Thetford Fridge Problem On Mains (1 Viewer)

[DanielFord]

OK I am totally confused! We recently had the fridge repaired, it needed a new gas burner, and since then, it has worked perfectly on gas. Went to a proper campsite this weekend, and first night, the fridge was fine on mains. Opened it this morning and everything had thawed out.
On the outside, there is still heat belting out of the top vent, it just doesn't seem to be cooling the fridge. I figured I was at a peculiar angle, so I dismissed it. Anyway, long story short, the van is now completely level, and hooked up, but the fridge isn't cooling.

Is there anything I can check before I send it off to be fixed?

 

[scotjimland]

If there is heat and fridge is level but no cooling after a few hours, .. points to loss of refrigerant.. no quick fix I'm afraid..

A bit of a long shot.. if you had it working at an odd angle, it may recover if you take the fridge out and turn upside down and leave overnight..

Failing that, if it is an old fridge and has lost the refrigerant it's basically scrap.. they don't regass them and even if they did, the inside of the tubes will have corroded , and it would need a complete new refrigeration unit.. not an economical solution. rather look for a second hand or buy new..

 

[Jaws]

Is it a manual switch over ( as in quite old ) ?
Just wondering if it is possible the gas has not switched off when it is on mains ?

What model is the fridge ? If it is fairly modern then it will have an ammonia mix which when heated evaporates and the gas transfers the heat from the cabinet to the outer fins and reservoir.
If there is too much heat produced or the environment is too hot then the liquid will not evaporate and re-condense so the fridge will not work

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DanielFord]

OK, even more confused now. I took the covers off, cleaned up the connectors, and replaced a spade joint that was in very poor condition. I have fired it all up again, and the fins at the back are now getting cold!
I have no idea what fixed the problem, but it appears that it is now working. I will keep an eye on it for the next couple of hours!
Thanks to all who replied.

 

[ambulancekidd]

Glad you got it fixed. Usually when a modern motorhome or caravan fridge fails on 240v its caused by the 240v element which is cheap & very easy to repair/replace. I've had to change four in the last 7 or 8yrs,(different caravans) they just don't seem to be built very well.

Robert.

 

[Jaws]

It may have been that the mains was dropping in and out and the gas was coming on etc etc.. Which might well have meant it was all getting massively overheated .............
Important thing is you sussed it and it is fixed !

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DanielFord]

Well there is a quick update. The fridge initially started to cool, and then about 2 hours later it stopped.
I switched it off for about an hour, and then switched it back on. Again, started getting warm air out the back, but no cooling! This time I had a brain wave, whipped out the thermistor and put a multi tester across the points. The resistance barely changes when being held in my hand and then dunked in a glass of iced water. Upshot is, it appears that the thermistor has had it, which is a very simple and cheap fix. Just need to get one on order now.

 

[scotjimland]

hope that is a good result.. keep us posted