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Fridge not hot enough on gas

3K views 23 replies 16 participants last post by  rayc 
#1 ·
Just back from 2 weeks in france,had the fridge going at home before we set off all working ok ,
When the weather got a bit warmer and we wasn't on HU the fridge started to defrost when on gas, the gas was on, the pilot light was on it was hot at flue,so just to test out if it would work ok on HU we went to a site and plunged in and the fridge started to get colder again, any ideas.

Thanks Dennis
 
#3 ·
Going from past experience, I know the gas jet and the chimney part of the burner do get clogged up with soot and rust over time. This stops the flame burning properly and thus it doesn't heat the refrigerant up enough to make the fridge run efficiently. I had similar problems with mine. It was hard to light the gas and didn't get cold enough. I fitted a new jet (they recommend you don't clean out the old one as it might make the jet too big) and cleaned the chimney out, then everything was fine.​
 
#4 ·
Any fridge where the external inside outside temperature is high is going to struggle, having the fridge serviced occasionaly will keep it in top condition for times where there is higher than average temperature.. How many on here can say they have had their fridge serviced in the past, then complain when it stops working..

I will be the first to put my hand up.:frown2:... It get's serviced now:wink2:

ray.
 
#5 ·
Thanks all, only had this Mh 5 weeks so this was the first time of trying it out,I know you will say take it back to the dealer, but if I can sort it for a reasonable cost it will save me a 350 mile round trip, just put it on test on gas, it's very hot at the moment so we'll see.
Thanks again. Dennis
 
#6 ·
Another thing woman do is overload it especially when abroad, they think it's like the fridge at home..

Keep room for cool air to circulate round the fridge contents.:wink2:

ray.
 
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#7 ·
I have found every year or two I have to get an air compressor in to clear all the dust and rust from the burner as its sometimes difficult to light. As said could be the same thing. It will struggle if the temp gets over 30c and the sun is on the fridge side of the van but generally its pretty good and its 19 years old. Might just need a clean out. How old is it?
 
#9 ·
What a lot of people do is fit a little 12 volt fan in the void space at the back of the fridge, often with a heat sensor switch, that helsp to extract the hot air from the top vent rather than just relying on the hot air rising via convection.

I fitted a double fan kit about three years ago, and since then the fridge has worked much better on gas in the hot weather (it gets bloody hot here in Spain!), and I'm sure I'm using less gas then before. We almost never go onto sites, so we're on 12 volt when driving and gas when stopped, for perhaps 2 or 3 months at a time each time we go off touring.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for all the good advice, our current problem is that the safety burner will light if using a lighter but just clicks on the spark, it has just been serviced which makes me cautious about going back......

how easy is it to adjust the spark position as it must be in the wrong place slightly...

IU looked at this thread since the title says fridge does not get HOT enough which made me really curious, in fact it sounds like it is not getting COLD enough.....

Dave
 
#11 ·
We had this problem with a new Autotrail Dometic fridge a couple of years ago. I fitted a double 12 v fan to improve airflow and that improved matters a lot .
I now have a new van with a new high efficiency Dometic fridge( that's what it says anyway) . Looking forward to testing it out in a couple of weeks .
 
#12 ·
Fitting fans to draw out hot air from the top vent is a good cheap mod, and an internal one isn't the worst idea, tiny wires come in through the drain hole in the back, via a switch, manual or thermostatic.
 
#13 ·
I had exactly the same problem on gas only and assumed the fridge needed more ventilation so had the 12 volt fan kit fitted in the flue.This made no difference as it was the gas burner that was causing the problem.Had that replaced and the fridge is like new again.An added bonus is that I now have an extra fan which will be useful in the recent very hot weather.
 
#16 ·
Thanks all, it's all on test at the moment, yes I should have said not cold enough( dave must be good being a retired and still able to Tell people off. �� van is a 2010 dethlefs esprit as I said I have only had it 4 weeks, has any one got any pics of a fan set up on their fridge, and also the bits I will need to do such a job, thanks all again. Dennis
 
#18 ·
Thanks all, it's all on test at the moment, yes I should have said not cold enough( dave must be good being a retired and still able to Tell people off. �� van is a 2010 dethlefs esprit as I said I have only had it 4 weeks, has any one got any pics of a fan set up on their fridge, and also the bits I will need to do such a job, thanks all again. Dennis
Cheapo puter fans from ebay 2 watts will be enough, mine are 90mm.



 
#17 ·
We had a spider's nest restricting the air to the gas burner, cleaned that out and it was fine.

If the fridge works better on 240V then there is a gas burner problem, the heat input is much higher on gas than on electric, something like 160W against 100W on 240V or 12V.

The gas is regulated by the thermostat which varies the gas flame according to how cold the fridge insides are.

Absorbtion fridges use a heat source to make the refrigerant circulate, they take an hour or so to start working but with only the thermostat to go wrong they are pretty reliable.

Extraction fans for the area round the fridge and cooker/oven are a good idea and well worth fitting.

Peter
 
#21 ·
Kev - I like your fan set-up!!!

Have been thinking about doing this since we got back from Sweden. How have you wired yours in? Separate switch?

Cheers
Carl
Yes Carl, I just spurred of the locker lights supply to a simple round switch for mine, the draw is very little and the lights are very seldom on except at night.

I did try mounting them direct to the top vent frame, but it was too fiddly, so they're on 40mm wide piece of 5mm ply held to the ply with tiny cable ties.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12v-SATA-...t=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item4867741bb5
 
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