Hey there! Thanks for watching this video! If you enjoyed it, please don't forget to subscribe to our RUclips channel! → link.gratefulglamper.com/subscribe → Check out the Govee mentioned in this video gratefulglamper.com/govee
This proves how wonderful your family and marriage is. By this step all of us would be yelling at each other with some not so nice words flying around! GOD bless you all.
The one single most thong to congratulate you on is the reading of the instructions, so many DIIY's the people think because they own a screwdriver that they are smarter than the manufacturer. Good job!! Looking forward to a review and comparison to the old unit.
You two are amazing. I've been wanting to switch out our propane/electric fridge for some time. But the price is a little steep. You have opened up a whole world!. I went to JC Refrigeration's website. A conversion kit for my fridge is only $785. I'm so excited. Thanks for making this video. (And why is nobody talking about this?)
Great job!! I was a little leery about the floor jack. A hydraulic table from Harbor Freight is a better option for jobs like this. Please keep us informed after you use the JC Refrigeration unit for a few weeks on how you like it.
Super video and great job. I swapped my NotCold 10cuft refrigerator with a 12v dc compressor refrigerator (much smaller than the Goliath you have). I’d agree, one of the best upgrades for any rv . I was fortunate, the new refrigerator slid into the opening, no cutting or anything. I’ve been enjoying your channel for over a year now. Looking forward to what you will share in 2023
Wow! You guys are amazing! 🙂 I would never have had the nerve to attempt that. Fortunately for us someone removed the RV refrigerator and installed a full residential refrigerator. Well done guys! 🙂
We did this conversion a couple years ago, pretty simple but intimidating. Works great, saves huge amount of electricity, cools much better...more consistent temps, hard ice cream even in Florida summers plus JC Refrigeration is a great company to work with.
Job well done! Anyone considering this upgrade might want to pick up 2 pair of appliance/lifting straps to help withe the removal and reinstall. They're really handy to keep in the rig for general use as well.
We had a water leak and then we added Govee components. The hub hooks to our RV internet. We monitor Water leaks and temperatures. We have been alerted to freezing temperatures (during our -2°) cold front. This was great because I turned on the gas heat for the belly plumbing. They are awesome
Floor jack - what a great idea! About a year ago I replaced my absorption fridge's 22yr old cooling unit with an Amish model. We stayed with the propane because we boondock most of the time. The Amish cooling unit is more powerful than our Dometic was. Our freezer stays in single digits. It's 6 degrees today (70+ outside with the afternoon sun beating on the fridge side). It will go colder, (it's set on 3 out of 5) but the fridge section freezes if I set it any colder (the fridge is at 34 degrees now). I did the job myself, including picking it up and wedging it in the hole. We have about 2 inches of clearance to the far wall, making this chore a real bugger - especially since I couldn't get on the bedroom side of the fridge as my motorhome only has one door. But it really didn't matter cause I'm only one person, so I couldn't be on both sides to lift it evenly or to walk it in the hole. To complicate matters, I'm a 66yr old, retired guy who's not athletically inclined (let's face it, I'm an old, weak, fat guy.) Yet I managed to complete the project using simple tools (a piece of plywood, some boards and a bunch of yellow plastic leveling blocks.) My wife helped with steading the fridge while I did all the lifting. Man, If I had a floor jack it would have made the job a lot easier. (If I could have borrowed your son, easier still.) But then I would have had to give away the floor jack I bought for a one-time job, as we are truly nomads - FTers with no way to take it with us and no storage. I tried using the screw type jack that I came with my car for tire changes, but that was far too unstable. Good job on a difficult task! The website says their conversion kit draws 139 watts of power. So, doing the math, if you have a typical 40-60% duty cycle that varies with ambient temp, you should project for the worst-case 60% scenario (unless you want that ice cream to thaw.) So let's say it draws a maximum of 2,000 w/hrs/day. It looks you'll need 2 more 100ah Lithium batteries (2,560w/hrs) which will give you a little buffer. 2000 watts/5hrs of sunlight a day at 80% panel efficiency = 500 watts of additional solar panels you'll need to recharge those batteries. Be prepared to run your generator on rainy or overcast days too, especially if you encounter a string of bad weather, which happens sometimes. Good luck, I hope it's been working out like you expected.
Thanks! We just added 2200 watts of solar. And two more Battleborn batteries (100 amp hours each). We’ve been running the fridge on just solar now for several days and the lowest we got down to (and it was pretty cloudy for at least 1 day) was 30 % - more updates to come.
This is a great option... we did this on out 2004 Bounder last year and it has been great so far. I did not get the Universal Control unit - that is new. But I had already complete I had an issue with the thermistor, but JC Refrigeration was awesome and provided some by pass instructions until I could replace the thermistor. Like you, our RV would have to have some major renovation to change to a different fridge/freezer - and there is nothing wrong with the "box' that is the housing unit. I really like this conversion. We are seasonal RV'er and in the past we had to turn on the refrigerator at least 24 hours before we loaded it - now it just a few hours. Plus, since it is 12v, if we are out for the day and loose shore power, it will continue to run on the house batteries.
