17' Series Fridge service/repair Mt Gambier?

[Roadhouse]

Hey all, popped the dometic 3 way fridge on gas as we are free camping and has been working fine for a couple of weeks or so but as of yesterday can smell some LPG gas in the van near the fridge. Fridge temp climbing from 5 deg this morning to around 11 now. Hot day (36 deg) but now down to 24 but fridge temp still rising. Gas is 3/4 full.

need to get this looked at ASAP so can anyone recommend a place to go in or around Mt Gambier SA?

 

[mikerezny]

Could you please post the model number of the fridge? Specifically, is it a manual or AES 3-way?

Are all of your other gas appliances: stove, HWS are functioning correctly?

 

[Roadhouse]

Looks like RM 2553.
HWS working fine currently and fridge was ok up until today.
Have van well ventilated but presume having gas leak isn’t ideal!

 

[mikerezny]

Ok, so it is a manual fridge. When was the last time you saw the needle on the front in the green?
If you have been trying to light the fridge, you can sometimes get a small whiff of gas until the flame is lit.
But, if you have not been trying to light the fridge for 10mins or so, you should not smell any gas.
If you look under you van you will see a stop cock for turning the gas off to your fridge.
I would turn that off and check that after 10 minutes or so you no longer smell any gas. If you do, you have a gas leak elsewhere and it would be prudent to turn the gas off at the cylinder until you can get a gas technician to find the cause of the leak and repair it.
Have you tried the pub, servos, in Mount Gambier to find someone local to look at it?

 

[mikerezny]

Here is a copy of the manual for this fridge:

 

[Drover]

Connection could have come loose or pipe split, as @mikerezny said shut off the fridge gas tap....

The million dollar question, once gas turned off could you still smell the leak ??? very strong at rear of fridge ???? Gas leak or Cats pee, very similar one being LPG, the other being an ammonia leak meaning the the fridge has sprung a coolant leak........... easy to test if it works on 240 its not the ammonia leak and thats only if it chills down.

Ask at the Jayco place in Mt Gambier..

 

[Roadhouse]

Getting it looked at by a gas plumber on Thursday in Mt Gambier.

Fridge is on and working ok now it seems (been out all arvo and left it on to see if it would cool down) and there is no smell of gas in the van which is odd.

fridge temp is down to 7 degs now from 11 degs earlier in the day so will monitor overnight. Once again no smell of gas currently.

 

[Roadhouse]

Connection could have come loose or pipe split, as @mikerezny said shut off the fridge gas tap....

The million dollar question, once gas turned off could you still smell the leak ??? very strong at rear of fridge ???? Gas leak or Cats pee, very similar one being LPG, the other being an ammonia leak meaning the the fridge has sprung a coolant leak........... easy to test if it works on 240 its not the ammonia leak and thats only if it chills down.

Ask at the Jayco place in Mt Gambier..

Was def LPG as far as my snoz could tell. Sniffed some LPG over the years when connecting bbq to bottle etc and was same smell.

Big Trevs Gas and Plumbing to the rescue on Thursday.

 

[Roadhouse]

Ok, so it is a manual fridge. When was the last time you saw the needle on the front in the green?
If you have been trying to light the fridge, you can sometimes get a small whiff of gas until the flame is lit.
But, if you have not been trying to light the fridge for 10mins or so, you should not smell any gas.
If you look under you van you will see a stop cock for turning the gas off to your fridge.
I would turn that off and check that after 10 minutes or so you no longer smell any gas. If you do, you have a gas leak elsewhere and it would be prudent to turn the gas off at the cylinder until you can get a gas technician to find the cause of the leak and repair it.
Have you tried the pub, servos, in Mount Gambier to find someone local to look at it?

Thanks mate. Needle has always been on black line between white and green sections when it’s on and worked fine no issue. Lights up straight away.
Getting it looked at Thursday.

 

[Drover]

Gas leak cheaper than ammonia leak fix anyway, so long as no gas smell now with tap turned off at least you know the leak is somewhere between tap and fridge.... at least with the smell the fridge stopped working which help to narrow things down, had a leak, took ages to find it was the gas bayonet fitting for the gas stove outside......

 

[Roadhouse]

Righto went to Big Trevs Gas and Plumbing at Millecent and he cleaned the burner and the flue and all sorted.

Wasn’t burning clean so some unburnt gas getting through or whatever.

