7 replies to this topic

[GBW]

Hey,

 

I think this is the right area to post this.

 

I had noticed on my last couple trips that the fridge had slowly been warming up during the trip.  I would start out at my place with the gas on for a few days ahead and it would nicely cool down.  During the trips, I found it would gradually warm up.  I figured it was just because we had parked tilted a few times and the outside temps were quite warm.  It dawned on me though, when we first got the camper about 5 years ago, I always had issues with it freezing the vegetables...

 

This last trip, by the time we got home, the fridge was warm and spoiled our food, thankfully it wasn't much.  (Get the war sticks up, I ran the propane while driving)

 

So I did a test and it cools down when using 120V but not at all while on propane (did this while parked and level over a few days)

 

So is the fridge toast?  Can I try the old flip method?  I would rather not but if its worth a try, I might.  Its a bit of a pain to remove just to test.

 

Is it time to get a new fridge?

 

Thanks,

 

GBW

[MarkBC]

Have you tried cleaning residue from the propane burner?

That's a common problem -- something that needs to be done periodically.

As described here:

On a 5 week trip and the 3-way fridge quit working!

[ski3pin]

I was thinking the same as MarkBC, clean the burner?

[GBW]

I really never thought to clean the burner.  I'll dig into this tonight and let you know how it looks.

 

Thanks a ton for the suggestion.

 

So, is the 120V run off the same system as the propane?  are they isolated?  is it possible that the fridge has died on propane but will still work on 120V?  this is just more for my curiousity, I'll give the cleaning a shot first.

[MarkBC]

...So, is the 120V run off the same system as the propane?  are they isolated?  is it possible that the fridge has died on propane but will still work on 120V?  this is just more for my curiousity, I'll give the cleaning a shot first.

 

The 120v and the propane both serve the same function -- heating the refrigeration fluid, but they do it in a totally different way.  The propane heats via a burner -- the thing you need to check and possibly clean, while the 120V (or 12 v) powers a resistance heater.  But both heating methods heat the same part of the refrigeration loop.

So, the propane burner could be clogged and not produce a cold fridge but the 120v heater could still work, which is what you reported.  Most of the time (if the propane burner is clean) the electrical heaters (i.e., running the fridge on AC or DC) don't work nearly as well as running the fridge on propane.

 

As I posted in the 2010 thread, cleaning the burner made all the difference in the world for me and saved my trip from 2 weeks of ice-chest-camping.

[fish more]

HAVING THE CAMPER LEVEL IS KEY. ALSO AS MENTIONED BY OTHERS THE BURNER COULD HAVE A ISSUE WITH THE FRIG RUNNING ON PROPANE. YOU MAY ALSO CHECK THE AREA ABOVE THE GAS PILOT AND MAKE SURE IT IS CLEAR. SPIDERS CAN CAUSE A CONCERN IN THERE. I HOPE YOU GET IT GOIN.

[Curmudgeon]

You should also periodically clean the flue above the burner.  Over time it builds up an internal layer of rust that acts as insulation.  What you may find when you disassemble the burner is that it is full of rust scale that has dropped out of the flue over the last few years.  

[kmcintyre]

I took my refrig, out when I put in new countertops and pretty much cleaned and replaced parts that I could while it was out.  Easy to get to the flue, jet, etc. then and easy.  I'm not sure how it is to do while it's installed though if you need to get into the flue.

 

I could see how the entire thing could get dirty though as it's exposed pretty much to anything.