Wow! THANK YOU GG! That just opened up my world to just about any RV out there, knowing I can change a propane/electric fridge to 12 volt. You two are a great team!
I didn't realize the cooling unit transfers the cooling from the unit plate to an inner plate via thermal paste inside the fridge. I thought there was fins and tubes from the cooling unit inside the fridge. great teaching video! Thank You! You could actually build any kind of insulated box, put the fin unit inside the box and attach the Kit you bought and make any kind of fridge you want. So many ideas'and so little time! Awesome fix you guys! You are really on the Cusp of being Technical Beings! When you know things, less knowledgeable beings will gravitate to you and you're going to be the "GOTO" guys. Knowledge is power! be careful. I would say this is an 8 out of a 10 level project, most would run! great job!
I did the same thing last May. Best mod I ever made. My fridge cools in thirty minutes and the ice cream is not soft anymore. Ran on batteries for 48 hours and only lost 2 tenths of a volt.
Congratulations! We went through a similar operation about 8 years ago when we replaced our Norcold refrigerator but we replaced it with a Whirlpool residential refrigerator. The residential refrigerator had the advantage that it was half the weight of the old Norcold, and almost double the interior space. We installed a pure sine 1000 water inverter to run it, but seldom does it use that kind of wattage as it needs about 700 watts to break the ice cubes free just before it dumps them. Otherwise it's running using about 75 watts. If I was doing it again, I'd still put in a residential refrigerator/freezer.
We did this last summer in our 2003 Monaco. Ours has the dual temp sensors as well. It was a challenge, for sure, but we were able to do it ourselves. I recommend it.
That is impressive. I would be interested to see if it continues to work well during the hot months. I will definitely keep this in mind if I decide to do something with our refrigerator.
Now I think you don’t need the vents above and behind your fridge anymore so that should help some. I wish the previous owners of our rig did something like this. Instead they put in a giant residential fridge that sticks out so much you have to walk sideways around it. Ugh. Great job guys!
great info! really appreciate your uploading your fridge replacement experience. about the govee... i got it but have to say i do not love the app - i always have to refresh it, then remove it from recent apps, and then restart it before it will tell me the current temp
Great Job!! I never did like the Propane to cool the Fridge; I've never seen one that worked very well. Love watching your videos, I just jumped on board last week. :):)
Yes, we are able to leave it on all the time and it draws very little power. And we aren’t worried about anything catching on fire, so have a little more peace of mind.
Also, as I’m watching the video I noticed that you’re using a floor Jack to lift the fridge. I know hindsight is 29/20 but a transmission jack would have been much better. They are flatter/wider, more stable. Glad y’all got it done.
Just watched your RUclips video for the kit conversion on your Norcold fridge. Nice job. Did the install of the 10 gauge wiring from the battery area to the new fridge present any obstacles? We plan to do the same on our 2009 Newmar after the Tampa RV show. I plan to completely remove the propane tank and turn that area into an additional storage compartment. The ice maker is a keeper on ours and we like the built-in water dispenser. Deb and I thoroughly enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work. Maybe we'll see you at the Tampa show
I like this fix for a refrigerator replacement alternative. My one concern is the draw on the house batteries. We are not boon docking people so battery concern may not be an issue. I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks
Looks like yours has an upgraded version with an actual temp sensor in the freezer compartment. Mine does not have that and it makes controlling the freezer temperature a bit of a pain. Will be interesting to hear how accurate your freezer temps are. I also see that yours has the new control panel, ours still uses the original control panel.
Tim, contact JC and see if your can be upgraded to the new panel, they are a great company to work with. We had our Norcold at JC’s factory to their upgraded propane unit which works great. They had just come out with the compressor kit and I didn’t want to risk it at the time. Maybe next time.
I put a new cooling unit in ours this last summer. It can be done with some handy man skills. I went with a Amish made one it is way better built and so far keeps the freezer around 3 degrees and the fridge at around 37 degrees. way better then the old cooling unit did.
We just did this install ourselves. Like you'll our fridge a 4 door Norcold 1211 is about a foot off the floor. I used a furniture dolly 6" high and 2 4x6x 36" which made almost flush with fridge to slide out on to the dolly and leaned the fridge to remove the 4x6s to lay the fridge down. To install just reverse, did have a 2x2 to raise the back of fridge to get it started to slide back in. One other tip I have to line up the freezer bolts, I used 4 wooden skewers in the corner holes of the cooling unit. Lined the skewers up withe the freezer screw holes when dropping the unit in it was perfect. This took the wife and I, 2 half days 8 hours, If I did another 4 or 5 hrs tops, would I do it again, not a chance, lol, it's hard on a guy in his mid 60s. I have to give to JC Refrigeration the instruction manual is spot on, if you are in good shape and up for a good project go for it.
