Norcold Fridge leaking!

[KnotConnected]

So I've got a small Norcold fridge in my 1994 Larson Cabrio 280. Fridge works great.

problem being: The upper componant builds up a large block of ice when it's running, I assume for stuff that needs to stay closer to frozen. Well, when I unplug the boat from shore power and spend a day out on the beach, or camp on the boat on the beach over night, that ice block in the frigdge (which is obviously no longer plugged in and running) melts, which causes the fridge to leak water all over the inside of the galley.

I was out on the sand bar from 11:30am to 6:00pm and it completely soaked the large beach towel i put under it. Does anyone else have this problem? Can the freezer part be disabled or hacked / modded to turn it off? Other ideas?


Thanks!

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Norcold Fridge leaking!

the "freezer part" is the only part that cools the fridge... If it is building up a lot of ice, your door seal is leaking letting humid air seep in and supply the water for the ice...OR people are opening it way too much for way too long/leaving the door partially open

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: Norcold Fridge leaking!

Your fridge should be running on 12V when you are away from your slip. That would keep everything frozen.

 

[KnotConnected]

Re: Norcold Fridge leaking!

Ayuh, good call on the door seal. It was awfully screwed up when I got the boat. I 5200'd it back in to stick it in good, thinking that it was just for the sake of cooling efficiency, but I'm sure it's not completely air-tight, which could cause said problem.

R.J, I've got isolated 12v systems, one hybrid battery for the aux systems (lights, radio, fridge, etc..) and another deep cycle for engine & crank. This last weekend was the first weekend I've spend out on the boat, but I turned both batteries off for safety. On a good hybrid battery, am I safe running the fridge and radio on it for ~6-8 hours?

 

[shrew]

Re: Norcold Fridge leaking!

Your battery switch should isolate the batteries. You should have one battery to start each engine (one since I suspect your boat is a a single) and one for the house system. Start and run on the starting battery, then switch over to the house battery once you arrive at your location. When ready to leave, switch back to the starting battery again. Once back at the dock, the battery charger should be recharging both.

When you switch your firdge on it will automatically draw 110 if the shore power is connected. Once the fridge breaker is shut off or the shore power disconnected, it will automatically draw from 12V.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Norcold Fridge leaking!

Mine is wired with only one starting battery (bank 1) for both engines and the genny and 3 big group 27 or 31? deep cycles (bank 2) for house systems... On REALLY hot days I get about 24 hrs per deep cycle batt

I Leave the (engine) battery switch on "1" do not have to ever mess with it... the house systems can not drain the starting battery unless I put the batt switch in the "both" position, which I would never do unless I had problems with the start batts

My house battery switch is on the breaker panel in the cabin... It's a simple on/off and it stays on at all times while on the water.

If my house batts get low I either fire up the gen or head in... I don't want my food in the fridge going bad