Fridge works on gas but not very well (1 Viewer)

[Ridgeway]

Been a bit of a head scratcher this one over the last few weeks.....

About 6wks back the fridge seemed to fail on gas when we were away, no big deal as we were almost on our way back. Following week i brought the van to the house and switched the fridge on and left it overnight. Next morning the fridge was cold, hey presto it was fixed or was it...

Next trip, fridge seemed to work but not well. Tried again at home got even more confused, since decided to add a permanent fridge thermometer (not arrived yet) and this in the midst of the heatwave i started to think it was simply the fridges inability to cool given the +35º outside.

Ok have been in wonderfully warm Blighty for the last 12 days and it can't cope with that either... tested it on leccy and it's fine and gets super cold as usual but on gas it fires up like normal and burns gas as usual but it just doesn't seem to get that cold, the butter test says that at least...

Having ready many threads on here i wonder where i should start in my fault finding ?

It's a dometic fridge/freezer with auto switching, the classic type in many campers today. It's 5yrs old although has never been serviced ???

Any ideas ?

 

[TerryL]

No expert but the fact that it works fine on electric but not on gas suggests that it could probably do with servicing. As a minimum the flue would probably benefit from brushing through and maybe the jet. BUT DON'T STICK ANYTHING INTO THE JET as you will damage it, just a brush and/or blow through with an airline.

Other thoughts; you have plenty of gas and all other gas appliances working correctly (so regulator is okay)? Are the external vents clear - no covers fitted for example - so that there is a good airflow?

Ours always cools better on gas than electric.

 

[Ridgeway]

Thanks Terry, yes plenty of gas (new bottles) and hob is running perfectly as normal, also no covers etc on the vents. Yes our fridge always seemed to run colder on gas vs electricity and it ran well on both.

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[PhilandMena]

Yes as TerryL mentioned above, clean the flue.

 

[Ridgeway]

Yes as TerryL mentioned above, clean the flue.

Any tips on how ?

Brush an vac job like my wood burner or something more delicate ?

 

[Ridgeway]

This thread seems to answer the question pretty well:

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/cleaning-fridge-flue.181243/

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[Granjan]

On a recent site in Italy we found we needed the shade of the awning to keep the fridge cool. It worked much better on gas with the awning out shading the vents.

 

[Ridgeway]

Think I’ll be cleaning the flue tomorrow...

 

[Podney]

Clean the flue/burner. Maybe a new jet?

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[TerryL]

On a recent site in Italy we found we needed the shade of the awning to keep the fridge cool. It worked much better on gas with the awning out shading the vents.

Good idea - I often wind the awning out a little to shade the fridge/vents.

 

[Ridgeway]

OK cleaned the flue as best i could yesterday (still on the road) but managed to get a radiator brush from a hardware store that did a pretty good job although i could only access the flue from the bottom as the top has a 90º T on it which can only be removed if you take the fridge out ! Anyway tons of soot came out and the fridge is running a lot better, after 24hrs the temp is now a measured 3.1º vs the 12-13º it was before the flue cleaning.....

also glad i have the thermometer in there, just quick glance tells you if things are OK or not, no more butter test !

 

[PhilandMena]

The T on the top is usually held in place by a small screw and at some stage you will need to take it off to access the baffle inside which will be hanging on a wire bridge at the top of the tube. Both this and the tube will need a good clean.

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[TerryL]

There you go then, sorted but keep an eye on it for a few days in case it's the change of weather that makes it better. When you get the chance do as Phil says.

Thanks for keeping us updated.

 

[funflair]

The T on the top is usually held in place by a small screw and at some stage you will need to take it off to access the baffle inside which will be hanging on a wire bridge at the top of the tube. Both this and the tube will need a good clean.

The newer ones don't all have that T piece and baffle, which would make it much easier to clean.

Martin

 

[treetops1]

Hi if you trace the pipe from the flame back to where it goes into a valve (not sure what they call it ) Give the valve a tap with a spanner as the valve inside can stick if not used for a while ,that may give your he presto moment .keeping your flue clean is also important lol.

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[Ridgeway]

The T on the top is usually held in place by a small screw and at some stage you will need to take it off to access the baffle inside which will be hanging on a wire bridge at the top of the tube. Both this and the tube will need a good clean.