You capped off the propane line and said "we don't have to worry about a propane fire anymore" (or something to that effect). Our propane hose developed a leak at the OTHER end where the hose has to flex for the slide going in and out. The hose was VERY cracked. I capped off the fixed pipe where it joins the hose with a female cap.
@@Hugo-Hernandez interesting, I have not heard this, can you point to where you heard about these failures? Might be beneficial to know what the point of failure is!
@@timmyers3428 If you watch My RV Works and Hillbilly RV RUclips channels they are RV Techs. They are known in the RV Tech world. They constantly say they are not fans of the new 12V refrigerator compressor because they constantly go out. They have videos working on them. They don’t recommend them. Also their is good amount of videos on RUclips of people complaining that their new 12v refrigerator had to be replaced.
I'm digging this for an older Georgie Boy class A. Control board had crapped out and only gave the option of propane. It was my understanding that a new control board would have enabled either 12v, 120v, or propane. Never understood whether the 12 v was a real option. So this is. Yayyy. Thanks for the post. Now when we are plugged in at home, everything stays cool. LOL. And being unplugged it lasts much longer on battery power. Is this system total 12v now? Looks like it. So a small solar system will keep your fridge cold all the time? Looks like it. Thanks so much.
Yes, this system is totally 12 volt and will run with solar or in our case at the moment, a lithium battery set up which charges when the engine is running on travel days
My Norcold is 28° in the fridge and 0 in the freezer, on 5. On 4, the fridge is 34 area but then the freezer goes to 10. So I deal with 28 in the fridge. I never turn off my propane unless I'm filling the propane. The fridge and propane is on otherwise.
What are you doing to provide 12v power while not on shore power? The 10 cu ft 12v compressor fridges use about 80 amp hrs a day. I would imagine a larger one uses even more. Nice installation, thanks
I'm binge watching your videos and LOVE them! New subscriber!! Just one tiny thing..... actually, very tiny. Actually, medium tiny. Well, actually, getting to be a bigger tiny thing..... Yes, actually, I'm hearing that word a lot. Actually, more than a lot. Please don't ban me. I really enjoy your tips, your organizational skills, and your patience with your corny hubby. But I'm hearing that word a lot and it's starting to be noticeable. Probably like your hubby's aversion to noises in the rv. Love this channel! If you need me I'll be watching one of your videos somewhere.
I see very little information online about cost savings of doing this upgrade. When using our Norcold 1210 absorption style refrigerator we use either 110V electricity or propane. Is this 12V upgrade more cost efficient? We don't do a lot of boondocking anymore other than one night here and there, but we are snowbirds and pay for our electricity in the resort we stay in. Currently, if we run our refrigerator with electricity it uses about 520 Kwh per month so it costs us almost $100/Month. If we use Propane, it uses three 30 pound propane tanks so the cost decreases to about $60/Month. Would I save money monthly by doing this upgrade? I do have a 180w suitcase solar setup that I would be using to supplement adding power to the batteries if I do this upgrade and four 6V golf cart batteries giving me 440 amp hours of usable power.
That is an option I've haven't seen. It's a new, technically efficient world. that old three way is pretty outdated. Many are going to a crazy amount of Lithium batteries and controllers converting completely to 120/240 v Rigs. Expensive, but worth it from what I've seen. this is a great economically way to get off the gas.
I double checked with the owner of the company and he mentioned "Since this is a flare plug you will not need any tread sealant at all, just turn in tight and its good."
Question or your longer-term experience doing the mod on the refrig. : Currently, we have a NorCold 1200LRIM model and it says it uses running on 12V power (besides some propane) 3.6 Amps. With our 450 Amp Hr. Li-Ion house-battery bank and the refrig. at times turning off because it has reached the desired temp. we can run on battery power for 6 days. It seems that the JC Refrig. kit the refrigerator would pull 4 x times at much power running on 12V. With this kit we would only be able to run on battery power for roughly 2 days. I am curious, what has been your experience thus far incl. on the power drain using the kit ?
We have 2240 watts of solar that keeps the batteries topped off so we’ve not been able to really see what the fridge drain alone is. We are also using chargers, kids are running fans, etc so we’ve not been able to really isolate individual power draws. If we have full sun and run No a/cs the solar keeps everything going with no issues
@@GratefulGlamper OK, that explains it. I have 480W of fold-able solar panels to recharge the battery bank or (if weather not good or too much shade) my generator every 6 days to charge.
I have the same frig as you and with an electrical power panel compartment underneath. I'd like to know how much better it operates after you use if for a while.
It’s been about 3 months now and keeps ice cream rock hard and food cold. We’re so glad we did the conversion and works great on 12 volt to conserve on power.
