Jane and John's RV pagesGoodbye Norcold, hello Frigidaire
Page 4 - Project wrap-up
We need to seal off the upper vent, foam insulate the vent covers, screw the base of the fridge to the new floor, add wood trim, and move the defrost drain tube from the bottom pan, extend it and lead it outside. We also need to secure the fridge doors while we're on the move.
Then (or whenever) reinstall the co-pilot chair, grab rail, grab handle, screen door and whatever else you had to move or remove to facilitate ingress and egress of the fridges.
The last set of pictures
Here's my buddy Bob pulling the carpet back so I can place the chair (or is it called a seat?) back into position
No reason to need access from the upper vent, so seal it off!
We found the drain hose and rerouted it out the rear of the fridge. Measure the inside diameter of the hose and find a suitable extension hose you can shove into the one from the fridge. This was such a tight fit, no hose clamps required. Now it's time to scoot the new fridge into position!!
While we're on the drain hose, here's what it looks like when brought out to the vent opening. We'll deal with sticking it outside a little later
This small screw (one in the other front corner and one at center rear) is working very well to keep the base of the fridge from wandering around. There will be trim strips on both sides and the top to further immobilize the fridge
Here's a detail of the top cleat. There are Velcro tabs on the top of the fridge and the mate on the bottom of the wood cleat. I'll refine this later after we return home but so far the temporary system is working great! I did not want to extend the cleat the full width of the opening due to ventilation requirements of the fridge
Here's how to make the Velcro tabs. The Velcro is stapled to the backside of the side trim piece.
After you peel off the backing, stick the strip together and put a couple more staples into the end
Here's what the Velcro tabs look like in their stowed position
And the Velcro tabs in use. Let's move to the back of the install
The ice maker water line is hooked up. I discovered that duct tape will not stay put so I need a better solution to keep the water supply immobilized
We need to insulate the vent panel covers. I covered up the vent holes with duct tape, used masking tape around the perimeter (where the mating surfaces are) to make it easier to remove the foam in those areas and took some left over hose and placed it into the position I wanted the defrost drain to live
Not quite done spraying foam, but you get the idea
After the foam cures (mist it with water to speed curing), saw it the proper width (about two inches overall thickness)
The nice hole left in the foam for the drain hose
The drain hose peeking out of the vent. I think I'll paint it brown or black which should make it disappear
We catch Trekkie the cat in a cute pose
Jane is, once again, a HAPPY CAMPER!
Footnotes:
As I write this (July 15, 2012), we've had the new Frigidaire installed for maybe three-four weeks and dear wife Jane is still extremely pleased with the new fridge. I'm extremely pleased because the install appears to be a complete success, at least at this point. The fridge looks good, is efficient, and larger (by six cubic feet) than the old Norcold.
Thanks for reading along with us! Let me know if you have any questions about the install.
Update: July 22, 2014
Two year report - fantastic! Absolutely zero issues with the install or the fridge itself, dear wife and I are pleased beyond words. Here's a few more pictures of taking care of final details about the install. I bought some cherry and made some trim for the opening, made a nifty door latch (we called them "dogs" on boats) and got rid of the duct tape securing the coiled up water supply hose to the rear of the fridge.
The cherry trim I made looks great!
Here's a picture of a very simple and effective door latch (or dog), I used an existing threaded screw hole for the threaded rod. A closeup in the following picture
I used a 10/32 threaded stainless rod cut to length. The latch itself is just a piece of cherry scrap
This is a bunch neater (and better) than the duct tape I initially used
--end--
Page 1 - Introduction
Page 2 - Tools I used, removing the Norcold
Page 3 - Preparing for the new fridge
Page 4 - This page