Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:40:24 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Refrigerator lighting
In-Reply-To: <27F83197-9DCA-41F5-873C-7FCE42500EA0@onebeam.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
A frequent problem in getting the fridge to light and stay lighted is the
ability to get a good draft, absolutely no air leaks in the combustion
chamber or intake-exhaust tubes, and proper installation of the outside vent
cover so that the exhaust never gets sucked back into the inlet. I have
lately been finding a number of exhaust tubes that are rotted at the bottom
or cracked. All the insulation has to be removed to check this. When working
properly the fridge should light almost instantly and stay lighted even
while driving.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Leonard Sitongia
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 10:40 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Refrigerator lighting
I know this sort of think is a FAQ, and I've spent some hours researching,
but haven't found the solution...
My fridge was lighting well, but it seemed that only half of the fins inside
would cool, so it was not working well. Wouldn't cool well on electric,
either. Brought it in to the local RV shop. They pulled it, did a full
cleaning, and returned it to me. I put it on 110v and it cooled off well.
On a road trip, the fridge would not light. Brought it back to the shop,
and they had a hard time figuring out the cause. Concluded the regulator
pressure was off, adjusted it, and gave it back to me. Doesn't light.
There's spark, although it now seems to be intermittent.
Sometimes there's a big pop as a bunch of gas ignites. Postings describe
this as a air supply problem. I've tried supplementing by blowing in the
condensation drain pipe and using an air pump. That gives me a pop or
apparent ignition that doesn't keep going.
So, I messed around with the adjustment of the regulator, with the "dial"
under the plastic cap. I've gotten it to the point that flame will stay
light while I hold the bypass (button next to the right of the
plunger/igniter). But, the flame is very weak, and will go out in less than
a minute when I release the bypass. The LED on the panel barely lights up.
Do you think all of this is due to a faulty regulator?
By the way, the regulator, which I got from one of the Westy supply shops,
is a Marshall 605H. It has the vent facing forward instead of down. They
say that's not a problem. I know it's not involved in this, at least not
directly, but I wanted to mention it.
Another question: the stove flames are good. There's a separate supply hose
for that, right? The stove flame quality doesn't imply that the fridge
flame quality will be good, right? The fridge line could be blocked while
the stove line is clear?
Also, I'm going to make a manometer. I haven't seen mention that the
setting is dependent on air pressure. I'm at 6,000' elevation. Does this
cancel out in the equation regarding the pressure of the gas? In other
words, the pressure is lower to achieve 11" of water, but it doesn't matter
because less pressure is needed to operate the fridge. Or, should one
correct for altitude?
Thanks so much for your help!
==Leonard E. Sitongia
One Inextricable Beam
http://www.onebeam.net/