@@GratefulGlamper Just completed the install to the NOR 12 Hvac 12V. Your video is an excellent demonstration of the install. Dutch Aire created an impressive installation step by step manual, smooth project, everyone should swap out their absorption cooling unit to this 12 Volt system. Thanks for the video.
So I had never heard about a Govee. I looked at it online and I’m wondering if this would be a good thing to monitor our pets. I looked at the Waggle but you need to subscribe with a fee. Looks like the Govee does the same thing but with out the fees of a subscription. What are your thoughts?
I double checked with the owner of the company and he mentioned "Since this is a flare plug you will not need any tread sealant at all, just turn in tight and its good."
Hey there! Thanks for watching this video! If you enjoyed it, please don't forget to subscribe to our RUclips channel! → link.gratefulglamper.com/subscribe → Check out the Govee mentioned in this video gratefulglamper.com/govee
This proves how wonderful your family and marriage is.
By this step all of us would be yelling at each other with some not so nice words flying around! GOD bless you all.
We do try 😉 Thanks for watching
The one single most thong to congratulate you on is the reading of the instructions, so many DIIY's the people think because they own a screwdriver that they are smarter than the manufacturer.
Good job!!
Looking forward to a review and comparison to the old unit.
Just read the instructions LOL 😂
@@GratefulGlamper Okay, maybe just follow the instructions,,,,,
WOW! Congratulations! Stepping out of your comfort zone is brave. I’m so impressed that you went for it. Wonderful video.
Thanks for watching
You two are amazing. I've been wanting to switch out our propane/electric fridge for some time. But the price is a little steep. You have opened up a whole world!. I went to JC Refrigeration's website. A conversion kit for my fridge is only $785. I'm so excited. Thanks for making this video. (And why is nobody talking about this?)
👍🏻
Great job!! I was a little leery about the floor jack. A hydraulic table from Harbor Freight is a better option for jobs like this. Please keep us informed after you use the JC Refrigeration unit for a few weeks on how you like it.
We for sure will keep you all updated!
Super video and great job. I swapped my NotCold 10cuft refrigerator with a 12v dc compressor refrigerator (much smaller than the Goliath you have). I’d agree, one of the best upgrades for any rv . I was fortunate, the new refrigerator slid into the opening, no cutting or anything.
I’ve been enjoying your channel for over a year now. Looking forward to what you will share in 2023
Thanks so much! We’ve got some fun stuff planned for 2023 so stay tuned!
Awesome job guys! What an accomplishment and now you have a better fridge and a notch in your belt. Thanks for sharing and safe travels.
Thanks for watching
Exactly what I want to do with our fridge - go with a 12v compressor model. Glad to have found this
👍🏻
Wow! You guys are amazing! 🙂 I would never have had the nerve to attempt that. Fortunately for us someone removed the RV refrigerator and installed a full residential refrigerator. Well done guys! 🙂
Thanks!
We did this conversion a couple years ago, pretty simple but intimidating. Works great, saves huge amount of electricity, cools much better...more consistent temps, hard ice cream even in Florida summers plus JC Refrigeration is a great company to work with.
👍🏻
Job well done!
Anyone considering this upgrade might want to pick up 2 pair of appliance/lifting straps to help withe the removal and reinstall.
They're really handy to keep in the rig for general use as well.
Yes, that would have been much better! Thanks for the tip.
Great Idea!
We had a water leak and then we added Govee components. The hub hooks to our RV internet. We monitor Water leaks and temperatures. We have been alerted to freezing temperatures (during our -2°) cold front. This was great because I turned on the gas heat for the belly plumbing. They are awesome
👍🏻
Floor jack - what a great idea! About a year ago I replaced my absorption fridge's 22yr old cooling unit with an Amish model. We stayed with the propane because we boondock most of the time. The Amish cooling unit is more powerful than our Dometic was. Our freezer stays in single digits. It's 6 degrees today (70+ outside with the afternoon sun beating on the fridge side). It will go colder, (it's set on 3 out of 5) but the fridge section freezes if I set it any colder (the fridge is at 34 degrees now).
I did the job myself, including picking it up and wedging it in the hole. We have about 2 inches of clearance to the far wall, making this chore a real bugger - especially since I couldn't get on the bedroom side of the fridge as my motorhome only has one door. But it really didn't matter cause I'm only one person, so I couldn't be on both sides to lift it evenly or to walk it in the hole. To complicate matters, I'm a 66yr old, retired guy who's not athletically inclined (let's face it, I'm an old, weak, fat guy.) Yet I managed to complete the project using simple tools (a piece of plywood, some boards and a bunch of yellow plastic leveling blocks.) My wife helped with steading the fridge while I did all the lifting. Man, If I had a floor jack it would have made the job a lot easier. (If I could have borrowed your son, easier still.) But then I would have had to give away the floor jack I bought for a one-time job, as we are truly nomads - FTers with no way to take it with us and no storage. I tried using the screw type jack that I came with my car for tire changes, but that was far too unstable. Good job on a difficult task!
