Nova Kool R4500 in Roadtrek Chevy 190

[themexicandoctor]

Check with STEVE or GRAHAM;

Sales and Service
Sure Marine Service Inc.
5320 28th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
P: (206)784-9903
F: (206)784-0506

[themexicandoctor]

Or these guys were very helpful but it appears every NOVAKOOL on their website has a sold out banner over the top.

CAMPER VAN HQ
Questions? For quickest response, IM us or e-mail to:
help@campervan-hq.com
You can also call us (M-F 9am-5pm MST):
720-206-0124
Campervan HQ - Boulder, Colorado, USA

[themexicandoctor]

As for Venting, I turned myself inside out doubting the venting due to many negative comments, on many rv & boating websites.

The Roadtreks, or at least my 2005 Versatile seemed to have the perfect venting precut in the existing design.

My initial issues had nothing to do with the venting although I thought it did but everything to do with a loose negative wire/ground.

Reality; these units do NOT produce a lot of heat, in fact an infestisimal amount compared to a Propane Fridge - and this is from the Guru of Marine AC & Refrigeration, Mr Rob Lamda of Newport Beach.

Rob would spend 3-6 months every year for 30 years building custom systems for huge motorboats in Italy, etc for Isotherm, etc.

He is the one who told me, if you don't need Hard Ice Cream, buy the Novakool, they aren't flashy & sophisticated however their simplicity is part of their value, they just keep on, keeping on.

Plus it's so much easier to get parts, in the unlikely situation, they need service.

You are going to love your Novakool - my R3800 has performed flawlessly & apart from a half inch piece of plywood underneath, it slipped in effortlessly.

[themexicandoctor]

I highly recommend these Bluetooth TEMP & HUMIDITY Sensors;

https://www.sensorpush.com/

[themexicandoctor]

Dick,

Great detail & photos.

The Venting horror stories I believe are over rated for us with Roadtrek 190's & the Novakools.

[themexicandoctor]

Here is one more referral for the Novakool;

Jim Lamb
MMI Marine
894 West 16th Street
Newport Beach, Ca. 92663
(800)747-3014 Phone
(949)631-0313 Fax
jim@mmimarine.com email

[themexicandoctor]

Did you get a Unit yet?

Love to hear your review once it's in place.

[rauscs]

No, I can't find one in stock anywhere! There is one on ebay, looks like it was never taken out of the box, $1100. I'd rather wait until I can find one with a warranty.

[themexicandoctor]

Could you please private message me with your exact requirements ie; ac option, etc & your city.

What is your present lead time?

I will make a call or five & make a request early tomorrow.

Or you can call or text me at (949) 274-0646.

NO GUARANTEES

[themexicandoctor]

$800 is a fair price including shipping for the Ebay guy, $1000 if Novakool will give you the same warranty

[rauscs]

Appreciate the offer! PM sent.

[themexicandoctor]

Unsuccessful was my attempt to secure a Novakool R4500 for RAUSCS. The only reason I thought a call from myself might help is that I have risked expulsion a number of times from this site due to my enthusiastic support for this company not just for the product but also their Exemplary Customer Serice through which I got to know the Employees.

As opposed to 10 years of expensive BS with Dometic.

But I learnt a lot today & for anyone looking to replace their fridge, this might be of value.

1. If you want a Novakool R4500, presently there is a 1500 unit backlog which means late March delivery if you order today.

2. The R4500 is their most popular unit.

3. Here is the secret sauce for USA Buyers, their list of retailers that actually carry Inventory all year round so are fed first. Plus they are their long term Marine outlets, remembering Novakool was originally designed for boats for rugged use,, with a simplistic design, with the 30% listing angles while sailing, etc. This is their core Bread & Butter customers who have been with them since Jesus was in Chicago.

In order of closest geographically to original So. Cal OP.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MARINE ENT.
1214 Rosecrans Street
San Diego, CA 92106
Phone: (619) 224-2869
Fax: (619) 226-0496
sales@southerncalmarine.com
Home | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MARINE ENTERPRISES


SURE MARINE SERVICE INC
5320 28th Ave N.W.
Seattle WA. 98107
Phone:206-784-9903
1-800-562-7797
Fax:206-784-0506
novakool@suremarine.com
www.suremarineservice.com


Midwest Marine Supply
24300 Jefferson Avenue
St. Clair Shores, MI 48080
Phone: (586) 778-8950, 1-800-860-1540
Fax: (586) 778-6108
info@midwestmarinesupply.com
www.midwestmarine.com


WORLD WIDE ENTERPRISES
19 Cedar Street
East Falmouth, MA 02536
Phone: (50 540-0963
Fax: (50 540-0963
info@worldwideent.net
www.worldwideent.net

4. The factory is operating (they manufacture almost everything there in Canada), from 5am to 5pm, 6 days per week as opposed to 8-5, 5 days per week, pre-pandemic.

The Marine industry has increased demand as much as the explosion in RV Manufacturing demand & those of single unit End Users like us.

5. They expect the market to plateau once people start hopping on planes, etc but expect the RV to stay relatively buoyant.

6. I learnt today that even if you purchased a Novakool on Ebay or from the Garage Sale down the road, Customer Service is Free.

7. They have no interest today or in the foreseeable future of going to a Digital Thermostat because it's just another layer of complication & point of malfunction that Marine Users on the Water, don't want.

Remember their primary Market is Marine use & this is from the Head Engineer himself.

