1995 Electrolux RM4401 fridge in motorhome very erratic on gas

[Dee101]

Firstly, I’ve looked everywhere for help on this problem.
The only thing I haven’t done is remove it and turn it upside down for 24 hours.
The fridge works on 12 volt whilst driving, and on hook up. But on gas it stopped a month ago, came back on a week ago, and has now gone off again.
The model is a Electrolux RM4401.
I DO have a flame.
The gas supply is most definitely ON.
And now today we’re off to a non hook up site, which would usually be fine.
I do have a generator of course, but that’s not the answer other than for this imminent emergency.
The question is, am I missing anything? If anyone knows of any kind of answer, it will be very much appreciated
Dee

 

[autorouter]

The fridge has a coolant circuit in which a mixture of gas/liquid circulates to produce cooling. It is powered by a small amount of heat (equivalent to about 100W to 200W) in the lower corner of the coolant circuit. The heat can be provided by a 12V heater element, a 240V heater element, or a small gas burner.

The fact that it works fine on 12V and 240V means the coolant circuit is fine, and the turning-upside-down thing won't make any difference. The problem you have is just with the gas burner. It presumably needs a bit of maintenance somewhere. It could be anything from a bit of rust in the gas pipe blocking the jet, or a partially blocked flue, or an igniter/thermocouple problem.

If you have a flame that stays on OK, is the flame powerful enough or is the jet partly blocked? There can't be much wrong with it if there's a flame.

 

[rb62]

Is your van always level?

 

[Dee101]

Hi, thank you for the replies to date.
The motorhome is not always level. I do not mind sleeping on a bit of a slope. And I never bother with chocks on a campsite.
The flame seems to be “strong” enough

 

[GeoffnDee]

The maximum tilt allowed for correct operation of an Electrolux fridge is 6 degrees , does it work ok on gas when you are level ?

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[Mike800966]

The flame should be blue,about 13mm height and you should be able to hear a gentle roaring sound from the burner. Just occurred to me that my fridge had a valve in the top which modulated between high and low, ours was stuck low.
Just a thought
Mike

 

[rb62]

Hi, thank you for the replies to date.
The motorhome is not always level. I do not mind sleeping on a bit of a slope. And I never bother with chocks on a campsite.
The flame seems to be “strong” enough

That could well be why it works on gas sometimes and not others then! level is best

 

[autorouter]

It's quite sensitive to being out of level, in the direction left-right (as opposed to front-back) as you are looking at the fridge front. Usually that means the MH front-to-back direction, because they are usually positioned facing sideways in a kitchen layout. Or it could be an end kitchen layout.

 

[Dee101]

I’m on seemingly level grass at the moment. But still no joy.
I think that the best thing I can do is buy chocks and a level just as soon as I can.
The fridge is at the side of the motorhome, and I’m pretty sure that what with my not giving a damn about the lay of the land, 6 degrees could easily be exceeded, without my knowledge.

 

[RogerIvy]

I replaced my RM4401 with a compressor fridge. We’ve been touring and love it.
My old RM4401 is sitting in my barn, you’re welcome to it to raid for spare parts.

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[mitzimad]

i would strip the burner out and clean the jet and sweep the flue

 

[trevor 87]

I replaced my RM4401 with a compressor fridge. We’ve been touring and love it.
My old RM4401 is sitting in my barn, you’re welcome to it to raid for spare parts.

Which model is your compressor fridge ? ( replacing the old one )

 

[RogerIvy]

Which model is your compressor fridge ? ( replacing the old one )

Isotherm Freeline 115 Elegance Fridge

Very happy with it.
We‘ll be doing a comprehensive in the next few weeks - will be on YouTube.

 

[poppycamper]

is sitting in my barn

Is that a posh name for "Garden Shed"

 

[colyboy]

You may have seen my recent call for help re gas not working on the fridge.

this was quickly solved by several funsters.

yes the gas was on , but still the fridge was not working as it should.

it was suggested that I should purge the gas, turn it on and off ,

it was suggested you may have to do this at least six times. I was lucky after one purge all was ok..

after purgeing it I took off the outer grill and could see the pilot light was burning well.

not knowing how old your fridge is , try cleaning the flu with a long radiator brush and also use a strong air hose to blow out any soot around the pilot .

never never try to make the jet hole larger leave as is.

Colyboy

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[Dee101]

I replaced my RM4401 with a compressor fridge. We’ve been touring and love it.
My old RM4401 is sitting in my barn, you’re welcome to it to raid for spare parts.

Hi Roger, can I take you up on that? I see you’re in the Wantage area. The drawback is I’m not heading that way for a few weeks.

 

[Dee101]

You may have seen my recent call for help re gas not working on the fridge.

this was quickly solved by several funsters.

yes the gas was on , but still the fridge was not working as it should.

it was suggested that I should purge the gas, turn it on and off ,

it was suggested you may have to do this at least six times. I was lucky after one purge all was ok..

after purgeing it I took off the outer grill and could see the pilot light was burning well.

not knowing how old your fridge is , try cleaning the flu with a long radiator brush and also use a strong air hose to blow out any soot around the pilot .

never never try to make the jet hole larger leave as is.

Colyboy

Radiator brush! Now that is a very good idea. I will be giving that a go.

 

[RogerIvy]

Hi Roger, can I take you up on that? I see you’re in the Wantage area. The drawback is I’m not heading that way for a few weeks.

That's fine - it's been in the barn for over a year anyway.

 

[Dee101]

That’s very good news Roger. Will be in touch

 

[jonasw19]

Recently looked at a friends 30 year old fridge. Flame did light, but not cooling on gas. Unwilling to dismantle burner as pipes looked firmly in place, so we took a bicycle pump and, with the fridge off, blew into the burner assembly and up the flue. Fountains of rust emerged, hoovered it up, repeated fridge restored.
This may help

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