I took the caravan to a site with no electric at the weekend for the first time. I set the fridge to run on the gas and there was a flame but the fridge wasn't chilling. The flame seems very faint. All rings on the hob worked just fine but the water heater wasn't working either. Any advice or ideas would be much appreciated.
You don't say how old your van is but in general the fridge should run better on gas than electric. You shouldn't see a very big flame some thing similar to a pilot light I find it is as easy to put my hand on the top vent to feel the heat coming out to check it is lit as it to look for the flame. The gas water heater should also work well may be a call to the dealer for advice.
Some fridges are temperamental on gas in several ways and require half an hour to settle down especially if you have towed the caravan over speed bumps or a bumpy field before setting up. When powered by gas, the caravan needs to be level both sideways and lengthways but some fridges are more critical than others like I said that some are temperamental for some strange reason. The flame is no more than a pilot light but you need to turn the fridge dial right up initially to start the coldness but the way to check is in the freezer box first as this will feel chilled to the fingers. Also you should be able to feel it slightly blowing through one of the two external fridge vents.
Hi if the fridge hasn't been running for a while on gas sometimes you get a bit of small particles of rust that gets trapped behind the gas jet which restricts the gas flow, the cure is to disconnect the gas pipe to the jet housing and blow the debri out of the jet housing. cheers Stan.
The fridge needs to be sensibly level not VERY level if you are comfortable in the van ie it feels level that in my experience will be good enough. Also as far as I know it doesn't matter what power source you are using the need for levelling is the same.
The levelness bit usually depends on the type of fridge you have. The smaller older fridges will always work on gas, level or not, reasonably level or not, or not level at all. Mine does, it's an old fridge.
My sister's van is very new and posh, and her fridge (different make, much larger than mine) won't work if it's not level.
OP - if your fridge wasn't getting cold, it could be down to the weather - we've been having very high temps lately! Also, if your fridge isn't reasonably full of food, it takes much longer to cool an empty space.
If you freeze meat and things you won't need until the next day, and chill everything before putting into the fridge, it shouldn't take long to cool down. I also take a frozen ice pack with me to keep the food cool until I get where I'm going, as the 12v doesn't work.
Very level is when the bubble is between the two band lines which is the allowed tolerance so if the bubble is outside of either band it's not sensibly level at all.
"If you have a gas absorption refrigerator, normal leveling of the vehicle is sufficient. The refrigerator is made to operate within 3 degrees off level side-to-side and 6 degrees off level front-to-back (looking at the front of the refrigerator). "
Thetford
Or from Dometic manual for Rm1350
Leveling is one of the requirements for proper operation with absorption refrigerators. To ensure proper leveling the vehicle needs to be leveled only so it is comfortable to live in (no notice- able sloping of floor or walls).
So back to my original point should the fridge be level yes. But in my opinion and experience if the van feels level then that will be good enough.
All rings on the hob worked just fine but the water heater wasn't working either.
Just a thought, after re-reading your OP....
There is a separate gas tap for a fridge, usually, and maybe another (or maybe the same one) for the water heater. So it could just be that they weren't turned on, or perhaps the gas isn't getting through properly (could be dust or cobwebs, etc in the pipework?).
Also, check your regulator as some things might work, others might not if the regulator needs replacing.
Another thing I've read that can cause this to happen is that the gas bottle level is low. It will go to the cooker and maybe work there, but there might not be enough pressure to run the fridge and the heater as well.
The water heater if it is a Truma you did remember to remove the outside cover? When you light it there should be a green light come on if there is a problem a red light should show both of these are on the temperature dial. Again there may be an isolation tap for the gas supply to the water heater as well.
Quote: Originally posted by moppetsdad on 07/7/2014
Just a point How long did you leave it running for on the gas? because it takes quite a long while to start chilling.
I agree, especially if empty. I usually test mine by checking that there is heat coming from the outside vent, then checking that the ice bar inside the fridge is getting colder. It does take a long time if there is nothing to help it along (like ice packs, frozen meals, etc) - from ambient to cold can take a few hours with mine.
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Topic: Problem running fridge on gas
