RE: WESTFALIA REFRIGERATOR BURPING & OTHER 11/8/=
98
Bob,
FWIW, please find below the =
response to my query about my refrigerator =
from the technical folks at Dometic.
Jim
Dear James, The =
inverting trick will not help whatsoever =
with a unit that will not light in gas. =
On refrigerators prior to 1983 the "burp" =
may help if it had stopped cooling. First suggestion is to run the unit =
in AC first. This will warm up the =
unit and allow air flow through the combustion =
chamber (convection airflow). Secondly =
is to turn the thermostat just past on to =
allow the unit to light in the lowest flame =
possible. In this manner it will not =
require a great deal of air. Let the =
unit run this way for about 10 or 15 minutes. =
Again this will allow the combustion chamber =
to heat up and get the air flow. If =
you have any other questions please do not =
hesitate to contact us. Sincerely,Dometic =
Technical Service&=
nbsp;
-----Original Message-----
From:<=
FONT FACE="Times =
New Roman" SIZE=2 COLOR="#000000"> Jim Fritz [mailto:jfritz@decorah.k12.ia.us]
Sent: Friday, November 06, 1998 8:40 =
AM
To:=
techservice
Subject:<=
FONT =
FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE=2 COLOR="#000000"> Dometic in 89 VW =
Westfalia
To =
whom it may concern:
I'm having trouble =
getting my Dometic to fire up on Propane. =
It has been suggested through a listserve =
group that I belong to, that taking the =
refrig out and inverting it overnight will =
"burp" it and help in the lighting =
and cooling properties of my refrig. Your =
suggestions and comments on this would be =
greatly appreciated.
Robert =
A. Alexander wrote:
>Volks - Jeez, =
what ever happened to the good old American =
pioneering
>spirit of facing the unknown, =
unfazed by bashful detractors???
>
>I =
managed to contact Don Staie, my
>AC/Heating/Cooling/Refrigeration/December-Water-Skiing =
Guru this evening
>and ran some of =
the List members' criticisms by him about =
his
>suggestions about "burping" =
RV refrigerators. I was mistaken in my
>earlier =
post. Don's been here in TN for twenty =
years before retiring.
>Worked in the =
profession only for twenty-five years in =
MN! Still has
>that weird foreign =
accent, though.
>
>His suggestion =
for Westfalia owners and others who have =
these types of
>refrigerators is to =
remove them every Spring and invert them =
for 24
>hours and then reinstall them, =
fire them up and go on about your
>business. =
He points out that it is NOT a "correct =
all" for other
>problems, but =
that when one is having weird problems with =
their frig.
>and nothing else works =
this is his first suggestion.
>
>His =
second suggestion is to go to the URL
>http://www.rvmobile.com/=
welcome.htm and gain a "crash-course&=
quot; =
education
>in the theory, operation, =
maintenance and repair of these ammonia
>beasts!
>
>His =
third suggestion is that anyone who thinks =
one can damage an A/C or
>refrigeration =
unit via turning it upside down has NO concept =
of what
>they are talking about. The =
one "qualifier" he offers concerns
>compressor =
driven units. Once inverted, he suggests =
righting them and
>leaving them alone =
for 24 hours to allow the oil in the system =
to settle
>back to where it's happy. =
He authorized me to post on the Net that
>anyone =
who claims that simply inverting any cooling =
unit resulted in any
>type of damage =
is full of Beaver Dung! I assume they must =
have a lot of
>beavers in MN!
>
>Don =
tells me that it is tempting to think of =
this neat mixture of
>ammonia/water/sodium =
chromate as being a homogeneous mixture, =
but he
>says even after sitting there =
for a few months, it is far from being a
>"homogeneous" =
mixture. Things separate. That's the idea =
behind
>"burping".
>
>Like =
I said before, I've never had one of these =
beasts. Don's
>interested in my forwarding =
the more timid posts which are received,
>though. =
He tells me he'll participate on the List =
for $30/hr for those
>who want decent =
advice about their refrigeration problems. =
He, also,
>invited me to go water-skiing =
with him Christmas day this year on
>Chickamagua =
Lake!!!
>
>BOB - WA4RRN
>'85GL
>http://www.impeachment.org
James L. Fritz
Director =
of Bands
Decorah High School
100 E. =
Claiborne Drive
Decorah, IA 52101
319-382-3643
FAX =
319-382-3107
jfritz@decorah.k12.ia.us