Dometic fridge, lights fine on gas, no cooling

[wbmiller3]

I apologize in advance if this has already been addressed on the forum but I couldn't find it. Probably bad searching skills. So if it's out there, a pointer to the thread would be much appreciated.

This weekend we were dry camping for one night. I lit the Dometic fridge on propane with no more than the usual struggle. Flame indicator went into the green. The flue was hot when I opened the back access to check.

But - the fridge did not cool down at all even though I let it run for over 3 hours.

My next troubleshooting step is to try it on AC but I won't have the opportunity to do that for a while.

Has anyone experienced this problem - fridge lights on propane, but does not cool? And is there a fix?

Thanks,

[Bill]

Bill -

Has the refrig ever worked on gas? I assume yes, since you said "no more than the usual struggle". In that case, this is a change in behavior, and not a good one.

But first. Three hours isn't enough to get any significant cooling in the main compartment. My test is always to put my hand on the floor of the freezer. That is where the cold first shows up.

Bill

[ShrimpBurrito]

As Bill suggested, 3 hours is definitely not long enough to assess the extent of cooling, and yes, the freezer is where the cold first appears.

That being said, if there is indeed no cooling on gas, as well as when on AC, I would be suspicious of a bad cooling unit, which is the system of twisting tubing and such on the rear of the fridge. Refurbished cooling units can be had for ~$400, and I don't think are very complicated to install if you are just a bit handy, but that's still alot of cash to spring for an old fridge. A new one is roughly double that, although sometimes deals can be had.

But if you test it on AC and the unit cools sufficiently, then the cooling unit is definitely not the problem.

Dave

[wbmiller3]

Originally Posted by Bill

Bill -

Has the refrig ever worked on gas? I assume yes, since you said "no more than the usual struggle". In that case, this is a change in behavior, and not a good one.

But first. Three hours isn't enough to get any significant cooling in the main compartment. My test is always to put my hand on the floor of the freezer. That is where the cold first shows up.

Bill

Thanks for the reply. Yes, we've used it infrequently on gas and it worked OK. I helped my friend light his fridge in a newer 2619 within minutes of when I lit mine, and his was showing cooling at the end of the 3 hours. I'll have to wait to run it on AC to troubleshoot.

[wbmiller3]

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

Refurbished cooling units can be had for ~$400, and I don't think are very complicated to install if you are just a bit handy, but that's still alot of cash to spring for an old fridge. A new one is roughly double that, although sometimes deals can be had.


Dave

Thanks for this info. I didn't know about the availability of the refurb units.

[commodor47]

My experience is with the Norcold refrigerator but I will assume yours operates in a similar manner.

Can you get access to a portable generator to test the AC operation?

Do you have access to the back of the refrigerator? If so, carefully check the top of the coils to see if they are warm/hot.

On my unit the temperature switch does affect how high the flame ends up and that determines how cold it gets in the refrigerator, taking into account ambient temperature. Try to observe the size of the flame as a helper slowly increases the temperature setting (1-5 on my unit with 5 being the coldest). If the size of the flame doesn't increase during this test it would indicate a possible problem with the burner (dirty or rusted).

Dick

[wbmiller3]

Thanks. I haven't been able to get a peek at the flame yet, that is definitely something I want to try. It's behind a sheet metal shield. I did notice that my friend's indicator needle went further into the "green" than the one on my unit did, so I already suspected a weak burner. (I'm assuming the indicator thing is temperature driven)

[ShrimpBurrito]

I believe the "indicator thing" is actuated by a thermocouple, which produces a small amount of electricity to the "thing" (a voltmeter) when heated. So if your indicator is not in the green, it could be the flame is too low, which could happen for a number of reasons.

Once you test on AC, and it works, then it's time to start probing for those problems.

Dave

[gonzo628]

I had trouble getting mine to start on gas (sometimes upwards of 20 minutes). Then, eventually, it would not light at all. I took the camper to Custom RV for a tune up and they replaced the thermocouple. It started fine for me when I picked it up, and I have not had time to test again, though we are going camping easter weekend...

[wbmiller3]

Had to head back early and garage the trailer because of predicted bad weather that didn't materialize I'll be pulling it back out in about a week and getting to work on this. Will report back, probably with more questions. Thanks to all who replied.