Fridge not working

[W Dave K]

I'm getting our Little Joe for the season. I turned on the fridge on electric and left it for 24 hr. When I checked it it was only 37.5 which I'm told is not cold enough so I tried the propane. I left it overnight. When I checked it out it was 130! I neglected to say the back was warm as it usually is when on electric but on propane it was very hot. I also have a small fan in the fridge to help cooling. Can someone help me with some ideas? Do I need to replace it?

[deryk]

Not the best answer but do some google searches with the manuf and model of your fridge. Some things I have heard were carbon buildup and cobwebs. I found out how to fix mine just doing searches on the particular make and model. If it's only a few years old it probably is fine, just needs maint.

[kootenaigirl]

Everything I am looking at says 35-38 ish so I think on electric you are good.
No idea about the 'oven' on propane though, sorry.

[Carol H]

As suggested download the manual for the fridge. Not knowing what fridge you have its hard to say what the issue may be, but on my fridge I have two separate temperature controls for it depending on whether its on Propane or Electric... both in behind the fridge.

Is the trailer level? If the trailer is not level the fridge may not be happy.

[Paul O.]

I assume that the fan inside the fridge is supposed to mix the air to avoid stratification, and help cool the contents, but I would think twice about putting any heat source inside. Some ideas:
Is Little Joe level?
Try it without the fan?
Clean out the vents and propane burner?

[W Dave K]

The trailer is level I failed to mention that. The fridge is a Dometic and it doesn't say anything about my problems in the manual.
Paul you misunderstood. There is no heat source in the fridge. The heat came from the propane. Somehow instead of cooling the fridge it heated it.


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[deryk]

did you check google?

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by W Dave K

The trailer is level I failed to mention that. The fridge is a Dometic and it doesn't say anything about my problems in the manual.
Paul you misunderstood. There is no heat source in the fridge. The heat came from the propane. Somehow instead of cooling the fridge it heated it.


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Which model of Dometic? How old is the trailer?

[Carol H]

There is a thread on another site that may be of help:
http://rv-dreams.activeboard.com Refrigerator Dometic cools excellent on Electric but not Gas. Why?


Suggest its a dirty jet & burner or possible misalignment of the gas jet and the burner... they should be directly in line with each other.

[alan H]

While I have nothing to add for your problems that hasn't already been suggested, I would like to ask if your little joe is for sale.... I have been looking for one
Also would you mind some me some pics of inside&outside as well as answering some questions( weight?
What you tow it with ? And how well you like it pros & cons)
If you could send me a private msg that would be great
My email
cahartz@hotmail.com



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[Bob Miller]

That it is working (still?) on electric is good news. The most common problem after storage for the propane side is spider webs and such in the flu tube in the center of the boiler tube. There is a "Turbulator" (fancy name for a thin strip of twisted metal) hanging down inside the tube from the top. Try removing that and cleaning out the tube with a bottle brush.


A secondary cause for the less than desired performance on electric may be a problem with your door seal.


If you look on-line there is a "Master Service Manual" for Dometic refrigerators that has more in-depth troubleshooting ideas.


Good luck and let us know what you find.

[Bob in Mb]

1] Lose the fan - it creates more heat than it helps
2] Clean the vent as suggested - propane is much hotter than the electrical heater and it seems it is not venting , creating more heat than cooling .
3] If this does not work you will need professional help .

[Joe Romas]

I use a small 12 volt electric computer fan inside our refrigerator.

It does two thing.
First it circulates the cold air evenly through the refrigerator and
Second by blowing onto the interior fins it seems to allow the refrigerator to cool better.

Don't ditch the fan, all modern home refrigerators have interior fans circulating the air.

I'm with the crowd recommending cleaning the chimney and jet, Dometic calls for that to be done yearly.
Wasps like the sweet smell of burning propane.

I also believe the mid 30ish is what your looking for. Our kitchen refrigerator defaults to 37f.

Joe

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Joe Romas

Don't ditch the fan, all modern home refrigerators have interior fans circulating the air.

I agree. I have a small battery operated fan in my fridge that does not generate any heat and it does help in keeping the air moving in the fridge. I have notice the fridge runs slightly warmer when the fan is not running.

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Carol H

I agree. I have a small battery operated fan in my fridge that does not generate any heat and it does help in keeping the air moving in the fridge. I have notice the fridge runs slightly warmer when the fan is not running.

Well.... Truth be told, it does generate some heat. All electrical devices do, (except superconductors). Just an unmeasurable amount of heat. But I am splitting hairs.

[Casita Greg]

How old is your fridge? How long since you last ran it? Have you checked to see that your refrigerant hasn't gone bye bye? Another common problem with these RV fridges is a lack of use, yes...a lack of use, which can cause all the crap in your coolant lines to settle out and cake up inside the low points of the cooling tubes. Some people have removed their fridges and turned them upside down and ran them that way for a few days, and they may start cooling again. But, and this is a big but, the curative effects are generally short lived and you'll find the cooling tubes will once again crud up and block the coolant flow. Not saying that this is for sure what your problem is, but it is a very common problem with these little units. This is exactly why I never turn my fridge off even though there is nothing in it. It keeps all that crud in solution and moving. Not running them is the worst thing you can do to them. YMMV

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

How old is your fridge? How long since you last ran it? Have you checked to see that your refrigerant hasn't gone bye bye?

The fact that the fridge cools when running on electrical power suggests that the absorption unit (these fridges don't have coolant or refrigerant) is working fine. Absorption requires a heat source to start the cycle. The problem here lies with using Propane as the heat source.

[Casita Greg]

Ah, but they do have a coolant in the tubing. Even though they are "passive systems," (i.e. no compressor, motor, etc,) they are still charged with ammonia.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

Ah, but they do have a coolant in the tubing. Even though they are "passive systems," (i.e. no compressor, motor, etc,) they are still charged with ammonia.

Yes, they contain a mixture of ammonia, hydrogen and water. Some manufacturers use other elements to increase the absorption process or to prevent corrosion. The mixture has a very low boiling point, in order to create the gas to start the cycle. None of these gases is a refrigerant or coolant (like Tetraflouroethane in a compressor based fridge) but they act as one because of their physical properties.

My original point was that the fridge is cooling when running on electricity. That is proof that the cooling unit's absorption cycle works. The problem occurs when the OP tries to run it on Propane.

[Casita Greg]

Robert, Thanks for the info, but I already know the components of the system and how it works, but just to clarify a point you made above, ammonia refrigeration systems are used all over the world and on a huge scale in almost every aspect of cooling and freezing throughout many industries. I'm not sure that I'm following where you're coming from when you say that it isn't a refrigerant or a coolant. It has been since about 1900. I'm not trying to be argumentative, just trying to understand what the difference is between a bonafide "refrigerant," like Freon for example, and another chemical that is being used for the same function. I may be wrong, but in my mind, if it is used as a refrigerant, then it is a refrigerant. (You know the one about if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc.)

After re-reading the OP, I see that it functions on electric, but not on propane. Sounds like he needs to have the burner serviced.