The website says their conversion kit draws 139 watts of power. So, doing the math, if you have a typical 40-60% duty cycle that varies with ambient temp, you should project for the worst-case 60% scenario (unless you want that ice cream to thaw.) So let's say it draws a maximum of 2,000 w/hrs/day. It looks you'll need 2 more 100ah Lithium batteries (2,560w/hrs) which will give you a little buffer. 2000 watts/5hrs of sunlight a day at 80% panel efficiency = 500 watts of additional solar panels you'll need to recharge those batteries. Be prepared to run your generator on rainy or overcast days too, especially if you encounter a string of bad weather, which happens sometimes. Good luck, I hope it's been working out like you expected.
Thanks! We just added 2200 watts of solar. And two more Battleborn batteries (100 amp hours each). We’ve been running the fridge on just solar now for several days and the lowest we got down to (and it was pretty cloudy for at least 1 day) was 30 % - more updates to come.
Yes, RV life pushes us to learn something new all the time. It's one thing we find so fun and fascinating about this life.
👍🏻
This is a great option... we did this on out 2004 Bounder last year and it has been great so far. I did not get the Universal Control unit - that is new. But I had already complete
I had an issue with the thermistor, but JC Refrigeration was awesome and provided some by pass instructions until I could replace the thermistor.
Like you, our RV would have to have some major renovation to change to a different fridge/freezer - and there is nothing wrong with the "box' that is the housing unit.
I really like this conversion. We are seasonal RV'er and in the past we had to turn on the refrigerator at least 24 hours before we loaded it - now it just a few hours. Plus, since it is 12v, if we are out for the day and loose shore power, it will continue to run on the house batteries.
👍🏻
Wow! THANK YOU GG! That just opened up my world to just about any RV out there, knowing I can change a propane/electric fridge to 12 volt. You two are a great team!
Thanks for the kind words and for watching
I didn't realize the cooling unit transfers the cooling from the unit plate to an inner plate via thermal paste inside the fridge. I thought there was fins and tubes from the cooling unit inside the fridge. great teaching video! Thank You! You could actually build any kind of insulated box, put the fin unit inside the box and attach the Kit you bought and make any kind of fridge you want. So many ideas'and so little time! Awesome fix you guys! You are really on the Cusp of being Technical Beings! When you know things, less knowledgeable beings will gravitate to you and you're going to be the "GOTO" guys. Knowledge is power! be careful. I would say this is an 8 out of a 10 level project, most would run! great job!
Thanks!
I did the same thing last May. Best mod I ever made. My fridge cools in thirty minutes and the ice cream is not soft anymore. Ran on batteries for 48 hours and only lost 2 tenths of a volt.
Awesome!!
Great job team, that is why we bought a new unit with a residential fridge. But still enjoyed your experience!
Thanks for watching
This is why when my wife and I are looking for our next RV, having a 12v fridge is very high on my priority list!!
Congratulations! We went through a similar operation about 8 years ago when we replaced our Norcold refrigerator but we replaced it with a Whirlpool residential refrigerator. The residential refrigerator had the advantage that it was half the weight of the old Norcold, and almost double the interior space. We installed a pure sine 1000 water inverter to run it, but seldom does it use that kind of wattage as it needs about 700 watts to break the ice cubes free just before it dumps them. Otherwise it's running using about 75 watts. If I was doing it again, I'd still put in a residential refrigerator/freezer.
I have the same
Refrigerator and I had installed the 120 volt version had it hooked up
To the inverter. A couple of years ago. Works great. Love it.
Awesome!
Very cool. Was thinking same 👍
We did this last summer in our 2003 Monaco. Ours has the dual temp sensors as well. It was a challenge, for sure, but we were able to do it ourselves. I recommend it.
👍🏻
This was fun to watch.
Thanks for watching 👍🏻
Great idea replacing the old technology with the 12VDC compressor style!
👍🏻
Great stepping out to handle something new
Y’all are so brave!
Thank you!
You guys did awesome! Good for you for taking on the task. :)
Thanks for watching
12:04 Steve snaps on his rubber gloves...and every guy who ever had a prostate exam flop-sweats.
😂
Good job guys!
Thanks!
That is impressive. I would be interested to see if it continues to work well during the hot months. I will definitely keep this in mind if I decide to do something with our refrigerator.
👍🏻
Thank You. This is great information video. I know that we sometimes struggle with our refrigerator.
Great job and great insight!!
Thank you!
Great info, keep up the amazing videos.
