Date: Mon, 23 May 2011 13:19:43 -0500
Reply-To: mcneely4@COX.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject: Re: Fwd: Westfalia refrigerator issues
In-Reply-To: <BANLkTinkSoH7FLOCCYFQs_ZD4s=HqUC-QA@mail.gmail.com>
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---- Steven Yoon <drssyoon@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Oops - forgot to reply appropriately. Any additional insight from all you
> old timers would be greatly appreciated.
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Steven Yoon <drssyoon@gmail.com>
> Date: Mon, May 23, 2011 at 10:21 AM
> Subject: Re: Westfalia refrigerator issues
> To: george jannini <georgejoann@gmail.com>
>
>
> Hey George - thanks.
>
> How can I tell if the gas power is working?
I have NEVER seen the flame, but my gas works. If the propane is lit, the led to the right of the refrigerator will be lit. The switch for the led needs to be flipped to on. Here is the procedure I follow to get the refrigerator working on propane:
1. Make sure all propane inside the camper is off, including refrigerator.
2. Turn on the propane under the driver's side of the van.
3. Open the drain tube at the lower left corner of the refrigerator (outside the refrigerator, right at the floor) by removing the cap, which should be attached to the tube by a chain.
4. Turn the led switch on the kitchen cabinet to "on." The battery led will light up, as will the water tank led.
5. Make sure the switch for propane is selected (of the 3 switches to the far right on the inside refrigerator panel).
6. Set the temperature control switch for the refrigerator to the coldest position.
7. Set the refrigerator propane control to "on."
8. Hold the igniter switch down.
9. Pump the pump for the propane mode several times. My burner is in good shape. After a half a dozen pumps, I release the igniter switch and the green led on the cabinet glows. The propane burner is lit.
I forgot to mention, if you have a cover on the refrigerator vent outside near the hookups, it needs to be removed before doing the above.
After 30 minutes or so, check the interior fins in the top of the refrigerator. They should feel cooler than the other surfaces in the refrigerator. Check the vent outside. It should be venting warm air. If both these things are happening, your refrigerator is operating on propane.
There are different opinions about whether you should operate on propane while driving. I don't want to start another yelling match concerning that. My owner's manual says not to do so, and I don't, for safety reasons. Others disagree, and they operate on propane while driving. I use 12 V while driving. It is, admittedly, the least effective way to cool the refrigerator.
Don't expect to cool a lot of hot food in the refrigerator. I generally put in only cold food, and the refrigerator keeps it so. It cools relative to ambient temperatures, and at summer temperatures with the sun shining on the side of the van, don't expect it to cool very well. It will keep the interior cool under those conditions.
There are numerous threads on here concerning the refrigerator, and they can be found via the archives. The internet has lots of information, including even more detailed tips than I provided above concerning lighting. What I posted is essentially what is in the VW camper owner's book, and is on the inside of the refrigerator.
A manual can also be found online, and a fair number of sites that describe maintenance and repair.
My dometic refrigerator owner's book was with my van when I bought it, along with the vehicle owner's book and the camper owner's book. You might look in the cupboard to the left of the refrigerator, the one that opens from the top, and sits above the water tank, for the dometic book. Several folks have told me that they found theirs there.
It said something about flame
> being visible on the left side of the fridge, but can't tell.
Also, if I
> select the 12V power, does it require the engine to be running? And I guess
> if 120V power is selected, you need to have the outlet plugged into a power
> source?
The 12 V refrigerator mode works only when the engine is running, unless you have an auxiliary battery. If it remained on, it would drain the starter battery.
To run the refrigerator on AC, you need to connect a heavy duty cord from an AC house or other outlet to the hookup on the driver's side of the camper.
>
> I am not sure if my westy has an aux battery, but there is a little circuit
> breaker behind the driver's seat on the side. There is a pair of wire going
> into somewhere under the driver's seat.
There is a battery box under the driver's seat. If you have an auxiliary battery, that is the most likely place it would be. Some put it in the storage compartment under the rear passenger seat/bed. I doubt that that feature on behind the driver's seat on the bulkhead is a true circuit breaker. Stock is to have two torpedo type fuses there, for the camper kitchen. The wires under the driver's seat go to the battery box there, where there is stuff to hook up an auxiliary battery. However, setting up an auxiliary battery to actually power things reguires more than hooking it up there.
>
> Not much info in Bentley.
>
> By the way, I went to the Camping RV place in Tucker you suggested to get my
> tank filled after the U Haul disaster. Everything went great!
>
>
> /S/
>
>
> On Mon, May 23, 2011 at 10:01 AM, george jannini <georgejoann@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> > >> My 83 westy fridge does not seem to be working. Not sure how useful it
> > would
> > be even if it was working - given the small size. <<
> >
> > It's large enough to hold enough tasty adult beverages for a weekend-
> > for most folks- but if we're going to a bus campout, we also bring a
> > cooler.
> >
> > Seriously, for your first test, you should plug the fridge in, make
> > sure the 3 way rocker switch on the right is set correctly, turn the
> > thermostat all the way up and walk away from the bus for a few hours.
> >
> > Geo/ATL (ITP)
> >
--
David McNeely
