Three ways work quite differently to compressor type fridges. They are more complex beasts, using water, ammonia and hydrogen rather than a simple refrigerant gas.
They do struggle in hot weather and as you mention there a number of posts on this forum discussing ways to help them cope using fans, insulation etc. Forum member "Justcruisin01" has done some tests on the effectiveness of insulating around the fridge and he may be able to add to this. I have a similar project on my to-do list.
My knowledge of refrigeration is limited but I would think if you feel it is faulty beyond just struggling a bit in the heat it's definitely a job for an expert.
Check the operation of the fridge on both electric and gas to see if there's any significant difference.
Jim
PS: You're probably aware of this but I mention it anyway...make sure the fridge is level. My fridge manual suggests you should be able to walk around in your van/RV without noticing any significant slope in the floor.
-- Edited by jimricho on Sunday 27th of January 2013 05:48:31 PM
hi all, this may sound like a silly question but here goes . our recent bought pop van is 20 years old, and the frig in it is not operating at the best at the moment especially when the temp is high. I have a shade cover for outside vents and have read recent suggestion on techie forum on ways to help get the frig cooler. does the three way frig need a re/gas to help it get colder or do they not operate like that 0r should I have the frig check out by a someone as to what is needed to be done , we need a cooler/ cold frig for both food and medication purposes any ideas would be agreat help thanks
You will know if a 3 way fridge is leaking gas as it will have a strong smell of amonia. Usualy caused by the steel pipes rusting, & it wont work at all.
hi all, this may sound like a silly question but here goes . our recent bought pop van is 20 years old, and the frig in it is not operating at the best at the moment especially when the temp is high. I have a shade cover for outside vents and have read recent suggestion on techie forum on ways to help get the frig cooler. does the three way frig need a re/gas to help it get colder or do they not operate like that 0r should I have the frig check out by a someone as to what is needed to be done , we need a cooler/ cold frig for both food and medication purposes any ideas would be agreat help thanks
Seano; I have taken the liberty of sending you the test results via PM.
If you wish to have the photo's you will have to PM me your email address as we can't attach them to a PM. I have done this for many members.
JC.
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With a 20 year old van one must assume the fridge is also 20 years old. I don't now of too many 3 way fridges (Especially the small 90 or 100lt models) that did, or will work in high temperatures no matter how well they have been installed. A fan at the rear will assist a little, but not, a lot as while 3 way fridges of that era didn't have a CEN Climate rating they were usually aroun 'SN' (or even 'N') and as such give up the ghost at around 32 - 34c. Best of luck. OJ
-- Edited by ozjohn on Monday 28th of January 2013 08:12:38 AM
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Retired Engineer, Ex Park Owner & Caravan Consultant. Holden 2.8 Colorado - Roma Elegance 17'6" Pop Top. Location: Mornington Peninsula Vic.
The old trick is to remove the fridge and turn it upside down for an hour or so and then re-instal. Google this if you don't believe me!
I think that was more applicable to a fridge that wouldn't start to cool. I recall doing that many years ago to an old kero fridge that hadn't been used for yonks and wouldn't start and it did work. I doubt that it's relevant here. Anyway it's a bugger of job to take a fridge out so I think that would be a last resort.
A 3 way fridge works like a coffee percolator, the boiler is heated by gas flame or the electric element, this provides the "pressure"that a compressor fridge operates on. The systems contain, ammonia, hydrogen, water and chromium amongst other nasties. The usual cause of failure in these is rusted internal piping, and rust flakes fall in and block the boiler. The old turning them upside down just prolongs the inevitable as you are just moving the rust flakes around for a while and they will just migrate back to the boiler. A 20 year old system would probably be past its use by date. There was only ever a couple of places that could repair these, one was caravan refrigeration service at Lawnton north of Brisbane. Not sure if they are still there. The other was Electrolux in Melbourne. It is a VERY expensive proceedure and will cost you more than 50% of the fridges value you actually have to cnange the WHOLE sealed system of the refrigerator. I would be spending my money on a new Tropical Rated Dometic or a 12 volt compressor refrig ( solar panel and batteries $$$)
The 3 way work well as long as they are installed correctly and have plenty of ventilation over the condenser.