💙
Now I think you don’t need the vents above and behind your fridge anymore so that should help some. I wish the previous owners of our rig did something like this. Instead they put in a giant residential fridge that sticks out so much you have to walk sideways around it. Ugh. Great job guys!
great info! really appreciate your uploading your fridge replacement experience. about the govee... i got it but have to say i do not love the app - i always have to refresh it, then remove it from recent apps, and then restart it before it will tell me the current temp
Great Job!! I never did like the Propane to cool the Fridge; I've never seen one that worked very well.
Love watching your videos, I just jumped on board last week. :):)
Thanks for watching our vids! Best wishes.
Very impressive!! Great job!!
Thanks!
Now that you are propane free in you fridge, do you leave your fridge running while on the road since it’s electric?
Yes, we are able to leave it on all the time and it draws very little power. And we aren’t worried about anything catching on fire, so have a little more peace of mind.
We did this. They are fabulous to work with! Congratulations!
Awesome!
I just love watching y’all! Such an awesome fam! I hope to be getting my own rv in the next year and you’ve been so informative
Thanks for watching our channel!
Also, as I’m watching the video I noticed that you’re using a floor Jack to lift the fridge. I know hindsight is 29/20 but a transmission jack would have been much better. They are flatter/wider, more stable. Glad y’all got it done.
Totally- thanks for the tip
Just watched your RUclips video for the kit conversion on your Norcold fridge. Nice job. Did the install of the 10 gauge wiring from the battery area to the new fridge present any obstacles? We plan to do the same on our 2009 Newmar after the Tampa RV show. I plan to completely remove the propane tank and turn that area into an additional storage compartment. The ice maker is a keeper on ours and we like the built-in water dispenser. Deb and I thoroughly enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work. Maybe we'll see you at the Tampa show
We’d love to say hi in Tampa! Our Rig already has wiring for the 12 volt power so we didn’t have to run any additional wiring.
Thanks for sharing we got an 03 Discovery and will likely do this now!
Nice new trick. I didn't know that they mad e conversion kits. Also nice job showing how you installed it.
Thanks for watching
We have a 1999 Southwind. The back of your fridge looks nasty. Scared to see ours! Saving video for future DIY!!
👍🏻
I knew you could do it.. much love 😍
💙
I like this fix for a refrigerator replacement alternative.
My one concern is the draw on the house batteries. We are not boon docking people so battery concern may not be an issue.
I would appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks
12v has very little draw. It would be a non issue for you. Going with a residential fridge would take a lot more draw and potentially be a concern.
Congratulations!
Thank you!
Looks like yours has an upgraded version with an actual temp sensor in the freezer compartment. Mine does not have that and it makes controlling the freezer temperature a bit of a pain. Will be interesting to hear how accurate your freezer temps are. I also see that yours has the new control panel, ours still uses the original control panel.
👍🏻 We will keep you posted!
Tim, contact JC and see if your can be upgraded to the new panel, they are a great company to work with. We had our Norcold at JC’s factory to their upgraded propane unit which works great. They had just come out with the compressor kit and I didn’t want to risk it at the time. Maybe next time.
Great job!
Nice work guys… Ima very handy person and that would’ve been a little intimidating for me as well… Y’all killed it… Great content…
Thanks for watching!
Very much enjoyed the details! 🎉 Congratulations on the success! 🖖🏻😘👍🏻🙏🏻
Thanks for watching our struggles, lol
You guys are great! What a cool job!! Thanks!
💙
Very proud of the both of you for tackling something I surely would not attempt, great job! Have you thought about doing this as a business? 😀
Lol, we keep busy enough without adding RV repair. Thanks for the comment and for watching
Great job! It is always intimidating to start a project when there is no turning back once it is started.
👍🏻
Thanks for doing this video! maybe we will give it a try. Do you note frost building up on the fins?
No frost on the fins with the fans that are part of the new control unit.
@@GratefulGlamper Thank you for the reply! And the freezer? Does it remain frost free? And it does keep your ice cream hard as advertised?
That’s nice! And as usual Ben is my hero, and on a side note,,, he sure does know how to put on a pair of rubber gloves!😂😂
Ben is my (Charity) Hero too! Thanks for watching
I put a new cooling unit in ours this last summer. It can be done with some handy man skills. I went with a Amish made one it is way better built and so far keeps the freezer around 3 degrees and the fridge at around 37 degrees. way better then the old cooling unit did.
👍🏻
Great Job!!!!
Thank you!
We just did this install ourselves. Like you'll our fridge a 4 door Norcold 1211 is about a foot off the floor. I used a furniture dolly 6" high and 2 4x6x 36" which made almost flush with fridge to slide out on to the dolly and leaned the fridge to remove the 4x6s to lay the fridge down. To install just reverse, did have a 2x2 to raise the back of fridge to get it started to slide back in. One other tip I have to line up the freezer bolts, I used 4 wooden skewers in the corner holes of the cooling unit. Lined the skewers up withe the freezer screw holes when dropping the unit in it was perfect. This took the wife and I, 2 half days 8 hours, If I did another 4 or 5 hrs tops, would I do it again, not a chance, lol, it's hard on a guy in his mid 60s. I have to give to JC Refrigeration the instruction manual is spot on, if you are in good shape and up for a good project go for it.