 

[Drover]

Gee you must have a sensitive snoz for sure as they don't use a lot but if you could smell it in van that means your fridge isn't sealed in place properly or you may opening for cables and such at the back which will allow gas and dust inside.......... on my 14.44 I had to seal and insulate my fridge and plug up holes for wiring as it was never done from new, the bench would get very hot with fridge on as hot air was circulating in cupboards, I have a LPG detector in the cupboard next to my fridge where cables and gas line enter the fridge cavity, it also is below the stove so any leaks it will scream the house down.

Great stuff that its all sorted.....

 

[Roadhouse]

Spoke too soon

left it on all day and came back and fridge is at 9.6 degrees (around 20 degs outside temp) and a SLIGHT smell of gas in the van. Hardly any smell though, just a whiff.

Gas bottle 3/4 full, HWS working fine.

we are back on grid on Saturday so will check out the fridge on 240v to see if it is a fridge issue or a fuel delivery issue.

Where can I get an LPG detector? Can only find carbon monoxide detectors (which I have).

 

[Drover]

Bum................................................ The burner needs to be at temp or the gas valve will shut off, have you felt the burner vent to see if the burner is actually operating at all ?
My thought would be a bad connection somewhere between the burner and where the gas line connects to the fridge, since on this model the gas line runs to behind the control panel then to the rear of the fridge I would test the connection where the gas line connects to the burner for a leak, remove the lower vent and spray the connection, with gas turned on, with a spray bottle of dish washing liquid and water, spray around the fitting or fittings, if you see a stream of bubbles then you know its leaking, just like testing a leaky push bike tyre ......

The other thing which I found recently on sons van when he said it was stinky, was the top of the flu had fallen off so the burner fumes weren't directed outside but floated around behind fridge and it wasn't working as well as usual, we fixed it and he has since said its working well now...... so have alook at the exhaust vent on the side if theres a bit of chimmney poking out its probably okay.... if none of those then more than likely the connection behind the control panel.

I have one of these LPG available from most RV shops, think I bought min eyears back at Jayco in Canberra........... hard wired into van 12v supply and it sits at the bottom of the cupboard where fridge and stove gas valves are and if stove leaks the gas will fall on top of it..........

 

[Boots in Action]

Thanks mate. Needle has always been on black line between white and green sections when it’s on and worked fine no issue. Lights up straight away.
Getting it looked at Thursday.

Hi @Roadhouse , if the needle is only on the line between white and green, that is not a satisfactory proper position. The needle should be well into the green area. If not, it indicates insufficient heat on the thermo-couple, because it is either dirty/fouled tip or not properly in full gas flame. The thermo-couple is what keeps the gas flame working if there is sufficient heat, or automatically turns gas off if flame goes out, or insufficient heat is maintained onto tip of thermo-couple. Heat from the gas onto the thermo-couple produces a small electrical current approx 20 to 30ma, just enough to operate needle indicator.

Had a situation where my fridge would light okay and run for a while - about 15 to 20 minutes and the gas would turn off. Noticed that needle indication was lower each time, just a little into the green area. Cleaned end of thermo-couple which was in the proper position in the gas flame, but still problem persisted. Ended up replacing thermo-couple AND upgrading the wiring between end of thermo-couple at control panel and indicator meter and earth point with much, much heavier cable as the thin existing cable causes voltage drop and affects operation of indicator. Since that time, fridge lights easily, flame does not go out AND indicator now goes nearly right across to end of green portion. Interestingly enough, I discovered an upgrade on the web site that increases the thickness of wiring from thermo-couple to the meter and to the earth point to replace earlier model problems with Dometic fridges. However, my fridge is a Thetford, but the same situation can arise.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WITH INSUFFICIENT GAS OR ELECTRICAL KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE!!! You also need a good multimeter to measure the small current generated by the gas flame in the thermo-couple.

 

[Boots in Action]

Hi @Roadhouse , if the needle is only on the line between white and green, that is not a satisfactory proper position. The needle should be well into the green area. If not, it indicates insufficient heat on the thermo-couple, because it is either dirty/fouled tip or not properly in full gas flame. The thermo-couple is what keeps the gas flame working if there is sufficient heat, or automatically turns gas off if flame goes out, or insufficient heat is maintained onto tip of thermo-couple. Heat from the gas onto the thermo-couple produces a small electrical current approx 20 to 30ma, just enough to operate needle indicator.

