Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Refrigerator, stove, furnace, water pump, air conditioner, microwave, water heater, fans, lighting
Wakeslayer
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Wakeslayer »

Perfect. Thank you.

We are going out of town til the 20th anyway. So excited to get this done.

Thanks

Mike
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Kentuckian
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Kentuckian »

Installation of NORCOLD 3.1 Fridge

Getting ready (safety precautions);
• Turn off the B190 propane supply by closing the propane tank valve. Prevents a gas leak.
• Shut down B190 110v power by unplugging 110v connecting the power grid to the B190. Prevents a spark.
• Shut down the B190 12v power by disconnecting the B190 “house” battery. Prevents spark and possible short of the 12volt system.

Starting on the swap;

From outside;
• Inside the hatch to the back of the refrigerator disconnect the propane line and unplug the 110v power cord.
• Take note of which 12 volt wire is positive and which 12 volt wire is negative. Unplug them from the back of the Dometic.

From inside;
• Remove Dometic door and all loose interior pieces so they won’t fall out when moving the Dometic.
• Remove the mounting screws that secure the Dometic housing frame to the wood cabinet,
• I had to use a thin putty knife to free up a gasket that was sticking the Dometic frame to the cabinet wall,
• Slide the Dometic into the B190 hallway and remove from the B190,
• Measure the clearance between cabinet face and sink's water drain pipe and compare to mounting depth of your new Norcold to assure fit. This was close on my unit so better double check before you proceed. Mine was o.k. Your’s may be too close requiring you to make suitable adjustments before you can install the NORCOLD?

This is a good time to inspect the chamber where the refrigerator will go.
Some things to check…
• Verify that your drain hose is in good condition and not clogged with debris. (Refer to photo) It is located in the cabinet cavity floor near the hatch door that vents the back side of the refrigerator. Mine had a crack in it. Also the drain tube under the cavity floor was loose on mine.
• Water can blow into the refrigerator's chamber through the outside ventilation grills. I took the time to add some additional coating of sealant on the exposed woodwork. I also sealed some cracks where the metal drip pan joins the side walls.

On with the installation;
• You might want to add some thin foam weather strip insulation around the NORCOLD mounting flange to seal airflow and bugs out of the interior of the B190. I used thin quarter inch wide stick on foam weather stripping from the hardware store. Stick it onto the cabinet around the perimeter of the opening.
• From inside the B190 slide in the new NORCOLD into the cabinet cavity.
• Secure the NORCOLD with mounting screws around the door flange,
• Connect the gas line. The gas line was a bear to get to on mine!
• Get some soapy water and brush it on the gas line joint while turning on the propane pressure to check your connection for leaks. You are hoping not to see any bubbles.
• Hookup the 12volt wires making sure to match positive to positive and negative to negative.
• Plug in the 110volt,
• I would stop and check the operation of the NORCOLD at this point… 12volt, 110volt and gas.
Everything working? Good!

For additional weather proofing, I did the following from the outside of the RV inside the hatch access to the back of the refrigerator.
• Using some sealant and a caulking gun, I added a short dam from left side to right side of the floor of the cabinet to stop puddles from flowing in under the NORCOLD to reduce the chance of water flowing into the interior of the B190. (refer to photo)
• I added a short dam to each side of the locking plate of the hatch door frame to prevent runoff water from flowing into the fridge chamber. (refer to photo)

Trim on the interior of B190;
• I purchased an optional black acrylic panel for the door of the NORCOLD. This looks great and ties in with the black glass on the oven across the hallway from the refrigerator. I found that the bottom frame member was not secured. I added some adhesive to secure the bottom frame in place.

Done! Enjoy the NORCOLD! Mine works great!
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Kentuckian
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Kentuckian »

Photo of the back side of the NORCOLD related to the above step by step installation instruction.
Attachments
Exterior hatch view of NORCOLD fridge...
Exterior hatch view of NORCOLD fridge...
NORCOLD Install.jpg (254.33 KiB) Viewed 18995 times
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skater
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by skater »

Nice writeup!
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Kentuckian »

Thank you, sir. I know I have really appreciated other people taking the time to leave great tips on this web site. Hopefully some will find this one helpful.
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Wakeslayer
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Wakeslayer »

Sweet! Thanks for the write up. my fridge got shipped early despite me requesting a later date, and wound up getting returned to sender. It should be here this week, and hopefully we will get it installed next weekend. Our next outing is not until the second week of August.
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Wakeslayer »

Have the old Dometic out. This was a bit more challenging than I had hoped. One screw head was stripped so I had to drill that off. It took a bunch of gentle prying around as much of the frame as I could reach. There was also a TON of caulking/sealer gooed all over the bottom edge and it was tough stuff. Of note, our new Norcold came with NO from door panel. it is supposed to come with a woodgrain panel, but I asked them to send me a black one. And, I need it Monday...
Had to run to the hardware store as I only had one 10 ga. female spade terminal, and the job requires two, as the Dometic used a terminal block connection.

