Refrigeration Upgrade - 490/4788

[GMS]

One of the things we have never loved about our 490 is the Norcold refrigerator and more generally the limited amount of frig and freezer space. So we got a bit creative and installed a Vitrifrigo Drawer refrigerator/Freezer in the space where the original tube TV was mounted. We only very rarely used the flat panel TV we formerly had mounted there, but will miss the storage space a bit.

I am planning a full write up on the installation, as it wasn't as straight forward as expected due to very poor documentation from Vitrifrigo on the dimensions of the unit (preview - it is just under 2 inches deeper than the documentation suggests).

A couple in process and finished pictures...




The unexpected depth required cutting out a portion of the rear wall that I was hoping to save....

We love how everything came out in the end. The drawer unit is very nice and will make a huge difference in available space!

[joe440]

Those 2 units look fantastic. Great work on the installation.

[Destiny_4588]

Looks great!!! also love your floors!!!

[ksanders]

I love it!!!

Question??? how did the replacement of the larger frige go?
how happy are you with a drawer type for the larger frige?

[GMS]

I love it!!!

Question??? how did the replacement of the larger frige go?
how happy are you with a drawer type for the larger frige?

Kevin, we went with the normal swinging door DP2600 from Vitrifrigo. The big refrigerator is essentially a drop in replacement for the original Norcold unit. The Vitrifrigo might be slightly narrower, and we could have installed a bit of shimming material - but we were able to drive the screws through the flange and into solid wood fine. The big refrigerator took about 30 mins. to install, just wire it up and slide it in... The hardest part of the install was compressing the flexible vent to our A/C vent above the frig.

Models we installed:
DP2600 OCX2 Refrigerator / Freezer - 8.1 cu. ft.
DW180 OCX2 Double Drawer Refrigerator/Freezer - 2.3/2.8 cu. ft.

Vitrifrigo does produce a big refrigerator with a swinging up refrigerator compartment and a lower drawer (frig or freezer), but those units were almost twice as expense as the DP2600 and are probably too wide for the 490/4788 cabinet.

[GMS]

Looks great!!! also love your floors!!!

Thanks, we also love the floors and believe that they are still the best upgrade we have done to date. They are amtico (which is a high end vinyl product used by a bunch of OEMs). We installed the flloors four years ago and they still look new.

Cheers!

[Destiny_4588]

What pattern or colors did you use not seeing a teak and holly on the site?

[ksanders]

Thanks, we also love the floors and believe that they are still the best upgrade we have done to date. They are amtico (which is a high end vinyl product used by a bunch of OEMs). We installed the flloors four years ago and they still look new.

Cheers!

Hoiw hard was the floor to install. I would love to replace the carpet.

[GMS]

What pattern or colors did you use not seeing a teak and holly on the site?

You are correct - amtico does not sell a "holly" color, we used the Warm Teak (AM5W2517 in brochure, but listed as AROW6990 on receipt from Great Floors) along with Maple Wood Feature Strip (1/4" strips - listed as AROW6840 on receipt) as the holly.

We considered using the warm cherry due to the cabinets all being cherry, but got samples and liked the Warm teak better.

[GMS]

Hoiw hard was the floor to install. I would love to replace the carpet.

Kevin, the flooring appears very easy to work with, but due to a number of additional things we wanted done (and time) we had someone else do the installation. The flooring comes in 3' strips and is just epoxied down. The installer would layout and section cutting all pieces to fit and then proceed with glueing it down.

The hardest parts were hatches and stairs - the stairs were done with teak plywood for a more premium look - it turned out amazing.

Biggest mistake of the project was not cutting outboard hatches for engine access. We already had the center hatch, but it would be really nice to have outboard engine access hatches. Thankfully, we can correct this oversight with a bit of extra effort now (or whenever we get to it).

[ksanders]

Kevin, we went with the normal swinging door DP2600 from Vitrifrigo. The big refrigerator is essentially a drop in replacement for the original Norcold unit. The Vitrifrigo might be slightly narrower, and we could have installed a bit of shimming material - but we were able to drive the screws through the flange and into solid wood fine. The big refrigerator took about 30 mins. to install, just wire it up and slide it in... The hardest part of the install was compressing the flexible vent to our A/C vent above the frig.

Models we installed:
DP2600 OCX2 Refrigerator / Freezer - 8.1 cu. ft.
DW180 OCX2 Double Drawer Refrigerator/Freezer - 2.3/2.8 cu. ft.

Vitrifrigo does produce a big refrigerator with a swinging up refrigerator compartment and a lower drawer (frig or freezer), but those units were almost twice as expense as the DP2600 and are probably too wide for the 490/4788 cabinet.

Thanks! The fridge looks like a drawer type due to the latches, I love it!