Yes will do that, just got back last night so it's a job for this WE. I reckon if i take the fridge out and then remove the screw i could leave it without the screw when i replace it as i'm pretty sure the T piece is going to be a tight friction fit. That would allow me to clean the flue fully in the future without having to remove the fridge.

 

[The Wino]

Ors (Thetfoed) was the same I swapped the burner for a new one seems to have sorted it. Didn't clean the flue as it looks like it will need to be a fridge out job anyone know any different. Its a lot better now but still not like it was before.

 

[PhilandMena]

Yes will do that, just got back last night so it's a job for this WE. I reckon if i take the fridge out and then remove the screw i could leave it without the screw when i replace it as i'm pretty sure the T piece is going to be a tight friction fit. That would allow me to clean the flue fully in the future without having to remove the fridge.

Correct! That's what I have done.

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[Ridgeway]

Anyone know if the burner jet is easy to source, what price and easy enough to change ?

Think I might just get a spare to keep in, just in case...

 

[Ridgeway]

This is a US RV video but the burner looks to be identical to the one on my Euro Ice cream van fridge/freezer

 

[PhilandMena]

Leisure direct will be able to supply a complete burner assy and a new jet. Burner assy around 90-100 quid and jet about 18 quid depending on model of fridge.

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[Ridgeway]

Cheers, will take a look.

PhilandMena: do you know what the baffle is for ? and is it easy to remove, you mentioned it's on a wire ?

 

[funflair]

Cheers, will take a look.

PhilandMena: do you know what the baffle is for ? and is it easy to remove, you mentioned it's on a wire ?

The baffling is just hooked over the pipe once you get the T piece off the top.

Martin

 

[funflair]

Anyone know if the burner jet is easy to source, what price and easy enough to change ?

Think I might just get a spare to keep in, just in case...

My experience is that the jet itself is not the problem unless it is blocked with rust in the pipe behind the jet and then that cleans out OK, the airways on the burner assembly itself have caused me more problems when they become constricted and then the flame burns rich/smokey, I carry a can of compressed air to clean the burner head.

Martin

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[Ridgeway]

The baffling is just hooked over the pipe once you get the T piece off the top.

Martin

Cheers Martin, so that's what the radiator brush was getting blocked by.

 

[Ridgeway]

I carry a can of compressed air to clean the burner head.
Martin

That's seems like a very good idea, used my tyre compressor last week but it was far to week in terms of power, so a can of compressed air would be good for that.

 

[PhilandMena]

Cheers, will take a look.

PhilandMena: do you know what the baffle is for ? and is it easy to remove, you mentioned it's on a wire ?

The baffle is a flat piece of metal twisted into a spiral and about 3-5 inches long. It's purpose is to disrupt/impact on the hot air going up the flue. If it has a secondary function I'm not aware of it. They become heavily covered in soot over time.

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[Ridgeway]

Back to the same issue with my fridge, another "warm fridge weekend"

1) flue clean ? probably not but was done only 12 months back (will do it again though)
2) weather too hot ? actually was only around 22 - 28º and have recently fitted the CBE fan kit so i think that should be OK
3) Gas only issue: seems to be so as the previous WE it was fine on hook up, this WE on gas and we're back to a non working fridge
4) fridge was well chilled down: yes had it switched on mains for 24hrs before we set out and the temp was a lovely 4º

So my plan is

1) clean the flue (much easier now the top T piece is removable)
2) take a large hammer to the burner assembly and jet and then replace.....

Did i miss something ?

 

[Ridgeway]

PS: noticed before when i took some pics that the burner assembly is actually lower than it should be (approx 7-8mm) thanks to a missing grub screw (if i remember well the thread is stripped in the flue casing). Also wonder if that can cause an issue ?

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

The burner head needs to be at the correct height to operate the fridge efficiently, ie evaporate the coolant. If you can't get a grub screw in, I would lift the assembly on a metal or ceramic block to the correct height.
If you can remove it OK, put in a bigger thread to take the next size grub screw.
It works OK on electrics so must be down to the gas burner not burning close enough to the evaporator.

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