fulltiming
09-04-2009, 06:38 PM
Many of the Newells made during the 1980's and at least early 1990's had a built-in Nutone Food Center. I recently had to replace mine due to a broken switch. Nutone discontinued the 1079A switch, used on the Model 251 power unit, on September 11. 2008. You can still find used power units on Ebay.
The unit is relatively easy to replace if you know the trick.
1) The stainless steel cover is removed by putting a thin blade, such as a putty knife, under the edge of the cover and lifting.
2) When the cover is almost all the way up, about 3 inches, the springs on the side can be squeezed together to allow complete removal.
3) The inside of the cabinet under the Nutone power unit will have to be disassembled to gain access to the plug, likely under and behind the sink.
4) Unplug the unit before proceeding further.
After the unit is unplugged removal is easy, if you know the secret. This one baffled me for about 30 minutes. There are tabs on the sides of the power unit located under the counter that hold the unit firmly again the counter top. I thought of bending them or breaking them off but that seemed to be extremely poor engineering to have to do that. The solution:
5) There is a screw head in the center of the unit between the motor and the switch when viewed from the top with the stainless cover removed. Rotate this screw head counter-clockwise literally dozens of turns and the tabs under the counter will slowly start retracting into sides of the unit.
6) When the tabs are just barely sticking out past the side of the unit, you will be able to carefully lift the unit from the top and pull it out.
Replacement is the same, in reverse:
1) Drop the power cord through the hole, make sure the tabs are retracted most of the way lower it into the opening from the top. (Note: you can get the new one in with the tabs further out than the one you removed since the sides of the corian will push the tabs inward when installing the unit and will tend to jam the unit when you are removing it).
2) Turn the screw clockwise until the tabs securely press against the bottom of the counter top.
3) Insert the springs for the stainless steel cover into the slot by squeezing them together then gentle press the cover straight down.
4) Plug in the unit, check its operation
5) Reassemble any interior cabinet parts that had to be removed to access the plug.
I now have a fully functional Nutone Food Center again. For those who cook very little in their coach, it may not be a worthwhile repair/replacement other than eliminate non-functional items on the coach. However, if you do cook in your coach frequently, it is a worthwhile addition with the right accessories.
The unit is relatively easy to replace if you know the trick.
1) The stainless steel cover is removed by putting a thin blade, such as a putty knife, under the edge of the cover and lifting.
2) When the cover is almost all the way up, about 3 inches, the springs on the side can be squeezed together to allow complete removal.
3) The inside of the cabinet under the Nutone power unit will have to be disassembled to gain access to the plug, likely under and behind the sink.
4) Unplug the unit before proceeding further.
After the unit is unplugged removal is easy, if you know the secret. This one baffled me for about 30 minutes. There are tabs on the sides of the power unit located under the counter that hold the unit firmly again the counter top. I thought of bending them or breaking them off but that seemed to be extremely poor engineering to have to do that. The solution:
5) There is a screw head in the center of the unit between the motor and the switch when viewed from the top with the stainless cover removed. Rotate this screw head counter-clockwise literally dozens of turns and the tabs under the counter will slowly start retracting into sides of the unit.
6) When the tabs are just barely sticking out past the side of the unit, you will be able to carefully lift the unit from the top and pull it out.
Replacement is the same, in reverse:
1) Drop the power cord through the hole, make sure the tabs are retracted most of the way lower it into the opening from the top. (Note: you can get the new one in with the tabs further out than the one you removed since the sides of the corian will push the tabs inward when installing the unit and will tend to jam the unit when you are removing it).
2) Turn the screw clockwise until the tabs securely press against the bottom of the counter top.
3) Insert the springs for the stainless steel cover into the slot by squeezing them together then gentle press the cover straight down.
4) Plug in the unit, check its operation
5) Reassemble any interior cabinet parts that had to be removed to access the plug.
I now have a fully functional Nutone Food Center again. For those who cook very little in their coach, it may not be a worthwhile repair/replacement other than eliminate non-functional items on the coach. However, if you do cook in your coach frequently, it is a worthwhile addition with the right accessories.