Thanks for sharing!
You capped off the propane line and said "we don't have to worry about a propane fire anymore" (or something to that effect). Our propane hose developed a leak at the OTHER end where the hose has to flex for the slide going in and out. The hose was VERY cracked. I capped off the fixed pipe where it joins the hose with a female cap.
Good job guys,hopefully yall will like it. I have heard that those 12v air compressor go bad all the time. Good thing yall have a warranty.
👍🏻
It is t 12 v air compressor, it is a 12 v refrigeration compressor
@@timmyers3428
Sorry thats what I meant a refrigerator compressor.
@@Hugo-Hernandez interesting, I have not heard this, can you point to where you heard about these failures? Might be beneficial to know what the point of failure is!
@@timmyers3428
If you watch My RV Works and Hillbilly RV RUclips channels they are RV Techs. They are known in the RV Tech world. They constantly say they are not fans of the new 12V refrigerator compressor because they constantly go out. They have videos working on them. They don’t recommend them. Also their is good amount of videos on RUclips of people complaining that their new 12v refrigerator had to be replaced.
You need to put some thread sealing tape on that plug for the propane.
Since this is a flare plug you will not need any tread sealant at all, just turn in tight and its good.
I'm digging this for an older Georgie Boy class A. Control board had crapped out and only gave the option of propane. It was my understanding that a new control board would have enabled either 12v, 120v, or propane. Never understood whether the 12 v was a real option. So this is. Yayyy. Thanks for the post. Now when we are plugged in at home, everything stays cool. LOL. And being unplugged it lasts much longer on battery power. Is this system total 12v now? Looks like it. So a small solar system will keep your fridge cold all the time? Looks like it. Thanks so much.
Yes, this system is totally 12 volt and will run with solar or in our case at the moment, a lithium battery set up which charges when the engine is running on travel days
@@GratefulGlamper I was just hoping for a 12v solar system for lighting and refrigeration. This is looking like a great choice. Thanks so much.
That's a great upgrade. Did you lose much storage space in the refrigerator / freezer?
We actually gained space since we removed the ice maker :)
My Norcold is 28° in the fridge and 0 in the freezer, on 5. On 4, the fridge is 34 area but then the freezer goes to 10. So I deal with 28 in the fridge.
I never turn off my propane unless I'm filling the propane. The fridge and propane is on otherwise.
Loved your video thanks for sharing it with me
Thanks for watching
Do you have solar to keep it running on travel days and boondocking?
Not yet but adding soon - we do have 6 battleborn lithium batteries (600 amp hours) that charge when the engine is running on travel days
Boy not sure that’s a project I’d want to take on. You guys did great.
Thanks!
hey just did ours in june last year and have been so happy about it also got the 3 year extended warranty keeps the ice cream froze lol great vid
What are you doing to provide 12v power while not on shore power? The 10 cu ft 12v compressor fridges use about 80 amp hrs a day. I would imagine a larger one uses even more. Nice installation, thanks
We have 6 battleborn 100 amp hour lithium batteries currently.
I would love to do this! I hate the propane fridge
👍🏻
I'm binge watching your videos and LOVE them! New subscriber!! Just one tiny thing..... actually, very tiny. Actually, medium tiny. Well, actually, getting to be a bigger tiny thing.....
Yes, actually, I'm hearing that word a lot. Actually, more than a lot. Please don't ban me. I really enjoy your tips, your organizational skills, and your patience with your corny hubby. But I'm hearing that word a lot and it's starting to be noticeable. Probably like your hubby's aversion to noises in the rv. Love this channel! If you need me I'll be watching one of your videos somewhere.
Thanks so much for the feedback and for watching our vids!
I see very little information online about cost savings of doing this upgrade. When using our Norcold 1210 absorption style refrigerator we use either 110V electricity or propane. Is this 12V upgrade more cost efficient? We don't do a lot of boondocking anymore other than one night here and there, but we are snowbirds and pay for our electricity in the resort we stay in. Currently, if we run our refrigerator with electricity it uses about 520 Kwh per month so it costs us almost $100/Month. If we use Propane, it uses three 30 pound propane tanks so the cost decreases to about $60/Month. Would I save money monthly by doing this upgrade? I do have a 180w suitcase solar setup that I would be using to supplement adding power to the batteries if I do this upgrade and four 6V golf cart batteries giving me 440 amp hours of usable power.
That is an option I've haven't seen. It's a new, technically efficient world. that old three way is pretty outdated. Many are going to a crazy amount of Lithium batteries and controllers converting completely to 120/240 v Rigs. Expensive, but worth it from what I've seen.
this is a great economically way to get off the gas.
