an hour. But instead, I'll head over to the 7-11 for another bag of ice.

[Despacio]

I almost made a huge mistake, and have to admit I was wrong.

The custom box wasn't getting completed, I "pulled the plug" at the beginning of week 7. I was tired of dealing with a guy who wasn't getting the job done (sound familiar?), tired of living out of an ice chest, and still have yet to find an acceptable marine refrigerator, so I did something I though I'd never do, bought that cheap appliance store mini refrigerator.

Put it in yesterday and am thrilled. The refrigerator is 41 degrees, the freezer, 17. My old Norcold never was as predictable. It fits the space, it's quiet, and has more room that any "proper" refrigerator I can find. It has a light inside it! If installed flush with the cabinets, it does not have that, "Too small thing in a hole" look that I dislike so much. It even has a door latch to keep it closed when away from the dock.

Did I mention it was $175 instead of $1500?

Of course it is 110 only, so I will put together a device that my main system already has, an automatic transfer switch and a small inverter that will allow it to work on 110 when available, and 12 when not. I do not wish to run it off my main inverter.

Anyone know of such an off the shelf device? An automatic transfer switch and a 300 watt inverter is cheap, but why build one if you can buy one?

I need to finish the installation, and add some trim around the gaps, but I can fill them with hundred dollar bills and still have money left over.

Marty

[DougSea]

We have a generator on board, but I still waned to be able to watch movies at anchor without running it. I installed a ProMariner True Power 400. I think it would meet your needs perfectly. It takes a 120v feed, and if that drops, automatically switches to inverter power. AND it has a handy remote switch so it's also easy to shut it off if you don't need the power on.

Here's the inverter:

image.jpg

And this is the remote:

image.jpg

I'm pretty sure I did a post about the install. I don't recall the price. Couple of hundred most likely.

Hope that helps.