Norcold

[Clibro]

Anybody know how to adjust fridge doors, for a tighter seal?

[Dick Noble]

How are they out of alignment? I had to put two washers under the bottom of the left side at the hinge to even them out.

[Clibro]

I believe cold air is seeping between the door seal and the frame. Should be able to close the door on a dollar bill, and pull it through with some resistance.

[moenoodle]

I am having the same problem with my norcold 2118 refrigerator. We went on a week long camping trip a few weeks ago, outside temp never got over 80 but we could not keep the frig below 40 degrees. We research the issue and there are two of them.

First the flap on the left door does not close all the way to make a solid seal with the right door. I will need to adjust the left door by adding some nylon washers to lift the door so the flap will close properly.

The second issue is with the gasket on the right door, it is deformed and will not make a good seal. I did the dollar bill test and I can move the dollar freely with the door closed. I have contacted my dealer and it will be weeks before they can even look at it so I called GD Service and they are reviewing the issue now. I am hopping they can send me a new door gasket, however everything I read about Norcold is they do not have a replacement gasket for the 2118, they would rather replace the entire door assembly. I am ok with either approach as long as I can get my doors to seal.

[boyscout]

Anybody know how to adjust fridge doors, for a tighter seal?

One of the most common problems with that fridge is with the flap on the left hand door. It may not close fully (parallel to the doors) and thereby permit leakage along the vertical seal between the doors.

The most common cause of this failure is the flap rubbing on the floor of the fridge, unable to close all the way, and a good fix for that has already been suggested by @Dick Noble above.

Ours was so bad that the fridge had to be replaced. The new fridge was fine for a while but then developed the problem, which was fixed with a washer on the lower hinge pin of the left door.

Someone has opined that virtually no food - certainly nothing heavy - should be stored in the left door as its weight will deform the bottom of the door at the hinge pin, lowering the door and causing the flap to begin rubbing on the floor of the fridge.

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It is true that you should not store anything in the left-hand door, and it is strongly recommended that you avoid using the storage bins on the right side.

The weight eventually causes the plastic where the hinge-pin hole is to crack. There is NO reinforcement behind it. Using a washer will work IF you don't have much weight in there. But if the hinge point on the door cracks, the door needs to be replaced.

Try to find a left-hand replacement door. When we had to do ours, the factory was backordered with a wait of several months. They said they had never heard of such a problem, but many of the original GD owners had it happen, as have owners of other makes. We found one dealer with a couple of left-hand doors in stock. It was a bit over $400 after shipping.

[[email protected]]

By factory, I'm referring to Norcold.

[Rideblue51]

Shouldn't you be able to tell if the flap in the left door is closing properly before closing the right? If the dollar bill pulls out too easily, what can be done to help that and how is it done? If the seals are a problem, would you be able to feel cool air coming out where the door seals are?

[boyscout]

Shouldn't you be able to tell if the flap in the left door is closing properly before closing the right?

Yes. Close the left door, then gently tug the flap towards yourself. If it moves at all it something is probably preventing it from closing all the way.

Most often that's the floor of the fridge - either the floor of the fridge interior has lifted (as it did on our first one) or the left door and flap are resting too low. Either way, the flap is brushing against the floor of the fridge as it tries to close.

Also check for cleanliness at top and bottom of the flap and ensure very free movement of it.

If the dollar bill pulls out too easily, what can be done to help that and how is it done?

Ensure that the flap can easily close completely. Most often the fix is to remove the fridge door and put a washer or two on the lower hinge pin to raise the door when it's reinstalled. That moves the lower edge of the flap away from the floor of the fridge.

If the seals are a problem, would you be able to feel cool air coming out where the door seals are?

Occasionally. A simpler test is to monitor the outside surface of the flap for moisture - cool air escaping the fridge will create one or more areas of condensation on the flap.

[Maximus216]

If i see the temp on mine start to climb its usually because someone in my family didn't shut the doors correctly. I also have fans mounted on the inside fins and my temps never go over 34 even in 90 plus heat. Make sure you doors don't come open when you bring in your slide in too. I've had this happen to me once. There is also a defrost mode that causes pain for a lot of people. If you understand how it works you can avoid some issues.