1961 Dometic (Pink) Lighting Questions

[NoMoSOBs]

I have an original Dometic in my new-to-me 1961 Tradewind. It appears to be in great shape and all there. I love the way it looks, and I'd really like to keep it. The refer probably hasn't been lit since Reagan was in office, and now that I've replaced the non-working stove and baked a pizza, I have a false sense of confidence, enough to attempt to get this gas-only marvel cooling again.

I downloaded lighting instructions for a '63 model, closest I could find, and it helped, but mine is a bit different. I have a drop-down door on the front with a gas valve, thermostat, a small push button, and a tube that leads to the pilot light. Here is what I did- turned on the gas, set the thermo to 4 (middle) pushed and held the button, and placed a lighter back under the thermocouple. (Prior to this I cleaned the orifices in the burner tube). The pilot lit but it seemed too high- too much pressure? I turned it off and fiddled with it a bit... tried again and let it go until the thermocouple kicked in and lit the burner. It looked fine- blue flame, no orange, but was making a lot of noise at the flame. I turned the gas valve down and the noise quieted down. I cautiously let it run for a while (with my hand on the shutoff) and it went maybe 5 minutes (with some encouraging gurgling sounds from the cooling unit) then clicked off and shut down. Not wanting to tempt fate TOO much, I left it alone to go ask the Airstream Guru's.

With the high pilot, I wondered about a regulator problem, but like I said, the stove works fine. Is this normal? I've had plenty of gas/elec refers but this is the only gas only one I've had, and it's older than I am. A few more Q's:

Aside from cleaning the burner orifice, the small roof vent, and removing anything from the floor under the unit, what else should I clean? Is it possible to remove anything to get up into the refer where the flame goes?

I'm assuming this long tube that goes to the pilot is for lighting from the front? It has a red cap on the end closest to the controls and a hole for lighting. I haven't figured out how to remove it without breaking it. Is there an adjustment for the pilot light?

Thanks!!!

[MarkR]

Hi and Welcome,
My '60 Dometic sounds less sophisticated than your '61, so I'm not going to be much help. Pictures may help attract more responses. Also, we'd love to see pictures of the trailer. You might want to add to the "Tradewind Registry" thread:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f116...try-27393.html

. . . and maybe upload a picture or two . . . (ok, i'll stop). And your serial number would be interesting to know.
MarkR
1960 Tradewind (240301 T)

[NoMoSOBs]

Thanks Mark. I'm in the process of uploading pics now. Here's the best I can do for now:








I'll add my info to the registry as well. In the meantime, here is a link to the pics with captions on photobucket:

http://s69.photobucket.com/albums/i6...pwr/Airstream/

[samb]

I, too, have a "Pink Elephant" like yours from my '61 Safari, which I will not be using. For me it is too large, too heavy, won't run on 120 volts, and does not have a freezer....only the colder section to make ice cubes. I like my ice cream while boondocking.

It runs fine and makes cold. If there are any parts you may need just ask, but as you know it is much too heavy to ship the whole thing. 62overlander has some of the interior parts, but the rest is available.
Sam

[NoMoSOBs]

Wow- thanks. If I can get this one safely running I'd love to keep it. I plan on doing some boondocking, so propane only is fine with me. I believe it had aluminum drip trays under the freezer section, and crisper bins, which are all missing. I may PM you if I get it working. Thanks for the generous offer. John

[LHall]

Originally Posted by NoMoSOBs

I have an original Dometic in my new-to-me 1961 Tradewind. It appears to be in great shape and all there. I love the way it looks, and I'd really like to keep it. The refer probably hasn't been lit since Reagan was in office, and now that I've replaced the non-working stove and baked a pizza, I have a false sense of confidence, enough to attempt to get this gas-only marvel cooling again.

I downloaded lighting instructions for a '63 model, closest I could find, and it helped, but mine is a bit different. I have a drop-down door on the front with a gas valve, thermostat, a small push button, and a tube that leads to the pilot light. Here is what I did- turned on the gas, set the thermo to 4 (middle) pushed and held the button, and placed a lighter back under the thermocouple. (Prior to this I cleaned the orifices in the burner tube). The pilot lit but it seemed too high- too much pressure? I turned it off and fiddled with it a bit... tried again and let it go until the thermocouple kicked in and lit the burner. It looked fine- blue flame, no orange, but was making a lot of noise at the flame. I turned the gas valve down and the noise quieted down. I cautiously let it run for a while (with my hand on the shutoff) and it went maybe 5 minutes (with some encouraging gurgling sounds from the cooling unit) then clicked off and shut down. Not wanting to tempt fate TOO much, I left it alone to go ask the Airstream Guru's.

With the high pilot, I wondered about a regulator problem, but like I said, the stove works fine. Is this normal? I've had plenty of gas/elec refers but this is the only gas only one I've had, and it's older than I am. A few more Q's:

Aside from cleaning the burner orifice, the small roof vent, and removing anything from the floor under the unit, what else should I clean? Is it possible to remove anything to get up into the refer where the flame goes?

I'm assuming this long tube that goes to the pilot is for lighting from the front? It has a red cap on the end closest to the controls and a hole for lighting. I haven't figured out how to remove it without breaking it. Is there an adjustment for the pilot light?

Thanks!!!

We have the same Fridge and it works well. It sounds to me like you need to adjust the flame to eliminate the noise. On the Brass burner is a locking ring that can be losened and the burner can then be adjusted up or down to fine tune the flame. You may have to play with the height of the flame a bit to find the spot where it is quiet and provides the proper blue flame. The pilot on ours is not adjustable other than moving the pilot tube closer or further from the diverter.

I am attaching a Service Manual that has two sections that cover the burner configuration in our Models. Ours is a M50 I believe yours to be the same. The applicable pages in the manual are Page 17 section 16 and Page 22 those are the manual pages and not the PDF pages. I found this manual on line a long time ago and I found it to be useful.

Hope this helps.

[NoMoSOBs]

I knew I came to the right place! LHall, that is exactly what I needed! My fridge is indeed an M50, and that service manual should allow me to get her going again. Thank you so much for posting that, and I'll work on it this weekend & post the results!

John