Community Forums

aaronpapemh · 07-19-2017, 01:32 PM

I have a dometic fridge in my 2015 grey wolf tt. The fridge works great on AC power but on gas it does not cool well. With the ambient temp around 90*F the fridge was at 65* and freezer at 20*. When plugged in to AC power the fridge gets to 36*. My flame on the burner looks good. I tried the obvious stuff such as tapping on the flue to get any debris out then cleaned the burner and gas jet but no change. So I have a nice blue flame but fridge is not cooling. I suspect the cooling unit is good since it is working on AC power. Any suggestions? thanks

CMelder · 07-19-2017, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronpapemh

I have a dometic fridge in my 2015 grey wolf tt. The fridge works great on AC power but on gas it does not cool well. With the ambient temp around 90*F the fridge was at 65* and freezer at 20*. When plugged in to AC power the fridge gets to 36*. My flame on the burner looks good. I tried the obvious stuff such as tapping on the flue to get any debris out then cleaned the burner and gas jet but no change. So I have a nice blue flame but fridge is not cooling. I suspect the cooling unit is good since it is working on AC power. Any suggestions? thanks

Not sure of your model, but you can watch this you tube video and see if it is like yours

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6ZYmTanteQ

aaronpapemh · 07-19-2017, 02:30 PM

Yes that is how mine is I have it adjusted about where his is like an inch from the top. I should add that the fridge worked fine in LP mode on a trip 2 weeks ago and then this past weekend we went out again. I had plugged it in to AC power the night before we left to load the fridge and get everything cooled. Drove 2 hours to our destination, started it up on LP gas then noticed after a couple hours when by that the fridge was getting warm. No check light on the front indicator and like I said the burner is running and flame looks good.

MSHappyCampers · 07-19-2017, 02:54 PM

Hi !

Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

You say the flame looks good, but that's not always a positive indicator. I had the same problem and my flame looked good too, but when I called Dave Force with RV Cooling Unit Warehouse in Memphis he asked me if I could hear a loud roaring from the flame while standing close to the access door. I could not. He told me about removing the burner/orifice, soaking it in 90% alcohol for several hours, and then blowing it out with compressed air. After that I knew what he meant about hearing the roar! It then cooled as well on LPG as AC!

One caution here! Don't use compressed air over 40 PSI to blow through the orifice! I did that and ruined a $55 burner/orifice!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

Old-Biscuit · 07-19-2017, 03:22 PM

IF it is cooling on AC then moving thermistor is NOT going to fix non-cooling on LP.
Thermistor is the temp sensor for the thermostat..same whether on AC or LP.

Moving thermistor will affect overall temps IF fridge has 'Auto Temp Control' ---in other words no temp adjustments (1 thru 5)
And it will only cause MINOR temp changes (4*F - 6*F)

Not cooling on LP...
LP System pressure too low...S/B 11" WC with at least 50% of propane appliances in use
Flue baffle carboned up...spiral baffle that hangs in flue. Transfers heat from flame to perk tube. If dirty/sooty/carbon ------can't properly transfer the heat
Dirty orifice....in alcohol and let air dry. Do NOT poke anything thru hole or use high pressure air to blow dry. Laser cut ruby gets messed up
Burner slots clean and free flowing

