Help-Dometic 3 way fridge not starting on LP

[JeffofCT]

I have a 2011 22' Sport FB with a 3-way dometic fridge. I'm into my third week of ownership and while I spent 4 hours inspecting it prior to purchase---it's possible this function does not work. This is our 2nd camping trip. Unlike last time, we are dry camping this trip. LP function reads a display error on the front of the fridge. We have gas to the other appliances such as the stove and furnace (which both work).

I've read the troubleshooting and operation instructions. I've cycled the LP Mode on/off several times, giving 30 seconds (or more) between attempts.

Manual references a LP shutoff valve for the dometic but I do not see one. Where should I be looking?

Manual suggests the burner needs cleaned 2-3 times per year. Guess, I'll look for a youtube on this.

Additional ideas, thoughts?

Thanks, Jeff

[DKB_SATX]

Appliance shutoff valves, at least way back in the day, were in the LP lines running under the trailer, just before the line went up to the appliance. It occurs to me that I haven't looked for such a thing on my newer trailer, so I don't know if they're still doing that or not. How's your system laid out? Is the fridge the farthest appliance from the LP tanks? Or is there an LP appliance that's working and is a) on the same side of the trailer as the fridge and b) farther from the LP tanks than the fridge?

[jimmini]

Maybe call Dometic support number is in the owners manual.

[JeffofCT]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

Appliance shutoff valves, at least way back in the day, were in the LP lines running under the trailer, just before the line went up to the appliance. It occurs to me that I haven't looked for such a thing on my newer trailer, so I don't know if they're still doing that or not. How's your system laid out? Is the fridge the farthest appliance from the LP tanks? Or is there an LP appliance that's working and is a) on the same side of the trailer as the fridge and b) farther from the LP tanks than the fridge?

The fridge is the last in the line of LP appliances. I did find a dometic youtube which described how to clean the burner. I've repeated that process. Seems I am getting not gas OR ignition (little snapping noise) from the ignitors. There are two of them and they are very similar to the stove burner ignitors. Seems to me that they should at least be trying to light even if there is no gas. The fridge has 12v DC power and 120v AC on the generator. I assume the circuit for the LP burner is not fused separately. Correct?

There is a gas valve (seen with a bit of red paint/sealant on it). I tried turning the hex nut with crescent wrench and it does not budge with light to moderate effort. I did not try to turn it harder as I do not want to break it on the second day of a six day trip.

[JeffofCT]

Great news. I'm just too smart and overlooked a very simple solution. Turned the fridge completely off and then on again. LP is now working, so this must have reset some type of fault.

Anyway, other than appearing foolish, the side benefit is that the LP burner compartment is very clean now. :-)

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by JeffofCT

Great news. I'm just too smart and overlooked a very simple solution. Turned the fridge completely off and then on again. LP is now working, so this must have reset some type of fault.

Anyway, other than appearing foolish, the side benefit is that the LP burner compartment is very clean now. :-)

Reasonable. Your fridge is the last thing in the line so there's no way to bleed off that last bit of air in the line besides trying to light the fridge. Next time you store for a while w/ the gas valves off, run the last appliance before the fridge for a sec to get as much air as possible out, THEN try switching it on and it may light successfully before getting to that safety cutoff from which you had to reset.

Happy trails with cold groceries!

[Captn.Ken]

I had the same problem. And the same solution. Glad it worked.

[mspearman]

Not sure if that model has two LP tanks but if so, make sure you have both tanks open. We had the same problem, fridge would not start on LP. Thought you only needed one tank but, it turns out, both need to be open.

Good luck!

[Losman]

If the fridge reboot doesn't work next time try this:

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f28...ne-210788.html

BTW, in my case I feel the fridge cools faster with propane but no doubt there are many who have a different opinion.

Happy camping!

Carlos

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by mspearman

Not sure if that model has two LP tanks but if so, make sure you have both tanks open. We had the same problem, fridge would not start on LP. Thought you only needed one tank but, it turns out, both need to be open.

