Casita refrigerator not cooling when level with propane

[LFitz]

Hi. We have 2004 casita liberty. Refrigerator not cooling on propane. We did clean out, replaced propane regulator and more. We are heading towards replacing the 3 way refrigerator with another. Any good resources for how to do it and where to get one? We understand we will likely have to put it through the back window as new units don’t fit through older casita doors. Thanks, Linda

[Casita Greg]

Before you "deep six" the fridge, have you turned it completely off and restarted it, (from the "eyebrow" buttons on the top.)

[LFitz]

Thank you—-sadly yes, did that.

[daveandalice]

There are currently a few threads on the Casita and Oliver Trailer forums about replacing the Dometic refrigerators with 12 volt compressor types.

They work much better in hot climates and cool down in only a few hours compared to a day or two like the older style absorption fridges.

Oliver installs Isotherms and a few owners installed NovaKools and Norcold.
The NovaKool R5810 fits well in the Casita and the slightly smaller Vitrifrigo is also installed.

Oliver, and Escape trailers now offer those as an option on their trailers.
I will be installing the NovaKool in our Casita eventually.


https://www.casitaforum.com/invboard...comment-347907

[thrifty bill]

+ 10 I would not be putting in another absorption fridge. I would go compressor fridge only. Much more efficient and able to cool even in HOT weather.

[LFitz]

Thank you

[HaroldB]

Had similar problem with our ’05. Had the DC controller board replaced and problem solved.

[tomfoote]

We had the same problem with our 2000 Casita Liberty. I cleaned the gas flue tube and flue baffle using a flexible nylon tube brush. The brush part was about one inch in diameter. I remember removing the burner so I could have access to the tube from the bottom. I wanted to remove the flue baffle from the top, but the baffle was too long and I did not want to bend the wire that the baffle was welded to. Also, it was very tricky to unhook the wire from the tube at the top.

At any rate, I vacuumed and used compressed air also in the cleaning process, and the Dometic fridge now cools with propane and the freezer works too. I don't know if there was a spider living in the tube or if it just was an accumulation of stuff, but it works well now.

[Herb Sutton]

I have experienced bugs clogging up the burner. Simple clean out cured it.

[Bill L in PA]

Hi, Linda, I had a Dometic three-way fridge which quit working a few years ago. Although this often happens because of dirt and blocked flues etc. mine stopped working because of a leak in the absorption coil. If you are looking at the back of the unit and see a yellow powdery residue around the coils and fridge compartment, or smell ammonia, that means that your coils have sprung a leak and the ammonia solution is dripping out. Generally this means that the coils are shot and you need to either get a new coil system (expensive) or a whole new fridge (very expensive.)

Not wanting to spend money on an old fridge or 1400.00 bucks or so on a new one, I pulled my old Dometic, revamped the space it was in and bought an Iceco JP40 compressor cooler/freezer and installed a slide out mounting unit in the old Dometic space. It is highly efficient, and I can easily keep it running for a week using my battery and solar panels. I also like this cooler because it is nice to be able to move it from inside the trailer to the outside, or put it in my car if I need to go to the store and keep something cold (particularly on these brutally hot days we are currently having in the northeast). They are expensive, but high quality and half the price of installing a new, less efficient, standard fridge.

Just for comparison I looked up the going cost of both types of units. The JP40 is now selling for 529.00 and the cost of a new absorption fridge is currently 1529.00 at Camping World. Additionally, a 35 quart Yeti cooler with no ability to chill things outside of holding ice costs nearly 300.00. So the Iceco is a pretty good bargain.

All this being said, I hope that it is just some dirt somewhere!

Bill

[Meadowlark]

HOW in the world do you remove the Dometic? It won't fit through the door of my Casita, will it?

[Bill L in PA]

Hi, Linda, As a Scamp owner I am not sure of the exact dimensions of your refrigerator or your door. However, although a VERY tight fit I was able to remove my fridge by taking off the refrigerator door and all the trim around the fridge and carefully removing the screen door jambs, which are wood in my trailer. Although it may not be helpful to you, here is one of the videos that I used to figure out how to remove the fridge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LERRoqjcf1c

Additionally, I found a youtube video where a man is actually removing a fridge from a casita. It does not show the exact moment the fridge is moved out the door, but you might find this helpful (and it also shows the yellow ammonia that is indicative of a bad absorption unit):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZUvnl0KQ70

Good luck!

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by Meadowlark

HOW in the world do you remove the Dometic? It won't fit through the door of my Casita, will it?

Most of them, (at least the 17 footers anyway,) need to bring in and take out fridges through the rear window opening, which of course requires that the window is pulled for access.

[Meadowlark]

Sigh. Through the back window...okay. I think I'd have the RV shop do it, I can't see myself messing with re installing both a fridge AND a window.


