Dometic vs Norcold

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BruceinFL

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Mar 12, 2005
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In looking at new RVs lately, there seems to be a predominance of Norcold reefers in the new units. I have always had Dometic and don't know much about Norcold. What's the difference between the two brands? Is one technically better than the other or is it a tossup between the two?
 
We've always had Dometics until our last two coaches when Norcolds were installed by the manufacturer.  I haven't noticed any difference between them.  We currently have the Norcold 4-door and I like it.  It holds an amazing amount of stuff.  Our Dometics were smaller 2-doors and they were okay but the size is better on the 4-door.  The one thing I dislike is that, when cleaning, you have to use a screwdriver to remove two side pieces before you can pull the shelves out.  When I complained about the hassle of doing this, the Norcold rep said they weren't happy about it either, but were required to do it so shelves can't come loose while driving, fall out, and injure someone.  There are two smaller glass shelves that separate the crispers so I guess I can see their point.  The older ones - without that wonderful safety feature - were much easier to clean.  The lawyers win another one!  :(  Anyway, other than that annoyance, I'm happy with the Norcold.

And, by the way, we're happy to have one that runs on propane.  The people who have to have the new residential style refrigerators that run only on electric set themselves up for all kinds of power management problems when they're boondocking because those refrigerators are power hogs.  If you want flexibility, stick with the ones that switch between electric and propane.

ArdraF
 
Bruce,

We have a Norcold four door in our Dream. Works just like the Dometic. The control panel is different but works the same. I don't see any big difference except the huge storage in the four door.
 
We had a Dometic side-by-side in our last coach and a Norcold 4 door in this one. Both work excellently. On balance I liked the Dometic side by side slightly better - shelves were deeper and seemed more convenient for a variety of container sizes. The Norcold 4 door is wide but shallow. I also see no advantage in dividing the freezer into two parts on the Norcold 4 door. Both fridges were essentially the same cubic foot capacity and had similar features.

Pretty much a toss up on those two models. However there are newer ones now, and I would opt for the new Dometic Sidewise model if I could choose one now.
 
I would consider whether the refrigerator is a Dometic or Norcold to be the last thing to be of concern in choosing between 2 coaches. If you were ordering and were able to choose, I would probably go with the Dometic Sidewise also.
 
To be honest I think the differences between Dometic and Norcold are so great that if I had to choose.. I'd toss a coin.

Norcold does have a product line I find very, very, very, interesting (This is a dual voltage 12/120 volt, unit, compressor type, like your home fridge, but thanks to the special motor and pump the light bulb uses more power (When on) than the compressor does when running,  That is one impressive fridge, I have it's little brother an Engel Chest freezer, 36 watts and it can freeze 43 12 oz cans of pop) or the same volume of other stuff)  It is their most expensive product line though.

Other than that,  It's a coin toss, the technology is identical.. Dometic, for a while, had a problem with one of the components (But that could just as easily happen to norcold) I'd call them six of one half dozen the other
 
ArdraF said:
The one thing I dislike is that, when cleaning, you have to use a screwdriver to remove two side pieces before you can pull the shelves out. 

Ardra,

We had the same problem with our Norcold frig. Since it is necessary to pull the top shelf out slightly in order to remove the ice/water collection tray under the cooling fins during the defrost/cleaning operation, I simple removed the strip and cut off the top inch or so. Now I can slide the top shelf out enough to remove the collection tray. That shelf doesn't slide back and forth without considerable effort and has never moved on its own. In addition, the top tray in the door is within 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch from the front of the shelf when the door is closed, eliminating any possibility of the shelf vibrating out enough to cause a problem. This solved the problem of having to remove the strip each time we defrosted/cleaned the frig, at least for us. 8)

Richard
 
Richard,

That's interesting.  Our collection tray can be angled sideways.  The little rubber hose that connects to it can actually be pulled out of the back wall a little bit so that part is easy for me.  Actually, it's so dry out here that the water usually evaporates long before I get around to cleaning the tray.  I have more problems with the big shelves which is what necessitates removing the side strips.  By the way, one time I didn't replace the rubber hose properly to the collection tray and it leaked, so you have to make sure it's tightly connected.

ArdraF
 
I have had both, there seems to be more features on the Norcold but that's about it I beleive that they are actually 2 lines manufactured by the same company any way.
Norcolds have also had problems i found a story on recalled cooling units but mine was manufactured later.
 
Norcold is owned by Thetford and Dometic is Dometic.  Not the same manufacturers.

ArdraF
 
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