Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2002 22:23:56 -0500
Reply-To: Marshall <mjruskin@SHAW.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Marshall <mjruskin@SHAW.CA>
Subject: Westy Fridge-Checking Propane Pressure
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Another post of interest to the fridge-obsessed.
Marshall Ruskin
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Drillock" <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 07:41 AM
Subject: Westy Fridge-Checking Propane Pressure
> DO NOT do this is you do not understand what you are doing. I measured
> it with a tool made from a long piece of clear hose. You must remove one
> of the copper lines from the "y" fitting at the tank regulator and push
> it to one side out of the way. The lower one is easiest to get to. I
> first removed the bottom shield from the tank. It is held on by two 13
> mm bolts and nuts. Use a wrench on the square sides of the "y" to hold
> it while you use a wrench on the copper tubing nut. I disconnected the
> lower copper line from the propane tank and pushed the 5/8" ID hose over
> the nipple. The hose needs to be 6-10 feet long. Bend the rest of it
> into a "U" shape touching the ground and fill the bottom of the "U" with
> water. The water should be 12" deep on each side of the "U". DO NOT put
> in too much water. DO NOT move the hose so that the water goes all the
> way to the tank. Now move the sides of the "U" closer together and look
> at the height of the water in each. They should match. Now turn on the
> propane and the gas will push down on one end of the water and the other
> will of course rise. Use a tape measure or ruler and measure the height
> difference of the ends of the water. The Dometic spec is 11 inches. Mine
> was at 8 inches and I set it to 10. On the body of the Marshall pressure
> regulator is a white plastic screw in plug. Remove this plug to get at
> the adjustment screw. A Phillips screwdriver is needed to turn the
> adjusting screw. DO NOT MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENT UNLESS YOU HAVE THE "GAUGE"
> CONNECTED AND WORKING. I found that on my Marshall 260 that one FULL
> turn clockwise increased the pressure by 1 inch. I set mine to 10
> inches. CHECK FOR LEAKS WITH SOAPY WATER AFTER RECONNECTING THE COPPER
> GAS LINE.
>
> Mark
>
>
>
> drc11 wrote:
> >
> > Mark, how did you measure 8 vs 11 inches? Is it marked on the
adjustment
> > screw/knob? madeline
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mark Drillock <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> > Date: Monday, May 24, 1999 9:44 AM
> > Subject: Westy Fridge Now Works Great! 23 Degrees F
> >
> > >Yesterday I made the discovery that the propane pressure was set to
only
> > >8 inches on my 82 Westy. The Dometic manual specifies 11 inches. Since
> > >last week when I blew out the fridge flue vents with compressed air,
> > >this unit has been lighting easily and staying lit for days on end. It
> > >has been cooling down to 37 degrees F when left overnight set to max. I
> > >thought that this was pretty good, especially after hearing from many
> > >people that they would love for theirs to work this well. My 87 Syncro
> > >Camper on the other hand cools down to 27 degrees overnight with the
> > >temp setting knob straight up, not max. I wondered why the one cooled
so
> > >well, and some suggested that I was just "lucky" to have a "super"
> > >fridge that few others had. This turns out not to be the case. The
> > >"super" fridge is running on 10.5 inches of pressure. When I increased
> > >the pressure on my 82 Westy tank regulator from 8 up to 10 inches, that
> > >refrigerator suddenly became a "super" model too. It cooled overnight
> > >down to 28 degrees with the temp knob straight up. Early this morning I
> > >set it to max and the temp fell to 23 degrees. The sun induced temp
> > >inside the van is now 84 degrees. This is a 60 degree difference.
What's
> > >more, the fridge is not running full blast to maintain this
temperature,
> > >but is cycling on and off under thermostatic control. This implies
> > >additional cooling capacity in reserve to maintain the low fridge temp
> > >as the ambient air temp increases. I urge anyone who needs more cooling
> > >to investigate the pressure setting of their tank regulator. This
simple
> > >adjustment made a HUGE difference. I am not saying that this will
> > >magically fix all problems, only that the pressure drastically affects
> > >cooling capacity. DO NOT set it above the factory spec of 11 inches. I
> > >suggest 10 inches as a starting point. At high altitudes a lower
setting
> > >may be needed as there is less oxygen in the air. Also if the flue vent
> > >system is not completely clear, there may not be enough oxygen coming
in
> > >to support the higher burn rate with the higher pressure. Both of these
> > >situations can result in the fridge flame going out. All of my tests
and
> > >most of my camping is at very near sea level. THANKS to everyone who
has
> > >so far taken part in this Westy Fridge Project. Thanks to Otmar for
> > >suggesting propane pressure as an avenue to pursue and to David Beierl
> > >for the simple but effective measuring device design. Let's keep at it
> > >until they all work well.
> > >
> > >Mark Drillock
>
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