And the music is maddening. I don't know why You Tubers feel the need to add background music to what, to me, is an intensely technical process.



THanks, all.

[Perryb67]

In the 90's we had a 21' Aerolite with an absorption fridge. It was stored at an angle and we forgot to shut off the fridge and battery when moved to storage. The battery died, so we purchased a new battery, but the fridge would still not cool. We were ready to buy a new fridge when a friend asked if we had drove down the road with the fridge. We drove down a gravel, washboard road for about a 1/2 - 1 hour, went home, started the fridge. The next morning the fridge was cold and worked great for the next year we owned it.

I've occasionally read this trick on other forums. Before giving up on the fridge find a washboard road and drive on that road for 1/2 to 1 hour. It might work.

Food for thought,

Perry

[justa25thTA]

Originally Posted by Meadowlark

Sigh. Through the back window...okay. I think I'd have the RV shop do it, I can't see myself messing with re installing both a fridge AND a window.


And the music is maddening. I don't know why You Tubers feel the need to add background music to what, to me, is an intensely technical process.



THanks, all.

Although I haven't tried it, it doesn't look to be that hard to do. I have seen some real slipshod work, and if anybody is going to do a poor job, I can do it cheaper than anybody!

[CharlesinGA]

My travel buddy's fridge was not working on gas when we went to Linville Falls, NC. It worked fine at home on 120v. He got the generator out and ran it and sure enough the fridge was working fine within an hour.

When he got home he started investigating. The trailer didn't have bug screens and was in Daytona Beach when he bought it a couple of years earlier. The diffuser is a spiral metal piece that is dropped down in the chimney. That is the metal bail the mud is caked over in one pic. He could not get it out any other way but to pull the fridge, so he built a stand and disconnected it and slid it out. Pics tell the story.

I posted pics of bug screens and information in THIS THREAD

Charles

[Meadowlark]

We've been on the road so I've late to this topic. THose are mud dauber nests..a wasp that builds a nest out of mud for her larvae. I've never seen so many in one place, ever! Fortunately, mud dauber wasps are extremely docile...for wasps, that is. I don't think I've ever heard of someone being stung by one, but still..all that mud is undoubtedly the cause of the problems with the fridge.

[Gerry]

Originally Posted by LFitz

Hi. We have 2004 casita liberty. Refrigerator not cooling on propane. We did clean out, replaced propane regulator and more. We are heading towards replacing the 3 way refrigerator with another. Any good resources for how to do it and where to get one? We understand we will likely have to put it through the back window as new units don’t fit through older casita doors. Thanks, Linda

While Camping back on our cross country trip in 2019 my fridge wasn't working at all on propane, with the help of another while at Grand Canyon Camping area, we cleaned the chimney of soot and it worked fine after that ... a few weeks ago the fridge exhast fumes were noticabley stron and I said "HMMM needs another cleaning" and sure enough the next weekend it stopped working again on propane .... cleaned chimney again and it works just fine again!

[Chilliwack Murray]

Since there are no moving parts or seals to fail there is little to go wrong with an absorption fridge that isn't a simple fix apart from rusting through and losing it's refrigerant. If the ammonia refrigerant has leaked its no longer a home repair.

There are only a few things to check and the older manuals give a good description of troubleshooting and repair, the newer ones not so much.

If it's not cooling, is the chimney getting hot? If not, check that source - gas, 120V or 12V. 120V and 12V use a thermostat and turn on and off, gas on the older models is just a continuous flame, the temperature control adjusts the height of the flame and if the burner becomes even slightly blocked there will be insufficient heat to circulate the refrigerant... remember there is almost zero pressure at this stage so any restriction has a big impact.

Newer fridges use a control board and igniter to light the flame only when required so if there is no heat on LP you need to check if it's lighting.

If the chimney gets hot, check for blockages as others mentioned - it needs to be clean and allow the heat to rise - this is the most common reason I've seen for these fridges to perform poorly. Its also very important is the ventilation, the lower and upper vents need to be clear to allow the hot air to rise and pull in cooler air below.

If all this is good and it still doesn't cool, it's likely the refrigerant has puddled or collected somewhere in the system which happens if the fridge is operated when not level. The fix for that is pretty simple - take the fridge out, lay it on its side for several hours, then on its roof, then on the other side and finally back upright. Let it site a few more hours and the refrigerant should be back where it belongs and it should work again.

I've done this once with our 1974 Trillium fridge and apart from changing the gas pilot capillary a few years ago its only ever required cleaning and a very light coat of paint on the coils to keep it working great. It will freeze in the main compartment in 28C weather on gas or 120V if set to max. 12VDC will keep it cold when driving but not much more.