Should I buy this used propane fridge?

[Harriet 1400]

I'm told it's a 1960s two-way Norcold that works. (I don't think it's as old as the seller thinks it is, but I could be wrong--anyone know when Norcold 643s were manufactured?) It's the right size for my 1400, but it's pretty rough looking right now. Nothing excessively bad, and I think it could be cleaned up a little, at least. There are a couple hairline cracks in the liners, but that's something that we can probably address with something like plast-aid. The cracks are small enough that even if they weren't fixed, I doubt it would affect anything but aesthetics.

Here's the thing: the price originally quoted to me was $300 + shipping and handling. That's quite a savings over a new model. When he finally offered a shipping quote, though, I was told it would be an additional $180 ( ). That seems a little excessive to me, and he explained that it was because he would be shipping via freight. However, I've shipped small chicken coops--complete small buildings--via freight for less, all the way from one side of the country to the other. This guy is just 5 or so hours away from us. I was expecting a shipping cost of 80 or 100 bucks. Ish. I wasn't expecting twice that!

At any rate, regardless of how much of the $480 is the cost of the fridge and how much is wanting to be called "shipping," it's still a savings over a new model. Then again, if we bought a new one, it would be, well... brand new. And clean. And without cracks. And it would also come with a guarantee. The new ones also ship for considerably less:

www.vintagetrailersupply.com/Norcold_N300_p/vts-305.htm

What would you do: would you buy used at this price? I might feel differently if it was cute and retro looking, but it's really nothing that special, and (were it clean) doesn't look appreciably different than a new propane fridge does, except that the door handle is marginally cuter.

Is a savings of $300 worth it?

[cowcharge]

Eh. I was given a fridge that supposedly worked, but didn't ($25 for me to leave at the dump, I mean recycling center, after removing it from the worst rotten mold factory of a camper I've ever seen), so I'm leery of vintage fridges that I can't visit and test. The propane and electrical heater systems are pretty simple to fix, but if the cooling unit tubes are rusting out, it's dying. They're prone to rusting out and leaking ammonia, that's why a sniff test is mandatory, if you smell ammonia inside or out it's toast (although you can buy cooling units for a lot of $). If I were going to see one I'd ask the seller to plug it in for a few hours before I arrived (they don't cool down as fast as house fridges), and if he wouldn't do that I wouldn't go.

You're right, the prices of new two-ways is astronomical. Way out of my league, but so is $500, so I'm going to get an energy star-rated electrical fridge for about $180 and run it off the batteries/solar panel. Shouldn't use any more juice than the furnace, and it'll have a separate freezer door, and I'm planning on adding more insulation. I've even toyed with the idea of taking the guts and building my own box.

I wouldn't think twice about driving 5 hrs to see it, test it, and save the freight fees. If it works, $300-plus-gas is a great deal. By the way, that Norcold only ships to commercial addresses, that might be why it's cheaper.

[Harriet 1400]

There is some rust on the tubes, if I'm looking at the right thing. (Photo attached.) Too rusted, do you think? I've also been discussing with my husband whether or not I should drive down (or rather, drive over) to pick it up. We're just undecided at this point, so I was hoping to get some wisdom and common sense from all you experienced people.

A new one is probably out of our price range right now, too... but then again, it's not as if we have to have one at this very moment, either. This is our first camper, and up until now we've been tent campers exclusively, so we've been camping without a refrigerator for decades. We can doubtless go a little longer without the world coming to an end. A new propane fridge might make a good holiday gift to each other come December.

Can a little electric fridge really be run on solar and batteries? I've also considered getting trickle charger, but I was under the impression that even the little refrigerators drew too much energy for that. I'd love to find out that I'm wrong, though. I don't know enough about it to be sure, so I've been leery of spending that much only to discover that we can run the fridge for just two hours before running out of juice... !

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This is just a first impression, but I like the idea of waiting till you can afford it, and investing in a new unit. You are experienced with use of coolers and ice, so camping isn't going to be impossible for this season. A new one may not have the "vintage" look or feel, but it does have a warranty....

You probably have had the same experience we have, using coolers. We have taken beer and pop along with us to my Daughter's for the weekend before, and dumped out ice from the cooler after we returned home 2 days later. That is making me lean toward the idea of an icebox rather than the fridge, should ours not work in the Airflyte.

[cowcharge]

That looks like only surface rust, WAY better than either of mine looked. I don't like the look of the rust runs down near the bottom, though.

Using an electric fridge depends on your battery bank and solar array. This fridge here

www.edgestar.com/CRF320SS-EdgeStar-Midsize-Compact-Refrigerator-Freezer-Stainless-Steel/CRF320SS,default,pd.html?cgid=Appliances-Refrigerators&mtcpromotion=cj

which can be had for $200-$300 and is a 3.1 cf model with a separate freezer, draws 75 watts when it runs, which is .64 amps AC, which would take about 7 amps DC to produce through an inverter. At an average 50% duty cycle, that means it'll draw 84 amp-hours in 24 hrs. That would give me about a day on my batteries without any charging or other heavy draws like the furnace. With my soon-to-be-mine 220 watts solar panel and six hours of sun, I should be replacing a little over 100 amp-hours per day. So with everything else, no, the solar and batteries would probably not quite be enough to entirely lose the generator, once lights/TV/etc. are added in. But, if I insulate it more, or perhaps even build my own more-efficient box, I can cut that duty cycle down some and save energy. Or add another solar panel or bigger batteries.

The 12v "fridges" (they're coolers, really, Coleman etc.) made to plug into the car or made for truckers are usually cooled by a thermo-electric cooler, which are horribly weak at cooling. They can only drop the temp down to a certain number below ambient temperature, so while they might keep the beer at 40 degrees in Maine in September, in Georgia in August you'll be lucky to keep them below 60. So if you do go electric, get one with a compressor. 12v compressor fridges are pretty expensive too...

[Harriet 1400]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. We turned him down. I think the price would have been good if we were local, but since we're pretty flexible as to what brand/type of propane fridge we get--we're not absolutely determined that we must get a vintage fridge--I think it makes sense for us to wait and get a new one... or at least to find a used vintage model that has a lower overall cost for us.

I'll post an ebay fridge shortly in another thread, a 1959 Dometic from an Airstream. That one is too large for our camper, but it IS beautiful and very retro-cool. That's one that if it had fit, I'd sell things to pay for it, hahaha. It's not for us, though, so I hope someone here will like it.

[vikx]

Used propane refrigerators are rarely worth buying. They are a failure waiting to happen and it it's a smaller unit, can NOT be repaired. The parts are unavailable.

My answer is a big fat NO.

[Harriet 1400]

I'm sure you're right, Vikx... I just keep hoping to find that one awesome vintage fridge that works, and that would somehow fit our little Harriet. For cheap.

Not asking much, am I? Still, it was 20 years or so ago that I found that one awesome vintage stove that worked, and that fit in our (house) kitchen. For cheap. I still cook on it, and it's much loved.

Maybe I have a thing for appliances, hahaha...

[vikx]

I have a thing for appliances too! Love to tinker and get them working. The problem isn't that the fridges are old, it's that propane fridges are so apt to fail. The coolant is an ammonia mixture, which eventually rots the metal coils. They can't be "recharged" but must be rebuilt. And, there's nobody rebuilding the older smaller cooling units.

Finding a working used unit would be lucky. Don't pay much, say $50 to $100 depending on condition. It might work for 2 weeks or 2 years. No way to tell.