Fridge Update

Gary and Kerry · Guru

Fridge Update

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Does it shut down on ALL power supplies or just gas?
If the answer is YES, all power supplies, I would change the thermostat.

Cheers,
Peter

Gary and Kerry · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Does it shut down on ALL power supplies or just gas?
If the answer is YES, all power supplies, I would change the thermostat.

Cheers,
Peter

Just Gas.

Cupie · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

Does it shut down on ALL power supplies or just gas?
If the answer is YES, all power supplies, I would change the thermostat.

Cheers,
Peter

Perer_n_Margaret ..

Gees!!! I just had a look at your website ... & it's fair to say that I was blown away with your rig!!!!!!

Talk about drool.

I'll be keeping a look out for you about the place - such a distinctive deco .. might see you when you emerge onto the blacktop sometime.

Wombat 280 · Guru

I recall passing on some info about a problem with gas regulators playing up, something to do with the rubber used in the diaphragm collapsing and shutting the supply down not sure where I put this.

Have a look on my post to this forum it may be in there that I posted something on the subject, . It will be awhile back.

May provide a new line of investigation to help sort the problem out

drongo & wendy · Senior Member

Hey there Wombat ya on th right track
Replace your regulator and get the thermo coupling checked as well.

Gary and Kerry · Guru

Gary and Kerry wrote:

Well the van has been in the repair shop 12 days now and they still don't what is wrong with it.
Gas pressure is Ok, 12 Volts Ok, electronics Ok but still shuts down after approx.8 hrs

They now have it hooked up to an independant gas supply to see if that fixes the problem

was hoping to have it back for this weekend as I have Monday off but doesn't look like that is gonna happen.

As mentioned the fridge was connected to an independent gas supply, that is, different bottle,regulator and plumbing, still shuts down after about 8 hours.

The voltage at the fridge is 13.7 and they think that may be a bit high(???) they have gone to the manufacturer (Dometic) to see if that is within the allowable range. I can't see what the voltage has to do with the gas operation, you would think it would start playing up straight away not 8 hours later.

The van service was carried out yesterday and they found a brace on the underside that was only attached to one side, the welds had broken and that side had dropped , until it was on the hoist it couldn't be seen.
They also found some dodgy wiring, I contacted the auto electrician who did the installation (240/12V to the bedroom for the TV)and gave him a right serving. He is going to pick it up when finished at Darios and redo the job.

-- Edited by Gary and Kerry at 09:21, 2008-12-06

dave06 · Guru

shutting down after 8 hours of operation and on a different gas setup screams to me that it is internal so given that the internal operation of a thermo dynamic fridge is a simple animal indeed, it has a gas inlet to a gas jet regulated by a thermocouple to a heat exchanger,

given the heat exchanger cannot shut your gas off it must be (1) the thermocouple, replace it (2) the gas jet, take the van outside and open all doors and windows and remove the jet, holding the preignition button turn the gas on and let it run for a short while, clean and replace the jet leave the van stand for 1/2 an hour and then try reignighting the fridge, it may just be a bit of muck has been sitting on the inside of the jet and when it is disturbed it blocks the jet, the presure at the jet is extremely low and would not take much to block, the thermocouple will of course detect no heat and shut the gas off

I can hear everyone screaming at me but I assure you if done by my instructions the world will not come to an end, make sure you vent all the gas and allow time for it to clear

if you are not happy doing this take it to a caravan repair place and ask them to do it

Gary and Kerry · Guru

Picked the van up this morning, not happy with the response to what was wrong with the fridge.
The refrigeration guy was not in so will have to wait until Monday to find out. Turned it on as soon as we got home and will leave running until It runs out of gas or shuts down again.
Good news, as it is a reported fault will still be covered under warranty after Jan.

dave06 · Guru

if they cant fix it before the trip tell them to replace the whole thing, dont buggerise around with them!!

Basil Faulty · Guru

On gas the flame should not go out when the temp is reached, the flame should go into "pilot" mode, Sounds like your flame is going out. I'd suspect the settings on the little regulator just near the jet are out of kilter. There may be a screw with a locknut arangement there (on mine it's even got a + & - symbol, you could always try turning that a small amount towards the +.

dave06 · Guru

yep I agree with that, the only thing left is the "flame"

we have an older model and I am not sure if this is the case with yours (yours being a later model) but the actual thermostat on ours only works when it is on 240 volt, when it is on gas it is "on" all the time the same as on 12 volt (no actual temperature regulation) and that is why we found our cans of coke exploding in the wee hours, (freezing during the night) if yours is the same (ask the retailer or repair people, or perhaps consult your manual) then I would still suspect the gas jet has some obstruction that comes in to play after a certain ammount of time, how I dont know

if yours was a thermostatically controlled one then how can the time be so accurate, I.E. only happening after 8 hours of operation, it should be tottally random, when it reaches the set temperature limit it would shut off and that would take any time from a day to two days depending on ambient temperature and other factors

our fridge internal regulater has the little + and - on it as well that adjusts the "height" of the flame (in ours anyway) if you adjust that you may be risking an over heating of the gas inside the fridge cooling system and that may be catastrophic and would definately void your warranty anyway

if they cant fix it, make them replace it, you bought an operational fridge, that is what you should get, dont muck around with them, just mention consumer affairs if they play hardball

Gary and Kerry · Guru

The fridge has been on 30 hrs now and still going, have just swapped over to the full 9kg bottle. I am away until Friday so will be interesting to see if still going when I get back.
Fingers crossed.

Gary and Kerry · Guru

Fridge still going after 8 days, looks like they fixed it

dave06 · Guru

well sounds like shes all fine at last, I still think it was just a minor obstruction, but it doesnt matter now, hope you got some beer in there to make sure that it doesnt "taint" the taste, might take three or four, just to be on the "safe side" never can tell with these things, cant be too carefull