Date:         Sun, 6 Oct 1996 17:24:15 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Steven Johnson" <sjohnson@pcocd2.intel.com>
Subject:      Re: '88 Westy Frig

So John E. Flynn says:
> 
>         As a new owner of the outfit I am trying to get to know our unit.  I
> am interested in any tips you may have on "lighting the frig".  The frig
> works well on 12 volts, 110 volts, and propane.  However I it seems to be
> difficult to get the propane lit.  When we first bought the van, the frig
> started nicely.  After a refill I couldn't get it to light.  Seemed like we
> had spark but no gas.  I repalaced the thermocouple.  
> 

Along with the remarks about cleaning out the ventilation tubes, it has
been previously posted (hence archived) that you can 'air out' the venting
system by blasting air through the drainage hole at the bottom of the
fridge.  Some people have used a bike pump, others have used compressors.
I've not had this problem as I continue to keep the flue cover on when
I'm not running propane for the fridge.

I did have a problem while at the Mammoth/Pumice Flat campout.  I could
get the pilot lit, but the flame would go out as I turned the dial to
maximum cooling.  I kept turning it down and trying again and again to
get the fridge lit, but no go.  I just left if for an hour and came back
and tried it again and the same thing happened, so I said "screw it." and
left if for another hour.  The third time I tried it, the same thing was
happening only this time I decided to check out the flue by smelling.
Sure enough, there was a strong odor of propane.  So I turned the cooling
dial completely off and started the ignition, pushed in the button and
started pumping in air.  After a few pumps, it lit the burner and stayed
on.  I let it go for a bit and then finally turned on the cooling dial.
This time, it stayed lit.  I came to the conclusion that my problem was
with the altitude and the cold.  And that I needed to get the burner
warmed up before I could add more propane to the mixture.

Hope this helps, 

Steven 
Sacramento, CA
sjohnson@pcocd2.intel.com