Good luck!

Most dual tank situations have a regulator which uses a single tank at a time. Sounds like the active tank wasn't the one your regulator was using and the regulator was attempting to use the tank which was shut off. You should be able to use gas with only one tank open. Just make sure your regulator switch is pointed to the open tank, not the closed one.

The reason I only keep one tank open is that my regulator will automatically change over to a full tank if the one I'm using goes empty and I have both tank valves open. Unfortunately because it's an automatic function you may not know the original tank is empty and somewhere down the road the switched over tank will empty and you will be left with no gas. Personally I'd rather run out of gas and be aware and make the change by opening up the full tank and closing the empty tank. That keeps me on my toes to remember to get that empty tank closed.

Relative to JeffofCT's original issue I typically light a burner on the stove prior to starting the refrigerator on gas....especially on the first use of each year. Typically using another gas appliance for a minute prior to turning on the fridge gets enough gas in the line to allow it to light. I know with my trailer each spring, it used to take 3-4 cycles which resulted in an error code to get the air purged from the gas line.

Jack

[JeffRadford]

FWIW I was having a helluva time trying to get the Dometic fridge up and running as well after a couple weeks off and couldn’t figure it out.

Two things seemed to work for me.

The reset as stated before for 30 seconds.

Also - At first starting operation on TWO LP tanks to get going. Once I was up I switched to one tank, as stated in this and other threads to regulate my propane and not get caught off guard. (Mountains get chilly at night. [emoji41])

Everything’s been running fine since on this particular trip. Also put into auto mode to split the load between LP and I’m assuming I’m getting some DC power from my solar.

[JeffofCT]

Originally Posted by Losman

If the fridge reboot doesn't work next time try this:

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f28...ne-210788.html

BTW, in my case I feel the fridge cools faster with propane but no doubt there are many who have a different opinion.

Happy camping!

Carlos

Thank you, I'm out camping again. Short 3 night trip with hookups. In prep for next week where I will be dry camping 6 days...I tried to run the Dometic on propane. Continued failures to ignite even though had been able to get it to work finally on the last trip. I hear it trying to ignite. I've let it cycle multiple times between faults when I reset. I did follow your link and tried to turn the petcock valve as suggested. Mine won't turn...at least with a moderate amount of effort. That's a problem and may be a contributing factor as some debris may be plugging the gas flow. I'll see about replacing it and see if that does the trick.

[JeffofCT]

Originally Posted by JeffofCT

Thank you, I'm out camping again. Short 3 night trip with hookups. In prep for next week where I will be dry camping 6 days...I tried to run the Dometic on propane. Continued failures to ignite even though had been able to get it to work finally on the last trip. I hear it trying to ignite. I've let it cycle multiple times between faults when I reset. I did follow your link and tried to turn the petcock valve as suggested. Mine won't turn...at least with a moderate amount of effort. That's a problem and may be a contributing factor as some debris may be plugging the gas flow. I'll see about replacing it and see if that does the trick.

My last post was largely illegible but have again solved the problem. In short, Fridge kept cycling through an error code after failing to light 3 times. I tried to light in manually...and again, no workie workie. Since the brass shutoff value will not turn, I went with the assumption that there is some debris inside, blocking the gas. Gave it a few light taps with the backside of a screwdriver...light on the 2nd attempt. Shut if off, powered down and restarted immediately on the 1st attempt. Repeated the process yet again. By this time, things were good and hot, so I shut if off for the night. This morning, it light on the 1st attempt on both tries. I'm going to replace the gas valve assembly..maybe even the igniter as it isnt all that expensive. One dealer identified it but Dometic apparently does publish a price on it. I found one in the UK.

[ChrisnPatty]

Over the past year I have experienced the exact same problem with my 2012 22FB. It will work on propane for 2-3 days then shut down and refuse to restart. Randomly, it will function again days later. I look forward to hearing whether the fix you described is a durable fix.