Great video! I like doing that kind of work i find it fun. Would you be able to piece together a small vid focusing on the wiring?
The instructions come with step by steps on the wiring - we didn’t film that part in depth
@@GratefulGlamper Cool thanks for the reply.
Is today Sunday? I hope y’all have the best year ever. Be safe and take care.
It’s not, but we HAD to show you all this and couldn’t wait until Sunday. We will have another AMAZING video we’re working for Sunday!
Thanks for the video. You made me brave enough to change mine. Just ordered my own today Price update 9/24 $1550 for the Norcold 1200.
I did notice one thing that I question, shouldn’t you have used Teflon tape on the propane shut off plug?
It is a flaired connection Teflon tape could make it leak
I double checked with the owner of the company and he mentioned "Since this is a flare plug you will not need any tread sealant at all, just turn in tight and its good."
Great job! Question: Why did you remove the icemaker? And did you reinstall it? I refuse to live without an icemaker.
We didn’t want to keep the ice maker because it’s pretty hard to keep clean mainly. We make ice the old fashioned way in trays instead
Question or your longer-term experience doing the mod on the refrig. : Currently, we have a NorCold 1200LRIM model and it says it uses running on 12V power (besides some propane) 3.6 Amps. With our 450 Amp Hr. Li-Ion house-battery bank and the refrig. at times turning off because it has reached the desired temp. we can run on battery power for 6 days.
It seems that the JC Refrig. kit the refrigerator would pull 4 x times at much power running on 12V. With this kit we would only be able to run on battery power for roughly 2 days.
I am curious, what has been your experience thus far incl. on the power drain using the kit ?
We have 2240 watts of solar that keeps the batteries topped off so we’ve not been able to really see what the fridge drain alone is. We are also using chargers, kids are running fans, etc so we’ve not been able to really isolate individual power draws. If we have full sun and run No a/cs the solar keeps everything going with no issues
@@GratefulGlamper OK, that explains it. I have 480W of fold-able solar panels to recharge the battery bank or (if weather not good or too much shade) my generator every 6 days to charge.
Great job
Thanks!
I have the same frig as you and with an electrical power panel compartment underneath. I'd like to know how much better it operates after you use if for a while.
It’s been about 3 months now and keeps ice cream rock hard and food cold. We’re so glad we did the conversion and works great on 12 volt to conserve on power.
@@GratefulGlamper Thanks!
I see there is 2 compressors is one for the freezer and one for the refrigerator area?
Yep
12 volt. How many hours can you run it ?
We have 600 amp hours with our lithium batteries that can be used when not plugged into shore power. We can run it for quite a while
No regrets on that beautiful fridge but i bet you regret that leg tattoo lol
No regrets!
they have to say that
good job!!
Thank you!
Our rv fridge stopped cooling last year and we have not decided what to replace it with. I am now wondering if this would be an option .
I would definitely see if JC Refrigeration has a unit that will work with your fridge. We are loving that we made the switch.
We will be workamping in rapid city, SD may-oct, let us know if you guys are in the area, would love to meet you
👍🏻
It's been a while, still recommend? About to pull trigger, just love your videos.
Yes! We’re totally loving this upgrade, the fridge is colder than it’s ever been and with the 12 volt it’s been great for lower power usage.
@@GratefulGlamper Just completed the install to the NOR 12 Hvac 12V. Your video is an excellent demonstration of the install. Dutch Aire created an impressive installation step by step manual, smooth project, everyone should swap out their absorption cooling unit to this 12 Volt system. Thanks for the video.
Nice mod.. Curious to know the real world daily power consumption.. for us boondocking n overlanders.
So I had never heard about a Govee. I looked at it online and I’m wondering if this would be a good thing to monitor our pets. I looked at the Waggle but you need to subscribe with a fee. Looks like the Govee does the same thing but with out the fees of a subscription. What are your thoughts?
Govee would totally work - however Govee does not have the power loss option alert like Waggle does.
@@GratefulGlamper thanks I may give it a try. It was also great to meet you at the Tampa RV Show
You don't realize how important that dam fridge is until it doesn't work.
Good video..
👍🏻
How does it work for boondocking?
It runs on 12 volt so very minimal power draw
Maybe I missed it, on a gas line you should probably put the yellow tape on the plug for best seal.
I was wondering same
I double checked with the owner of the company and he mentioned "Since this is a flare plug you will not need any tread sealant at all, just turn in tight and its good."
@@GratefulGlamper good to know. Thanks!
@@GratefulGlamper Hmm, learn something new every day
Where did you get that kit? We want to do that for our fridge!!
gratefulglamper.com/rvfridge
Congratulations with the refridg! You guys are a great family! Love all videos, sense of humor, & your travels! Be safe n enjoy!
Thanks!