Date: Tue, 7 Oct 1997 07:08:00 8
Reply-To: Wes Neuenschwander <wesn@ESKIMO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon mailing list <Vanagon@Gerry.SDSC.EDU>
From: Wes Neuenschwander <wesn@ESKIMO.COM>
Subject: Re: Fridge not Working on Propane
> Hey folks,
>
> I have what may turnout to be a simple question. But before I go tearing
> things apart I thought I bounce the question of ya'll! When using our
> fridge on the last couple of road trips I noticed that the weakest of the
> power sources was the propane. In fact, last weekend it did not even seem
> to work at all on propane.
>
> So this past week I did the logical testing of each source of power, well
> actually I have not tried running on battery since the trip (seemed to
> work fine). When I set the fridge to outside electrical hookup overnight
> it was able to freeze water! However, when I set it to propane (yes I
> followed the directions on how to do so), nada! The fridge warmed right
> up to room temp. I thought maybe I was out of propane, but the stove
> seems to work just fine, thus propane!
>
> Any suggestions????
>
> Chris
>
Most likely a problem with the propane burner. Burner problems are
routine with these fridges, or rather, the burners require regular
maintenance (my manual recommends burner maintenance 1-2 times per year).
Burner operation is generally fairly easy to check out though. The green
LED on the Water/Battery Level Indicator panel should be glowing a fairly
bright green. Also, there is typically a small flame condition inspection
port located at the lower left corner at the back of the refrigerator
compartment (actually, a small plexiglass rod that transmits light from
the burner's flame inspection port). The flame should be a steady, clear
blue; substantial flickering or yellow color indicates a combustion
problem. And you can also listen to the sound of the burner at the vent
cover; should be a steady, low rumble. The vent cover should be warm,
but not to hot to touch.
Even if it passes all the tests though your best recourse may be still to
pull the unit and clean the burner assembly, especially if this hasn't
been done recently. Fairly easy to do yourself - if you're comfortable
working with propane - or you can pay an RV service shop about $75-150 to
do it for you. Of course, there's always the chance that you've got a bad
thermostat or other gas supply problem. These are a little more difficult
for the do-it-yourselfer to deal with, since they require some special
tools to deal effectively with them (gas pressure gauges are a must).
-Wes
Wes Neuenschwander
Seattle, WA
wesn@eskimo.com
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