Newbie Fridge Question

Hi everyone. Please excuse my ignorance if I have posted this to the wrong place. DW and I have purchased an used 2007 3124 a few months ago but due to an injury I have been unable to completely check it out until this weekend. I have a couple of questions that I would like to ask of all of your Ole Timers. First, how long will the battery (one single 12-volt) last with the fridge running on battery power before the battery will need a charge. A rough estimate will do. Second, I can get the fridge to operate on AC but I have been unable to get it to run on propane. I have filled both tanks and checked the water heater, furnace, stove and oven; they all work fine. I have read a few threads on the forum that discuss this and have performed all the steps mentioned but still am unable to get it to run. I have opened the two panels at the outside of the fridge and can not smell propane when DW holds/presses the buttons for starting the fridge. The valve at the lower panel is set to the open position. Is there another valve somewhere that I am missing? Is there a diagram of the gas piping system available anywhere? Can anyone recommend something else to do?

Thanks in advance for all your help.
Scruffy

[rvcycleguy]

The battery won't last very long. Maybe a few hours at best. It's not designed to run the refrigerator on the battery. Although, it's 12v, it will run off the TV through the 7 way trailer plug while hitched. The two modes for optimum use is the propane or 110a. You've done as much as I would know to do to check the propane service. If you have gas at the stove top and water heater, you seem to not have a blockage. Is there no pilot light coming on? One of the buttons is a piezo lighter. Do you hear it click? Or see a spark while inspecting the back of the fridge while your DW is pushing that button? I might suggest the thermocouple on the back of the fridge. May be dirty and not allowing a flame. It can be removed and cleaned or replaced. Parts are standard for most TT. A good RV parts store will have it.

Thanks for your reply rvcycleguy. Its good to know how long I can run the fridge on battery power without charging. Yes, I checked to see if the pilot light came on and it didn't. My wife would hold the primer button in and click the piezo lighter and it would give a very loud click. I watched for the pilot light while she pressed the piezo lighter and it did not spark. Where is the thermocoupler located? Maybe I can remove and clean it. Does anyone have a picture of where it is located?

Thanks ever-so-much!

[rvcycleguy]

I suggest that the piezo is defective. It may be difficult to see the spark in the open day. Sounds strange but you might be better to check the piezo at night or in a garage environment. You say you smell gas. In a way, thats a good thing. Don't let it accumulate too much while testing. First get a pilot light to come on. Think of your home gas water heater. Pilot, then, burner flame. You don't have a pilot yet.

There is a small 1/4 turn valve in the gas line in the lower left corner of the outside access. Check to insure that the valve is turned on. Also if the tanks have been off ( refilled) there could be air in the line that may take a few cycles to purge as the fridge uses considerably less gas ( flow) as does the heater or stove.

Thanks for the replies. I really do appreciate everyone's input. After going back and rechecking the system again I think I have narrowed it down to not getting any propane to the unit. The piezo seems to be working correctly but I don't seem to have any gas to light. I used a gas grille lighter to see if I could get it started but nothing happened. I did remove both tanks and had them refilled just prior to checking the system. Maybe the gas hasn't gotten to the fridge yet. I'll try it a couple of more times this morning and see what I come up with.

[rvcycleguy]

Originally Posted by Scruffy

Thanks for the replies. I really do appreciate everyone's input. After going back and rechecking the system again I think I have narrowed it down to not getting any propane to the unit. The piezo seems to be working correctly but I don't seem to have any gas to light. I used a gas grille lighter to see if I could get it started but nothing happened. I did remove both tanks and had them refilled just prior to checking the system. Maybe the gas hasn't gotten to the fridge yet. I'll try it a couple of more times this morning and see what I come up with.

Check the auto change over valve at the propane bottles. Mine stuck closed in the past. You may try and hook up a gas BBQ grill to your bottles to eliminate an issue with the tank valve. Seems like your close to figuring it out.

Is the small 1/4 turn valve in accessible thru the lower outside door turned on. It is silver grey about the size of a quarter.

First, there is no pilot light on the refrigerator. Only the burner and it is either on or off, it’s a very small flame. The size of the flame is regulated by the control on the front of the refrigerator, 1 thru 5, 5 being the highest so be sure to have it turned to 5 while trying to light it. It works just like your stove top. If you’ve tried lighting it with a BBQ grill lighter while DW held in the red bypass button and no luck, then it almost has to be the burner orifice, It has a tiny pin size hole for the gas to go through and can clog easily. It is not difficult to take out and clean. You do not have to remove the whole burner assembly to clean it, the orifice will screw right out. Be sure to use two wrenches so you don’t crimp the tubing. Just soak it in alcohol and blow it out with compressed air. DO Not use a wire or anything to try to clean it. If you want, you can replace the whole burner assembly check, anyrvparts.com for part # 621953. At leas it will show you a picture of what you are dealing with. I just replaced mine for about $43.

[tentcamper]

I'm new to tralmanor. On some of my other campers, even after purging the lines with the stove and furnace , I would have to hold down the gas valve for the fridge for a long time to purge the air out of the line going to the fridge. Especially if the camper had been sitting for a long time.

On one camper I modified a clamp because my thumb would get sore holding it down for about 4 minutes.

Some times the indicator is bad, but it is lite. To check if that is you problem, open the outside fridge access panels and fell around the top of the chimney for heat after about 1 minute.