Hi Everyone
So yesterday my fridge Decided to stop working when running on gas.
It works on hook up and battery.
I watched a little video on YouTube Which told me to open up the vents on the side of motorhome and give the little box a tap where the gas runs through in case of any loose debris that could stop it from working and checked directly where the gas ignites and there is a flame, but I think it’s still not working.
I’m no expert so if anyone has any ideas that could get this fridge up and running again, I would be most grateful
Thanks,
James
Welcome to UKCS.
Silly question, but your gas hasn’t run out (does happen…)?
Otherwise, try searching the forum as there are frequent questions on this topic that might have helpful answers. I’m not a gas engineer, so I can’t help.
There is definitely a small blue flame and the cylinder above is getting hot.
But the flame is very small. I’m not sure If there should be more of a flame as I’m no expert either !
The indicator gauge on ours is very slow to indicate so after it's been lit for a couple of minutes I walk around and have a sniff by the exhaust vent.
You can smell the burnt gases.
I've heard in the past that Dometic fridges can be a bit picky about the van being level when running off gas. It may be something as simple as that. Fingers crossed it is!
If it runs OK on other power sources, then that confirms the actual refrigeration 'plumbing' side works OK (it's common to all 3 power sources!).
A visible flame suggests the gas supply AND the flame out sensor are OK. It's not a huge roaring flame, it's only what many people refer to as a 'pilot' light flame! - really quite small, but should be perfectly formed and blue, not yellow in colour, and steady, not flickering greatly!
Next consideration is the Flue! The flame heat/fumes/exhaust MUST be able to travel up the flue to effectively heat the system properly. Flues get blocked with bugs, spider webs, and soot etc.! Worth investigating if the flue is clear, ensure flame is out and it has had time to cool down before investigating!
It's usually recommended that if run on gas, the flue should be 'de-sooted' several times a year!
One caveat! Most ageing fridge burner systems tend to be a bit rusty and brittle (partly the rust, partly the heat cycling changing the metal!), they need treating with care, and even then can fail if disturbed!
The point about fridge needing to be level is true. Absorption type (3 way) fridges need to be within about 5 degrees of level to operate well, the greater the angle the less well they operate until at a certain point they just don't work at all! As you've posted in MH & Campervan section, I take it that's what you've got, and my observation of such users is they are often not as particular about levelling as caravan owners are, often tolerating some 'crazy' angles! If set up at an angle, may be worth trying to level better and see if function returns. My experience with my caravan is that on soft ground, even if perfectly levelled on set up, it may sink and tilt a little over time, you may just have 'tilted' beyond the tolerance of the fridge!
Hi David8858
Appreciate the feedback. I have been away in Europe for the last two months with it working well
And have definitely been on more unlevel ground than I have been the past two days it hasn’t been working but still will bear that in mind when I try and get on very level ground tomorrow so thank you for that 👍
Hi Monty15
Thank you very much for the great advice. This seems like it might be a real contender of what the problem might be.
I’ve read up on the Link to the website you Sent and I’m going to get myself a few bits tomorrow and have a go at giving the flue A good clean
My motorhome is a 2017 model and I only bought it about five months ago so im probably guessing it hasn’t had any maintenance done on the fridge since new
I will let you know how I get on tomorrow.
And thanks again everyone for all your replies. I really do appreciate it.!
Quote: Originally posted by Jimbob686swift on 14/6/2024
Monty you are a gentleman
I finally have a cold fridge again !!!!
Can not thank you and everyone else trying to help me out enough 🙌
You are welcome, sad old world if you can't pass on a bit of acquired knowledge to benefit someone in need!
.... so which bit of wisdom did the trick? Was it a blocked flue, set up on the tilt, or sunk into too great a tilt?
Ive had similar issues with my Dometic fridge RM5330 fitted in my Autosleepers Symbol..
Last year at great expense the burner and spark unit was replaced, the fridge had to be completely removed to do it as the access panel on the side of the van is like a big letterbox!
Sine that time it has been difficult to light on gas and remain lit. The 240v side worn is fine on ehu so we have used that.
Not wishing to incur more labour charges I have replaced the 1500mm Thermocouple ( e bay £5 inc postage) by partially removing the fridge to access the rear of the gas valve. The gas pilot light now stays lit and having left the fridge on for 12 hours on gas it’s still not getting cold, in fact when I opened the door it was warm inside!
What else can be wrong with it, any help would be very appreciated!
If all else fails I’ve seen SMAD fridges for sale at about £400 so I may have to bite the bullet!
We had exactly the same problem, only to find the ignition button has a battery in it. To remove the ignition button put a small bladed screw driver in one of the indentations and twist it to the left. It springs out and the AAA battery is inside it, just replace and away you go. For some reason none of the utube videos about dometec fridge problems mention this and we spent hours removing covers, cleaning etc to no avail. Good luck!
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Topic: Dometic fridge not working on gas
via mobile 05/6/2024 at 3:41pm
