Cannot depress knob to fire up propane for fridge

[MrJohn]

I could not find a post for this, so hopefully it is not a repeat.


We just bought a used 2013 Scamp. We are watching the Scamp videos, and now see how to turn on the refigerator with propane source.

We were testing the propane light procedure (without actually running any propane as a first step), and noticed we could not depress the "light the fridge" knob on the outside of the camper.. It is the knob next to the two switches for 120 v an 12 v.

Any help on how to "unstick" the knob (or what we are doing wrong) would be,appreciated!

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by MrJohn

I could not find a post for this, so hopefully it is not a repeat.
We just bought a used 2013 Scamp. We are watching the Scamp videos, and now see how to turn on the refigerator with propane source.
We were testing the propane light procedure (without actually running any propane as a first step), and noticed we could not depress the "light the fridge" knob on the outside of the camper.. It is the knob next to the two switches for 120 v an 12 v.
Any help on how to "unstick" the knob (or what we are doing wrong) would be,appreciated!

Hi John, just FYI, pics always help us for any answers. Your TT is pretty new but I'm just guessing that your refer isn't a DSI unit and your tying to light the pilot. On all of the manual light units I've had you turn the knob to the pilot position inline with the line on the gas valve. It will only go down in the pilot position and there isn't much play for it to depress. It's the same as a home gas water heater. I turn my house LP heater off during the desert summer months and the knob can get a bit sticky. Rotate it back and forth and try again, your not going to hurt it . Oh, and welcome to FGRV too.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Borrego Dave

Hi John, just FYI, pics always help us for any answers..

What helps even more is stating the make and model of the fridge. Look for a plate inside the unit with that information.

[cmartin748]

I had the same problem. What is the model# and make of the fridge or a pic of the knob?

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by MrJohn

I could not find a post for this, so hopefully it is not a repeat.


We just bought a used 2013 Scamp. We are watching the Scamp videos, and now see how to turn on the refigerator with propane source.

We were testing the propane light procedure (without actually running any propane as a first step), and noticed we could not depress the "light the fridge" knob on the outside of the camper.. It is the knob next to the two switches for 120 v an 12 v.

Any help on how to "unstick" the knob (or what we are doing wrong) would be,appreciated!

Make sure you have it turned to the right position for lighting. Some can be very tricky and just a hairs width can make it not press down.

[Wayne Collins]

I think you are talking about the red sparker button..?
We had one tht was hard to push.A little squirt of WD40 took care of that.

[Byron Kinnaman]

I have found that it's much easier to use a BBQ butane lighter than the red piezo banger. It can be pretty difficult to see the light blue flame in sunlight but I can easily check that burner is lit with BBQ lighter.

[MrJohn]

Forgot the pictures...

Maker = Dometic

Model = RM 2193

[MrJohn]

Originally Posted by Wayne Collins

I think you are talking about the red sparker button..?
We had one tht was hard to push.A little squirt of WD40 took care of that.

The knob right in front of the sparker is the one that doesn't press down (As the video tells me it should).

[MrJohn]

Originally Posted by cmartin748

I had the same problem. What is the model# and make of the fridge or a pic of the knob?

Dometic; model = RM 2193

[MrJohn]

Originally Posted by Borrego Dave

Hi John, just FYI, pics always help us for any answers. Your TT is pretty new but I'm just guessing that your refer isn't a DSI unit and your tying to light the pilot. On all of the manual light units I've had you turn the knob to the pilot position inline with the line on the gas valve. It will only go down in the pilot position and there isn't much play for it to depress. It's the same as a home gas water heater. I turn my house LP heater off during the desert summer months and the knob can get a bit sticky. Rotate it back and forth and try again, your not going to hurt it . Oh, and welcome to FGRV too.

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

Make sure you have it turned to the right position for lighting. Some can be very tricky and just a hairs width can make it not press down.

I am not sure I have a "Light" position on the knob (like I do on my home BBQ grill). It seems to only have Low, Med, High, and Off positions on the knob.

And I love all the info on this site !!

