Fridge gets hot but not cold (1 Viewer)

treeman

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Nov 22, 2011
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Finally got to try out the fridge on recently acquired MH. When on mains power the rear of the fridges starts to warm up but there appears to be no cooling at all inside the fridge even after 8 hours.

Does this sound like a problem with the refrigerant?
(It is a 30+ year old Electrolux RM212f.)
 

scotjimland

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Finally got to try out the fridge on recently acquired MH. When on mains power the rear of the fridges starts to warm up but there appears to be no cooling at all inside the fridge even after 8 hours.

[HI]Does this sound like a problem with the refrigerant? [/HI]
(It is a 30+ year old Electrolux RM212f.)

if no cooling after 24hrs then yes.. the refrigerant has probably escaped.

To double check, light the gas and leave for 24hrs, if the same result, sorry to say, basically it's now scrap..

Bit of a long shot,..

You could try the old trick removing fridge, turning upside down , leave for a couple of hours , then stand upright, leave for an hour then try again..
 

Pikey Pete

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if no cooling after 24hrs then yes.. the refrigerant has probably escaped.

To double check, light the gas and leave for 24hrs, if the same result, sorry to say, basically it's now scrap..

Bit of a long shot,..

You could try the old trick removing fridge, turning upside down , leave for a couple of hours , then stand upright, leave for an hour then try again..

I think it is most likely that the refrigerant has separated, so turn it upside down for at least 24 hours and then give it a couple of hours right way up before switching on. You have nothing to lose except a couple of days.

Pete:Cool:

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sabconsulting

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It is worth trying the turning it upside down for a while trick given the cost of a new fridge.

However, if there is any sort of acrid smell coming from fridge then that will signify the cooling unit is leaking and it is game over. Your choice would then be another 3-way absorption fridge like your current one, or a 2-way (12/240v) compressor fridge, which is what we went for when our Dometic packed up.

Steve.

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treeman

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Ok, tried it on gas for a fair few hours and temperature inside went from 10 degrees up to 18 degrees Celsius - so looking bad.

Will flip it tomorrow for the day and see what happens.

How critical is it to get the MH level when trying it? - my drive has a slight slope on it.
 
Apr 27, 2008
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The old ones were quite fussy about being level, the later ones rather less so. Still if you've got it out after flipping you can always prop up one end so it is level for test purposes.
 

Pikey Pete

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It can be critical to have the fridge level. Some fridges are worse than others. I have an absorption cool box that won't work unless it is very near to perfectly level.

Pete:Cool:

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wasp

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If you can take it out you might be able to get it re gassed :thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
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treeman

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Yippee - I think!

Took unit out of MH, left upside down overnight, turned it over and connected to mains whilst it sat nice and level on a table - now I have ice cubes in the ice box......time for a G&T maybe.

So, I'm left wondering if the MH was not level enough or just refrigerant needed flipping. guessing the latter. Also on checking I noticed the HU lead I was using that came with camper had no earth cable - surely this is wrong? Not going to use that cable any more - but would it actually make any difference to the fridge functioning?

Thanks all those who helped with their advice.

Now gotta try it on gas again and then 12v whilst out of MH.
 

scotjimland

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Yippee - I think!

Took unit out of MH, left upside down overnight, turned it over and connected to mains whilst it sat nice and level on a table - now I have ice cubes in the ice box......time for a G&T maybe.

So, I'm left wondering if the MH was not level enough or just refrigerant needed flipping. guessing the latter. Also on checking I noticed the HU lead I was using that came with camper had no earth cable - surely this is wrong? Not going to use that cable any more - but would it actually [HI]make any difference to the fridge functioning?
[/HI]
Thanks all those who helped with their advice.

Now gotta try it on gas again and then 12v whilst out of MH.

Looking good then ... :thumb:

Having no earth in the EHU cable wouldn't affect the fridge functioning.. glad to hear you won't use it again.. (2 core cable that is)

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pappajohn

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Yippee - I think!

Took unit out of MH, left upside down overnight, turned it over and connected to mains whilst it sat nice and level on a table - now I have ice cubes in the ice box......time for a G&T maybe.

So, I'm left wondering if the MH was not level enough or just refrigerant needed flipping. guessing the latter. Also on checking I noticed the HU lead I was using that came with camper had no earth cable - surely this is wrong? Not going to use that cable any more - but would it actually make any difference to the fridge functioning?

Thanks all those who helped with their advice.

Now gotta try it on gas again and then 12v whilst out of MH.
don't forget its designed to work with the engine running so to bench test you will need a battery and a charger capable of at least 10amps continuously.

the 12v function isn't designed to cool down the fridge...only maintain a pre-cooled temperature so, once cooled on gas or mains, connect 12v and put a fridge thermostat in and keep checking the temp hasnt risen.
 
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treeman

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Trying it on 12v now, has dropped about a degree and the vent pipe at the back is heating up so hoping that's a good sign.

Forgive my ignorance but are there 3 separate heaters behind a 3 way fridge or is there a shared heater?

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jaykay

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Virtually none ! :)
Trying it on 12v now, has dropped about a degree and the vent pipe at the back is heating up so hoping that's a good sign.

Forgive my ignorance but are there 3 separate heaters behind a 3 way fridge or is there a shared heater?

I'm no expert but have had my own problems with fridges in my recently aquired Landliner.
There are 2 seperate heaters (12v/240v) and the gas flame creates its own heat. The heaters can be changed if they stop heating up at any point. :thumb:
 
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we parked our rv at one of the showgrounds last year at what I would call not to off level, but same thing happened to our dometic. tried everything else then heard about turning, apparently it releases the airlock.

I took out layed on side for24 hours on top for 24 hours then other side 24 again then left right way up for futher 24 hours.............................
touch wood never stopped since so now always check to keep as level as possible at all times.

As people have said as long as you don't get that terrible smell you could be lucky.
its a small price to pay to wait a few days rather than replace !
 

Wayneb40

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Jun 28, 2013
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Re Fridge

Hi I got a 3 way fridge on eay it is the cool box type and was sold as not working so i googled the fault and read all your posts. Won the fridge for £5.00 it cost the bloke £196.00 turned it upside down for two days put it back the right way up lit the Gas and in half hour it got cold. I think it should get a lot colder but I'm not sure could anyone on hear pease give me some advice as this is my first three way fridge thanks all Wayne

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