I usually bush camp & use the 3 way fridge on gas. It started to perform poorly, would take 2-3 days to get cold. I went to the local repairer & was told it would cost me $600 to repair, as the fridge was almost 10 years old (would have to replace the sealed unit). I then went to a RV parts supplier to check the price of a new fridge. After telling him my problem, he said to check operation on 240v. It worked ok on 240v. After a little investigation, I found rust had fallen out of the exhaust & partially blocked the gas burner. A squirt of compressed air & problem fixed, no cost.
As jimricho previously said, check operation on gas & 240v to see if there's any difference.
If the 3 way fridge pulls below 20 of the ambient temperature the your fridge is doing well for a non tropical rated model. So if is 40outside the the fridge would be 20. The results on gas versus electricity may be slightly different but definitely not below 10 degrees according to my limited experience.
There is a caravan gas Refridgeration repairer in gold coast Queensland. He was very thorough and i would recommend. Price was >$600 for a repair, much cheaper than a new one. The quote took one week but was free. Pm me and I will find the contact details.
Maybe if it is too hard to pull out the fridge to invert, try rolling the van around and around on a grassed area :)
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Hi, I had my 3 way fridge re gassed when I bought the van about 9 years ago, cost me $700.
Biggest mistake I made, they do not work well in hot weather, aboslutely useless on our last trip to Darwin, need days to cool down, and for everything to work well you have to be perfectly level. A real pain.
Finally, I recon mine is about out of gas, so I'll be spending the next $700 on a compressor fridge.
We bouhgt our 1982 Viscount 11 years ago and within a year the fridge died (it would have been 20 years old). Best just to get a new one - not a cheap exercise though - I think ours cost $1000 to buy and instal. But it has been working well for 10 years. Works even better on gas than electricity.
Hi. I am new to this forum. I have a 22' Jayco Deluxe Tourer caravan. Bought it in June 2020 during winter and fridge worked well. The fridge is a three way Electrolux RM2510. Experienced my first issue last September 2020 when fridge not cooling efficiently as freezer only got cold but didn't reach freezing point. On a warm summer's day (39C) it was just barely cool in the freezer compartment. So I reverted to seeing what others did to try and remedy this. February 2020: I pulled the fridge out and stood it on its head, gave it a shake and left it like that overnight. Next day I turned it upright, let it settle for an hour and left it from its compartment. Then turned it on using 240v. It got very cold but not freezing. Stuffed around with this routine the next day. Same result. Finally moved it almost all the way back into its compartment bar about 4" to allow the breeze to rush through the condenser. Bingo! 2 hours later she was freezing up. So I finally deduced it needed a decent air flow coming through the condenser.
This air flow was not going to happen in its usual fixed position. So I purchased two 12 volt computer fans on ebay. Cost about $4 each. I suspended them from hanging wires so that they lay about 4" under the condenser(see attached pic) and then connected them to my 12 volt system via switch and fuse. Pushed the fridge back into its compartment and turned it on..but not the fans. Outside temperature was about 34C. The fridge got cold but didn't freeze after 5 hours operation on 240 volt. Then I switched on the fans. Checked the fridge 3 hours later and found freezer compartment had made ice blocks and fridge was down to 6c. 2 hours later it was down to 4.5C. Hope this helps.
hi all, this may sound like a silly question but here goes . our recent bought pop van is 20 years old, and the frig in it is not operating at the best at the moment especially when the temp is high. I have a shade cover for outside vents and have read recent suggestion on techie forum on ways to help get the frig cooler. does the three way frig need a re/gas to help it get colder or do they not operate like that 0r should I have the frig check out by a someone as to what is needed to be done , we need a cooler/ cold frig for both food and medication purposes any ideas would be agreat help thanks 
