Norcold has been making quiet, reliable RV refrigerators since 1959. Their absorption refrigerators use gas (a Norcold fridge automatically switches to LP when electricity isn’t available) and a process called distillation to work.
The cooling unit has a boiler that’s heated with electric heaters or by LP gas flame to separate the working fluid into ammonia and water. The working solution is then circulated to the freezer section and back to the boiler. This is a great design that works well. But if there is any leakage between the cooling unit and the freezer compartment it can cause freezing problems. The solution is to replace the cooling unit.
When the remanufactured coolers are delivered they have a bead of low expansion spray foam on the bottom of the evaporator pocket to seal it against the freezer section of the refrigerator. This is a good idea for Dometic and Norcold refrigerators that have frame rails holding the cooling unit in place. These are the units that have a sheet metal pan under them and often screws pass through this pan into the RV.
To install a new norcold cooling unit the first thing to do is lay it down on the refrigerator cabinet and push the evaporator foam pack down into the evaporator pocket. It is helpful to trim any foam that sticks out of the evaporator pocket for a better fit. After the bead of spray foam is in place you can insert the rear mounting screws. It’s a good idea to use Blue Loctite Threadlocker when reinstalling these screws as they tend to loosen over time. norcold cooling units