Refrigerator repair

[seajaycecil@yahoo.com]

http://www.rvmobile.com/

I found this sight while I was searching for info to try to fix my refrigerator. I worked fine on 110 volts but it would not cool on gas. I found this out the hard way when we parked the Pace in front of the house to hook it up to the trailer with Willas car on it. Willa put steaks (100.00 worth) in the freezer and they started getting soft. Among other things that has prevented us from leaving was the fact that the refrigerator would not run on gas. I took the coach down to Bumgarners RV and tanning salon of Hudson NC for repairs . I called ahead and they said they had a ''tech'' that could fix the problem. They said he was ''real good'' with stuff like this. I took the coach down and left it. I explained that it worked fine on 110 but it would not work on ''gas''. I went back that evening when they called and said it was ''ready''...... Goober had it pluged into the wall and the refrigerator was cold as ice. It was running on 110 volts. I told Goober that the problem was that it would not run on gas. He gave me a blank look. ''Well if it runs on 110 volts it should run on ''gas''. '' We switched it over to gas and waited. The temp in the crisper started rising. Goober said ''You probably got some insulation that has fell down over the cooling coil and you may need to put a fan inside the cooling chamber and he would have to take the refrigerator our of the cabinet and look behind it and maybe install one of those ''vent fans'' behind the refrigerator.''' DUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.. ''ITS WORKING ON 110 VOLTS GOOBER....... CHECK OUT THE GAS SYSTEM PLEASE''....''I'll check it tomorrow morning .. He had spent the complete day with it pluged into shore power and assumed that it would work on gas. This guy was smarter than any doorknob I have ever seen. I went down this morning and got the van and paid the attendant 85 dollars for nothing ...... That is their minimum service charge if they drool on your coach.

I went to the above link and downloaded info and fixed the thing my self. It took about an hour and now I can do one in about 30 minutes because I know what to reach for. Most of the time if your refrigerator will work on 110 and not work on gas the problem is in the gas burner. The most likely culprit is the gas nozzle ...... Believe it or not they can become partially clogged. Take the nozzle off and soak it in alcohol and swab the inside out with a Qtip. DO NOT USE A WIRE OR ANYTHING IN THE OPENING IN THE END OF THE NOZZLE. Just soak it and swab it out and put it back on and usually this will solve your problem. Go to this link and get all the information you ever need for a refrigerator.

If you use this information you will oww me ten cents and you can pay me the next time you see me and if you use it and it dont work for you I NEVER KNEW YOU..........

Seajay the sailor man ....

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS AND BRING THEM HOME SAFE ........

[Guest 2driftrs]

Seajay, I didn't notice a brand name, but if it's a Norcold, you can download a service manual from their website (norcold.com). Being an NC resident, I have often experienced the little NC spiders making webs in the gas nozzle and burner area, so I know exactly where you're coming from.

For those of you who might be experiencing problems with cooling on AC and gas, I found out that my Norcold fridge was never properly ventilated when installed at the factory. The ventilation of these units is critical, and Norcold goes to great lengths discussing the topic. We had excessive clearance between the back of the unit and the back wall. This allows hot air to recirculate so the cooling plates (the ones at the top near the roof vent) don't get enough air passing over them to work like they should. If you're having intermittent problems, this might be a possible cause.

We're in the process of replacing our 10 year old unit now (leaks), and we're building a baffle system like Norcold recommends to direct the airflow.

[tbutler]

Thanks for the tip to the web site. Our refrigerator has started limping when running on gas. Guess I'll have to dig in and clean the nozzle for starters. Ours works fine on electric, holds a temperature around 39 degrees in the refrigerator and keeps the ice cream nice and solid in the freezer!

[wolfe10]

Yes, as we have discussed several times, a complete "Burner Area Tune-up" is REQUIRED Preventive Maintenance for any absorption refrigerator.

It needs to be done annually or sooner if the refrigerator is not performing properly on propane.

Only after doing the complete tune-up should you look at other causes of poor performance on propane.

Brett Wolfe

[Guest 2driftrs]

In case anyone is interested, we just completed replacement of our 10 year old Norcold N821 with a new Norcold N841. As we mentioned earlier, ventilation is critical. We lined the enclosure in several spots with thin galvanized sheet to direct airflow. Worked like a charm. The new unit runs without any booster fans, at a temp setting of 3, zero degrees in the freezer and 35-38 in the fridge.

What boggles my mind is why Norcold, if ventilation is so critical, doesn't build the unit with an enclosure around the coils right from the factory?

[wolfe10]

In case anyone is interested, we just completed replacement of our 10 year old Norcold N821 with a new Norcold N841. As we mentioned earlier, ventilation is critical. We lined the enclosure in several spots with thin galvanized sheet to direct airflow. Worked like a charm. The new unit runs without any booster fans, at a temp setting of 3, zero degrees in the freezer and 35-38 in the fridge.

What boggles my mind is why Norcold, if ventilation is so critical, doesn't build the unit with an enclosure around the coils right from the factory?

Good thought. Many marginal refrigerator performance issues ARE related to air flow over the cooling unit.

That would make them more efficient in most applications, as many RV manufacturers play "loose" with the refrigerator ventilation specs, BUT:

1. It would make them more expensive.

2. It would make their external dimensions larger, so more difficult to get in and out when retro-fitting in existing coaches and would likely make some existing refrigerator areas too small for the "deeper" dimensions.

3. The enclosures should be as light as possible, since their only job is routing air driven by convection or at most two small fans-- so easily damaged in shipping or installation if fit to the heavy refrigerator.

And one of the biggest "NO-NO's" is a gap at the top of the refrigerator. Since RV manufacturers use different designs for the height of the refrigerator space and whether in coach or slide, etc. I can't see how the refrigerator manufacturer could know whether to make the "above the refrigerator" panel 1" OR 10".

In short, IMO, the RV makers need to assume more responsibility for adhering to appliance manufacturer specs. And many do.

Brett Wolfe