8. And on their website they will inform you upfront that if you want Hard Ice-cream, Novakool won't deliver for long periods;


Nova kool freezers are design to keep frozen ice cream for a short period of time at temperature 10° to 20°F or -12° to -7°C.

Here is a link to their questions of which you will find a detailed explanation of ice-cream storage near the bottom;

https://www.novakool.com/full-faq

[peteco]

Great information Mex; thanks. When we looked into the compressor fridge mod we wanted colder freezer temps. The Vitrifrigo C130 looked like it can get there. Another nice thing about the Vitrifrigo is it has the compressor/condensor unit separate from the fridge box, so you can locate it in a convenient spot, and it does not take away from fridge volume.

But the Vitrifrigo is made in Italy, so supply chain issues could occur. Would be interesting to see what their availability is. Having NovaKool support and parts on the continent is a big plus for sure.

[themexicandoctor]

Originally Posted by peteco

Great information Mex; thanks. When we looked into the compressor fridge mod we wanted colder freezer temps. The Vitrifrigo C130 looked like it can get there. Another nice thing about the Vitrifrigo is it has the compressor/condensor unit separate from the fridge box, so you can locate it in a convenient spot, and it does not take away from fridge volume.

But the Vitrifrigo is made in Italy, so supply chain issues could occur. Would be interesting to see what their availability is. Having NovaKool support and parts on the continent is a big plus for sure.

I almost put a Vitrifrigo (which is Isotherm & then their lower quality offering, Truckfridge).

But for us serious users, Isotherm, Vitrifrigo & Novakool seem like the only sensible choice.

The only reason I did not (I think it was Interblog or MsNomer), who suggested, is that one measurement would require too much woodworking cost to fit it into my 05 Roadtrek 190.

But it was available, sitting in Southern California Marine's inventory after it was refused by the buyer & the cost savings were 30% versus the 6 week delay on the Novakool.

However once I saw how easy the Novakool was to install (a little bit of sweat & 1/2 plywood sheet as a Base for either the R3800 or R4500), I kicked myself.

But not as hard as I would if I had succumbed to Glossy Dometic brochure & empty promises - would have been the same price, a more difficult propane hookup & 3-5 more years of failures, throwing away food all the while looking to park on a flat & level service.

Congratulations to the posters here who have got around those issues - having my Rig as my Office means 95% of the time, flat parking is unavailable.

[rauscs]

I did get my hands on a R4500, and now have it installed in my 04C190P. Pretty close to a direct replacement. I had about an inch of space left in the width and height, but had trouble with the depth. I had to mess with the water pipes coming vertically through the rear, slightly rearranging and tying them down to allow a bit more depth.

I added spacers on the right and left of the raw opening to take up some of the space in width. At the bottom of the rough opening, mine has a galvanized tray that sticks out from the opening by maybe half an inch. The fridge exterior face frame sticks down from the fridge bottom by maybe half of inch. Without modification, the face frame rests on top of that galvanized lip. I added a 3/4 piece of plywood at the bottom, cut back an inch or so from the front edge, allowing the fridge to rest on it. I should have taken photos to make this easier to explain.

Last bit was adding a small piece of maple at the top of the opening to cover up the 1/4 or so gap left. I could have made the base plywood taller to eliminate the gap, but didn't want the fridge to ride any taller than it was.

I think I had the 3-way fridge working at its best, with an upper vent blocking plate containing two thermostatically controlled fans. If anyone wants the plate (photo attached), please let me know.

[booster]

Depending on how much gap you have on the sides, back top, even the bottom using 1/2" foilboard urethane insulation board is a great way to fill the gaps and gain some efficiency for the frig in the process. We have two layers on the top, back and one side, and one layer on the other side on our frig and managed to get most of the bottom covered also with one layer. It insulates, deadens sound and also is a good vibration absorbing material for road shaking and from frig to cabinets when running.

[rauscs]

Great idea, Booster. Why didn't I think of that?

[themexicandoctor]

Originally Posted by rauscs

I did get my hands on a R4500, and now have it installed in my 04C190P. Pretty close to a direct replacement. I had about an inch of space left in the width and height, but had trouble with the depth. I had to mess with the water pipes coming vertically through the rear, slightly rearranging and tying them down to allow a bit more depth.

I added spacers on the right and left of the raw opening to take up some of the space in width. At the bottom of the rough opening, mine has a galvanized tray that sticks out from the opening by maybe half an inch. The fridge exterior face frame sticks down from the fridge bottom by maybe half of inch. Without modification, the face frame rests on top of that galvanized lip. I added a 3/4 piece of plywood at the bottom, cut back an inch or so from the front edge, allowing the fridge to rest on it. I should have taken photos to make this easier to explain.

Last bit was adding a small piece of maple at the top of the opening to cover up the 1/4 or so gap left. I could have made the base plywood taller to eliminate the gap, but didn't want the fridge to ride any taller than it was.

I think I had the 3-way fridge working at its best, with an upper vent blocking plate containing two thermostatically controlled fans. If anyone wants the plate (photo attached), please let me know.

Hallelujah!

Yes the water pipes on the Versatile are not an issue but I see the Popular configuration makes for some ingenuity.

You will love the Novakool.

[booster]

Originally Posted by themexicandoctor

Hallelujah!

Yes the water pipes on the Versatile are not an issue but I see the Popular configuration makes for some ingenuity.

You will love the Novakool.

I had to move the tubing for putting in our Isotherm also.

[themexicandoctor]

Originally Posted by rauscs

Great idea, Booster. Why didn't I think of that?

Because we are not Booster