So far, so good. Will hopefully report completion, and have made ICE in the thing overnight.
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Kentuckian
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Kentuckian »

Way to go! Glad it in and running. The previous owner had caulked the bottom of mine as well... and not a very pretty job. The black acrylic door panel that I ordered for mine was a little smaller than the door frame. You could slide the panel all the way to one side within the door frame and expose a small crack between the panel and the door frame. I used a couple of strips of exterior molding double sided tape on the back of the door panel and carefully installed it into the middle position then pressed on the area with the double side tape in order to stick the door panel in place positioned so that the door frame captured it all the way around the panel. Your panel might be a better fit than the one I ordered? Anyway... passing that along in the for what its worth department.
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Wakeslayer
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Wakeslayer »

It is in, and COLD !!!

The remainder of the install was pretty straight forward. It is an incredibly tight fit. There was a small blob of sealant that would not allow it to go in the last inch. removed that and got to within a half inch. There was a plastic baffle up towards the upper vent that prevented the last half inch. That took me a bit to coax out, as I had no interest in removing the upper vent cover. I did this last year to verify the flue was clear. Once that was removed it stopped with 1/4" to go. I had to trim out the black corrugated standoff that is next to the propane fitting. This was bumping into the drain pipe. Once that was trimmed the unit slid right into place, We pre-drilled the screw holes, and installed the screws. The propane fitting was within 1/8" of the drain pipe and exactly behind it. I have a baby set of channel locks that I was able to get enough of a grab on the larger end of the flare fitting to get it tight. I really did not expect this to seal, and had an elaborate plan B in mind that would have had me pulling the fridge back out a couple inches and cutting off a pair of box wrenches with a hack saw to make them fit in there and still get some torque on them. Much to my surprise, it passed a VERY thorough bubble test. I fired her up in gas mode, threw a couple cold beers, and a few warm ones in there, and let her go overnight. just got back from my shop and we are at 23.5* on #4 thermostat setting. I cut it over to 110v and turned the stat to #3. Will check again later today, but we are going to be good.
As far as the panel goes, I had discussed with the rep at Adventure RV whether it came with wood grain or black. She stated it was woodgrain and my wife and I agreed I didn't want to pay extra for a black one. The last email I got last night sort of sounds like she wants me to order and thus pay for a panel that they said was there, and really, it should be included, if you ask me. I sent a message back, but being Friday evening I didn't hear back. I may go see what lexan costs at a store, if the panel doesn't fit right in the first place. However, I really feel they should provide one as it was discussed in advance.

To anyone considering whether to tackle this project or not, it was most definitely an easy one to do. Just need a little patience and go slowly.

Tools used:
putty knife
flat pry bar (gently)
screw gun
phillips & standard screwdriver.
3/4" and 13/16" box wrench
wire cutters
2 x 10 ga. female spade terminals
BABY channel locks

I would say we were done in under two hours total.

Thanks to Kentuckian for the original write up and testing the fitment of the Norcold. I can already say that the controls being on top will may life WAY easier.

Makin' ice,

Mike
Just get on the Bus!!

Mike & Barbara
Wakeslayer
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Wakeslayer »

I am ecstatic to report that my wife and I did NOT have the "fridge crisis" on out latest adventure. The Norcold is fantastic compared to the old Dometic that was in the bus. it held in the low 30's all weekend at mid setting on the thermostat. It even works on 12v. Worth every cent.
My only complaint is that it did not come with a decorative panel on it at all. And I cannot use the panel from my old one as it is not the same size. Love having the controls up top, also.
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skater
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by skater »

Wakeslayer wrote:I am ecstatic to report that my wife and I did NOT have the "fridge crisis" on out latest adventure. The Norcold is fantastic compared to the old Dometic that was in the bus. it held in the low 30's all weekend at mid setting on the thermostat. It even works on 12v. Worth every cent.
My only complaint is that it did not come with a decorative panel on it at all. And I cannot use the panel from my old one as it is not the same size. Love having the controls up top, also.
Isn't it great when you don't have to worry about the fridge? :)
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1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Orange County Ca »

Kentuckian wrote:Thank you, sir. I know I have really appreciated other people taking the time to leave great tips on this web site. Hopefully some will find this one helpful.
I did. Mucho gracias.
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Kentuckian »

De nada.
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Alaskan »

Great write-up...thanks.

Of note here is how important it is too to prevent any water that somehow enters the compartment at the outside door from running under the frig and ending up getting the carpet wet.

At the factory they sealed around the front of the frig at installation...later they glued in a small piece of angle-aluminum across the compartment floor at rear to help prevent water from running under the frig and possibly out and dripping down onto the carpet....
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Re: Norcold N300.3 refrigerator

Post by Orange County Ca »

I appreciate the additional information. I put up a putty dam completely across the bottom just in front of the metal barriers that already exist. I also put foam rubber strips where the door approaches the body when it closes. This changed the angle of the door more outward when closed. You have to really push to engage the lock and keep the door shut. This seal should keep out some water, the original foam had deteriorated and disappeared. I hope the new angle will make the water drain down the outer wall instead of getting inside and having to depend on just the putty.
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