I have had many failures of the Southco catches which Newell uses on many of the interior doors and compartments.
The weak spot is the plastic catch which breaks just inboard of the mounting screws. One of these catches which is used on the Sub Zero refrigerator door went unnoticed resulting in the door swinging open while underway. Luckily no broken eggs.
I had machined a few aluminum replacements which have worked out very well so far. If I can get enough people to be interested in obtaining some, I will make a run. I think the cost would be very reasonable.
Let me know your thoughts and interest.
Regards to all,
Mike
2008 Newell #1223 4 slide, Cat C15 with ZF 12 spd, 2004 Chevy Silverado 4x4 Duramax 6.6 Toad for fishing.
I would be curious as to how it mounts to the refrigerator. We are looking at a Samsung 4 door refrigerator and were wondering how we would secure the doors without it looking like it's being "Kid proofed". If it would work for that fridge, I would be all in on a machined version of that latch.
I'll take some should you decide to do a run - I have 17 on my coach, but not one on the refer... Its a Jen Air which uses a solenoid above the doors with a rod that drops down and blocks a pair of aluminum arms (one for each door0.
Dave Head & Megan Westbrook
2009 Newell 46' Custom #1261
former Foretravel guru, 93 U280, 95 U320C
Titusville FL (The Great Outdoors)
Wow, great job!
I’m not sure why those things fail on the reefer. Maybe the colder air making them brittle. But, I’ve noticed that SouthCo changed the mold profile slightly; as well as the length. So they’ve obviously had issues?
Hard to find the correct match/version!
I spent a lot of time aligning my latch and receiver, too. I suspected that there was a bit of extra stress from not being perfectly aligned, causing a crash.
And finally, those are made with different strengths. Newell says they use 10lbs on all latches. I considered using two 5-pounders of they break again. My thought was less stress on that “cold” plastic latch.
What we NEED, is a 3D printed part using a super strong plastic like my son in law uses for BattleBot robots!!!
Steve & Janice Vance
2015 Newell #1524
Glendora, CA
"ENTER A COMPLETE PART NUMBER, WITH DASHES, TO GO DIRECTLY TO YOUR CAD FILE. YOU MAY ALSO ENTER A PARTIAL PART NUMBER TO SEE A LISTING OF PART NUMBER MATCHES."
Jon & Chris Everton
1986 40' Dog House #86
450 hp ISM 5 spd ZF Ecomat 2
2004 Range Rover L322 Toad
