My fridge in the 73 Safari 23' is not cooling. I should say that on gas or electric the freezer chills excellent but the refridgerator will not. I tried cleaning the gas regulator with no luck. The flue is clean no obstructions The fridge is like the trailer, great shape for its age. Any suggestions appreciated.
Welcome to the forums! It sounds like maybe the door gasket is not sealing. Most of the cold is in the freezer, which indicates the colling unit is functioning. Do you know how to check your gasket with a sheet of newspaper?
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It was working fine on a trip last summer, and overnight the fridge shut down. If it wasn't for the freezer we would have lost the food. To answer your question about the seal test, no.
Take a look at this manual from Dometic. It may not exactly cover your specific unit but they all operate basically the same way so the information is applicable.
I would attach it here but the size is too big so download the file.
Take a dollar bill (That's a $100 bill for all of the Prevost owners out there) and close the door on it. Pull out the bill, and it should have a good amount of resistance. Repeat all around the door frame to see if you have a spot that is not closing tightly.
Absorption refrigerators do not have a great deal of cooling power and a small leak will drain most of the cold air from the fridge. Overlander 63 is correct. If the freezer is properly cold, the unit is working within spec. (get a freezer thermometer tot measure the temp anyway).
Welcome to the forums. You say the flue is clean but the symptom you give is one for a dirty flue. Worth a look. With the burner operating hold your hand on the flue, it should be very hot now move your hand up the flue and it should still be very hot. If it is cool the flue needs to be cleaned. The flue should have even heat all the way to the top.
Good luck to you.
Overlander 63 is correct. If the freezer is properly cold, the unit is working within spec. (get a freezer thermometer to measure the temp anyway).
Well, that's not exactly true. Depending on a few factors the freezer can be nice and cold while the fridge barely gets cool. It's in the manual I mentioned above. We are replacing our unit because the freezer does get real cold but the fridge at best is only cool and our seals are tight. our flue is clean (I blew that out with compressed air and sucked with a vacuum).
The manual tells you how to analyze the whole unit operation. Also, there are many threads on this topic and many others have the same problem. You may have to poke around a little but the info is there.
[quoteWe are replacing our unit because the freezer does get real cold but the fridge at best is only cool and our seals are tight. our flue is clean (I blew that out with compressed air and sucked with a vacuum).
The operation of these things is very simple. True you could blow air into the flue and suck it out with a vacuum but still have it clogged. The crud sticks like it is welded, which it is by heat. You need to ream it out and as I posted above, when the burner is operating make certain the flue is the same temperature all the way up and down. Now if the flue does happen to be clean maybe the fridge needs a good burping. Turn it upside down and let it sit for a few hours and then turn it right side again and let it sit at least 24 hours. Turn it back on and see if you are getting even cooling. I still am betting on the flue.
The newspaper test is pretty much as Lew describes, just using a sheet of newspaper instaed of a dollar bill. If the newspaper is hard to pull out, or tears when you pull it, the gasket is good. The bottom gasket seems to be worst as far as not sealing.
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Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
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We put in a new Dometic frig 3 years ago when we restored and modernized our Globe Trotter. To this day, after numerous service visits it still operates incorrectly. Running on LP ( LP lit with match no electronics, boards etc), everything within specs, it cools to the dialed temperature, and shuts down, no flame. Or, operating according to specs and the frig part gets as cold as 16 degrees and freezes everything like a freezer. The freezer works fine. On shore electric 110 power, everything works flawlessly, frig and freezer. NO one can find a problem, including Dometic. Any ideas. All parts involved are perfect they say!
We put in a new Dometic frig 3 years ago when we restored and modernized our Globe Trotter. To this day, after numerous service visits it still operates incorrectly. Running on LP ( LP lit with match no electronics, boards etc), everything within specs, it cools to the dialed temperature, and shuts down, no flame. Or, operating according to specs and the frig part gets as cold as 16 degrees and freezes everything like a freezer. The freezer works fine. On shore electric 110 power, everything works flawlessly, frig and freezer. NO one can find a problem, including Dometic. Any ideas. All parts involved are perfect they say!
Hmm, isn't there something (thermocouple) that keeps the gas open when the flame is on, and turns the gas off when the flame goes out?... Maybe it isn't close enough to the pilot, and when the flame is reduced after reaching temp, the sensor thinks the flame is out, and shuts off the gas.
It sounds like it may be either that, or the thermostat may be keeping the flame too high for too long, then shutting down the flame entirely.
__________________
Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
AIR#2611
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