[Byron Kinnaman]

I set it on high to light then turn it where I think it would work best depending on the current and expected air temperatures.

[Eddie Longest]

Try pressing down in off turn to high holding down then light.
You tube for lighting but has poor audio.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...A7&FORM=VRDGAR

[MrJohn]

Originally Posted by Eddie Longest

Try pressing down in off turn to high holding down then light.
You tube for lighting but has poor audio.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...A7&FORM=VRDGAR

Great video (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg-F6gbeMN4

)

This looks just like my setup, however mine is not working like the video.

The good news is the video shows how I have been trying it (so I have the steps correct - I am not missing something). I first tried to push down the know when in OFF position, then I tried to push it down when in High position - neither one worked.

I have to hold the metal bracket with both hands, because I am now trying to push down so hard with both thumbs. Hoping to "unstick" it or something.


After watching the video, I noticed my knob turns a lot harder than it should.
The know takes a very firm grip to move it from from to H, M, or L. It is tough to turn in all directions.

I am wondering if this knob became stuck somehow. I suspect I cannot just lift the knob off and put it back on easily

[MrJohn]

Originally Posted by Eddie Longest

Try pressing down in off turn to high holding down then light.
You tube for lighting but has poor audio.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...A7&FORM=VRDGAR

Originally Posted by Eddie Longest

Try pressing down in off turn to high holding down then light.
You tube for lighting but has poor audio.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...A7&FORM=VRDGAR

Great video (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg-F6gbeMN4

)

This looks just like my setup, however mine is not working like the video.

The good news is the video shows how I have been trying it (so I have the steps correct - I am not missing something). I first tried to push down the know when in OFF position, then I tried to push it down when in High position - neither one worked.

I have to hold the metal bracket with both hands, because I am now trying to push down so hard with both thumbs. Hoping to "unstick" it or something.


After watching the video, I noticed my knob turns a lot harder than it should.
The know takes a very firm grip to move it from from to H, M, or L. It is tough to turn in all directions.

I am wondering if this knob became stuck somehow. I suspect I cannot just lift the knob off and put it back on easily

[MrJohn]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

The instruction manual says to set the knob to H, then press it down. Apparently can't be pressed down in any other position. I doubt this matters for pressing the knob down, but you did put the propane selector switch on first ??

I tried to push down when in H position - no luck

The video posted by Eddie shows a person pushing down while in OFF position as well - no luck with that either.

Propane Selector Switch....I do not believe I switched anything like that. From what I can tell, this model just needs the two rocker switches to the right turned off, and that selects propane. That is what the videos have been noting as well (Of course I could definitely be missing something here too - this is my first attempt).


I found this online (noting that the valve may be corroded when the knob does not turn)
http://www.popupportal.com/threads/3...problem.96631/

[MrJohn]

Thanks for the video Eddie.

It does not depress in neither the OFF nor H positions I am pressing VERY hard too.

From the video, I also noticed how smooth it was for them to turn the knob. The knob on our camper is much harder to turn - it does not glide - by any means.

[MrJohn]

I found this:

3 way fridge problem | PopUpPortal

where someone thought that because it was hard to turn the knob, that their valve is bad.



I found a parts list for the RM 2193: https://www.scamptrailers.com/images..._PartsList.pdf

and 2951955109 looks to be the part to replace - if this is the culprit.

If the part was $10, I'd just order it, but it looks to be $140-ish.

Any thoughts on how to know if the valve is or isn't the issue?

If I light manually, and it does go off and on, would that indicate the valve is good and it is just the knob gone bad?

[lisantica]

Originally Posted by Wayne Collins

A little squirt of WD40 took care of that.

I was having trouble opening the hatch that gives access to the refrigerator knob area...a little squirt of WD40 solved that.
So I agree, maybe squirt just a tiny bit up under the knob using the little red straw that the WD40 can comes with.

[The Minimalist]

I'm wondering if the knob isn't stuck down. Is there any clearance between the bottom of the knob and the panel? I'm thinking that either the mechanism is stuck in the depressed position, or the knob is installed too far down on the shaft.