Flame should be DARK blue center, light blue exterior and just reach inside flue

Good LP fridge flame

bfisher003 · 07-19-2017, 03:32 PM

We have a Dometic fridge in our 2016 Keystone Bullet and when we got up into the Yukon it wasn't cooling good on LP. By the time we got to Whitehorse we noticed that it did not want to light and stay lit and it would make a loud roaring sound. We also noticed that when we lit the stove or turned the gas water heater in the roaring sound would go away. I called the Good Sam Elite technical hotline and discussed it with a technician. He said it sounded like the trailer's main LP regulator might be going bad. Tried two RV places in Whitehorse to see about getting it checked/fixed and one was closed on Saturday and the other one couldn't get to it "maybe" on Monday. We got back on the Alaska Highway headed north and just turned the fridge and LP tanks off. We stopped for lunch at a turnout and since it was chilly and rainy I thought I would make a cup of coffee. Turned on the LP tanks and now not even the stove would light. We spent the night in Beaver Creek at a campground with electric hookup so we could cool the fridge back down and my wife got very creative in making us dinner with the microwave. I figured I would have to get to Fairbanks to get it fixed, but after having lunch at Fast Eddy's in Tok, AK we stopped at the Tesora gas station to fill up the truck. I asked them if they had any regulators that would work and wonder of wonders, they did. They even gave me some thread sealant. The fittings all worked fine, but the mount was a bit different, so I sort of had to jury rig it, but it fixed our LP problem and is still working fine up here in Alaska. So, this is a long winded way of saying that if you notice any of the other symptoms I mentioned or maybe even if not, it just may be your main LP regulator could be bad.

Alan24601 · 07-19-2017, 07:08 PM

Something else to look at is the piece of twisted metal that causes the heat to swirl up the tube. You access from the top of the tube. Unclip the wire and lift it out. They erode over time and a new one improved our fridge on gas.

aaronpapemh · 07-19-2017, 09:57 PM

How often should the flue need cleaning? I have heard techs saying in forums that they don't usually need cleaning unless very old. I purchased this trailer in 2016 when it was a year old and have only gone on 2 trips for a total of 6 days where the fridge was run in LP. Most of our trips the sites had hook ups.

Old-Biscuit · 07-19-2017, 10:05 PM

With that little bit of use it shouldn't be dirty.......BUT could be obstructed (nest, dabbers etc)

Lack of exhaust flow thru flue would NOT affect electric heat transfer as that is direct contact...metal to metal

Does your FLAME look like one pictured.......strong blue, reaching into flue center ??
Flame temp S/B 350*F or higher with proper air/fuel mix

aaronpapemh · 07-19-2017, 10:25 PM

It does look like the one pictured. Could I still have a good looking flame if I were to have low LP pressure? All of my other appliances work on LP, is the fridge the most sensitive? I will pull the upper vent cover to look for any debris in the flue and see if I find anything.

bfisher003 · 07-20-2017, 10:18 AM

The tech explained to me that the reefer only uses the main LP regulator, while the other LP stuff have their own in addition to the main one. I have no idea if that's true or not.

Old-Biscuit · 07-20-2017, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronpapemh

It does look like the one pictured. Could I still have a good looking flame if I were to have low LP pressure? All of my other appliances work on LP, is the fridge the most sensitive? I will pull the upper vent cover to look for any debris in the flue and see if I find anything.

What does the fridge flame look like WHEN you turn on other LP appliances (All the stove top burners on high....water heater) ???

Does flame diminish or remain strong/steady?
If diminishes then LP Reg is NOT keeping up with demand on LP SYSTEM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bfisher003

The tech explained to me that the reefer only uses the main LP regulator, while the other LP stuff have their own in addition to the main one. I have no idea if that's true or not.

Fridge, water heater, furnace and stove top burners ALL use the propane supplied by the LP Regulator (11" WC ----0.4 psi).
Each has a 'gas valve' that OPENS/CLOSES but does NOT regulate
OVEN has a regulator/controller for oven flame that is FED from LP REG.

That RV Tech sounds like a parts changer and wouldn't know which end goes up on a manometer

MSHappyCampers · 07-20-2017, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bfisher003

The tech explained to me that the reefer only uses the main LP regulator, while the other LP stuff have their own in addition to the main one. I have no idea if that's true or not.

Bill, I suggest you look for a new tech!

bfisher003 · 07-20-2017, 06:17 PM

He's not my tech, just the one I got at the GS Elite technical hotline, but while he may be wrong or more likely I misunderstood, about that he was correct that it was the main LP regulator. [emoji4]