Had a situation where my fridge would light okay and run for a while - about 15 to 20 minutes and the gas would turn off. Noticed that needle indication was lower each time, just a little into the green area. Cleaned end of thermo-couple which was in the proper position in the gas flame, but still problem persisted. Ended up replacing thermo-couple AND upgrading the wiring between end of thermo-couple at control panel and indicator meter and earth point with much, much heavier cable as the thin existing cable causes voltage drop and affects operation of indicator. Since that time, fridge lights easily, flame does not go out AND indicator now goes nearly right across to end of green portion. Interestingly enough, I discovered an upgrade on the web site that increases the thickness of wiring from thermo-couple to the meter and to the earth point to replace earlier model problems with Dometic fridges. However, my fridge is a Thetford, but the same situation can arise.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WITH INSUFFICIENT GAS OR ELECTRICAL KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE!!! You also need a good multimeter to measure the small current generated by the gas flame in the thermo-couple.

@Roadhouse , and that is not all!! The thermo-couple is actually connected both mechanically and electrically to the "Interupter", a small brass piece that has a tiny coil inside it. When there is sufficient current from the thermo-couple, this coil is energised and opens and holds the valve in the gas regulator open. If there is insufficient current to keep coil energised, the gas valve cannot be held open and it closes, turning off the gas at the burner. The flame meter is connected across this valve and indicates that burner has lit and is on and that there is sufficient current to hold valve open. That is why with manual controlled fridges, you must hold in the gas control button to keep valve open until there is sufficient current from thermo-couple to hold gas valve open and flame meter indicates gas lit. Then when you release the gas control, flame will stay lit and you are away!! Having difficulty in understanding this complicated piece of safety gear?? I don't blame you , as it was all "chinese" to me until I did a lot of research to fix my problem. Thank goodness it is all good now, I hope I do not have to do it again!!! I trust this info is useful to any member who has similar problem and has the "guts" to fix it themselves.

 

[Drover]

Hey Booties, did you smell gas though with your dramas ???? as I think that is a central point, smelling gas while there's a flame is suss to me as points to a minor leak earlier on between the gas shut off valve and the selector................ have always found if thermo couple plays up then no flame but no gas smell .................

 

[Boots in Action]

Hey Booties, did you smell gas though with your dramas ???? as I think that is a central point, smelling gas while there's a flame is suss to me as points to a minor leak earlier on between the gas shut off valve and the selector................ have always found if thermo couple plays up then no flame but no gas smell .................

Correct @Drover ! There was never ANY smell of leaking gas at any time. Just the infuriating fridge turning off for no apparent reason after varying times of operation. First time might be after 20 to 30 minutes minutes or more, and each time thereafter, after being re-lit, operating times became less and less until down to only 5 minutes!!! However, the auto gas valve cut-out always worked, so never any unburnt gas floating around and no pilot flame on all the time either to ignite gas!! . Flame indicator meter needle was only just into the green area when fridge was working before repairs/upgrading completed.
If flame goes out, unit must be relit using piezo spark for gas ignition while gas valve safety button held in. . The gas shut off valve on my fridge (manual operation, not AES type or auto re-start) is actually part of the cut-out valve system. It does not appear to have any connection with the selector switch for gas, 240v or 12v operation. Sounds to me like a possible gas leak between the gas input line AFTER the cut-off valve and the burner itself, including a poor connection near gas jet and burner. Could also be a bad/stripped connection on gas inlet line or the gas tap near burner.

 

[Drover]

Yep, thats what i was thinking............................

 

[Roadhouse]

Thanks for the knowledgeable replies guys. Much appreciated as always.

Ok so had a couple days on 240v (oh the joy!!!) and fridge was working fine. Nice and level too which I know helps.

The last 2 days has been back onto gas and mixed to poor results.

First day van was pretty level side to side but a bit worse front to back (which is side to side for the fridge as it is on side wall of van).

Fridge was around 5 to 7 degrees, maybe a little higher. Slight smell of gas still.

Woke up and fridge was around 9 degs. Moved van today to get it perfectly level front to back and not too bad side to side (but could be better) to see if that would fix. Got a new bottle of gas.

When I turned it on it was 10.4 degs and is now 14.5 degs 5 hours later. Turned off gas, had a little cry.

Sprayed all fittings and pipe work from bottle to regulator to valves and pipes all the way to where it goes up through floor and no leaks. So has to be somewhere between control panel and burner perhaps. Gas smell as soon as fridge controls turned on.

I had a read of some info from previous posts here and I felt the boiler and it was hot but no heat on absorber, indicating no circulation.

So maybe 2 issues now - blockage and gas leak.

getting things fixed on the road and in a timely manner is the pits. Long weekend upon us and 8 days on Kangaroo island immediately after.

might have to go powers site on KI and try get fixed near Adelaide when we are back on mainland.

Any remedies to fix blockage of the absorber?