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Post by widge on Jan 12, 2020 12:49:39 GMT
Hi
I have an old Camper with a an Electrolux 3 way fridge, it works fine on 220v and 12v but have problems using it on Gas (Yes I know working with gas is a bit dodgy, hence I will take any suggestions with caution and wont hold anyone responsible).
Initially it wouldn't light so had all the burner apart cleaned it adjusted the igniter and on the bench it appeared to light ok, so put it back into the camper, unfortunately the first time I used it, it was obviously not burning correctly as I was getting some fumes and a slight bit if smokiness from the exterior vent, that was 6 months ago and have been using it just on 12/220v since,
Yesterday I took the fridge out again to have a look (which is a pain in the ass) mainly to get the details of the burner, I couldn't see anything obvious but didn't have time to try and run the fridge on the workbench, I did find that the gas pipe had got trapped possibly reducing the gas flow, so replaced the pipe, also there is a slight dent in the flue.
Anyway after putting it back in the camper and trying it, I have the same problem with it not burning correctly.
I have been looking on line and a replacement burner/igniter assembly starts at about £70 +postage which is a lot if it is not the cause of my problem, I could take it to a caravan/camper specialist but they will probably want to charge me £50 before doing anything.
It is producing fumes and a little bit of soot from the exhaust so it is obviously not burning cleanly.
Any suggestions what might be the most likely cause, I don't really want to spend a lot of money if it is something simple like the jet needs cleaning.
The last thing I forgot to mention, is I have never used the fridge on gas since I owned it, so don't know when it las worked properly.
Cheers in advance.
Dave
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Post by widge on Jan 12, 2020 15:00:15 GMT
Hi
I have just read an article regarding cleaning all the flue, so I have just taken it apart again, this time I did find some muck in the burner, took the jet out and had a look, it is not a brass nut with a hole in like most gas jets, it is just a small domed washer with a hole in the middle, that fits on the end of the gas pipe flange when you screw the gas pipe in, but it didn't look dirty and I could see light through it, The flue is a straight pipe with a 10cm twisted piece of metal hanging on a wire inside, presumably to help it draw.
Anyway that was very sooty so I cleaned that and ran a bottle brush through the flue and put it all back together again, but this time got it running on a workmate just outside the van, again it lit fine and the flame looked blue, with the occasional flicker of orange which I put down to the fact that I had the cover around the burner removed and a little bit of draft.
I put it all back in the van, and again after about 5 minutes or so started to get sooty smoke, so back to the drawing board.
Dave
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Post by charliefarlie on Jan 12, 2020 20:27:44 GMT
These are complex things to say the least. There will be a box of tricks that determines which source of fuel the thing runs on. I’m assuming it’s automatic ? Modern ones like the one in our old Motorhome and the one in our caravan have diagnostic panels to help indicate faults. Not sure an older one would have this  9 times out of ten it’s the wiring loom or PCB that fails. Not cheap to repair but that’s the nature of the beast. I cannot stress enough the importance of getting yours checked when you’ve finished tinkering. These things are bloody dangerous if not working perfectly. |
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Post by widge on Jan 12, 2020 23:14:22 GMT
These are complex things to say the least. There will be a box of tricks that determines which source of fuel the thing runs on. I’m assuming it’s automatic ? Modern ones like the one in our old Motorhome and the one in our caravan have diagnostic panels to help indicate faults. Not sure an older one would have this  9 times out of ten it’s the wiring loom or PCB that fails. Not cheap to repair but that’s the nature of the beast. I cannot stress enough the importance of getting yours checked when you’ve finished tinkering. These things are bloody dangerous if not working perfectly. Thanks for the replay, but if this thing had any electronics at all it would have probably been valve based, seriously though from everything I have read it is a mechanical problem, the burner is old and fairly corroded, I think ultimately a replacement burner and jet will probably solve the problem, it may be just the jet, but as the jet is £15 and a new burner with jet is £60 I think that I will probably bight the bullet and put a new one in.
Thanks again.
Dave
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Post by Hoovie on Jan 12, 2020 23:24:02 GMT
I would think hard about maybe replacing the 3-way fridge with a modern Compressor Fridge rather than chaasing issues on a old fridge and then having to potentially replace it anyway due to its age (and these 3-way fridges are very expensive to replace like for like)
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Post by widge on Jan 13, 2020 7:27:31 GMT
I would think hard about maybe replacing the 3-way fridge with a modern Compressor Fridge rather than chaasing issues on a old fridge and then having to potentially replace it anyway due to its age (and these 3-way fridges are very expensive to replace like for like) Hi
Thanks for the reply, if it didn't work perfectly on mains and battery, I probably would, but the Gas side is so simple there isn't very much that can be wrong, the igniter for starting and the thermocouple to detect a flame are working fine from the articles I have found searching the internet, all there is left is the jet and burner, I have found another article that describes a better way of cleaning the burner up, if that doesn't work I might just leave it for now, until the summer comes along the fridge keeps pretty cool without power if you don,t open it too much and there are plenty of cheap overnight places with power. It is just that there are also loads of free camping places in France without facilities as well so it would be nice to be fully indipendant.
Dave
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Post by widge on Jan 13, 2020 22:51:40 GMT
Hi
I have an old Camper with a an Electrolux 3 way fridge, it works fine on 220v and 12v but have problems using it on Gas (Yes I know working with gas is a bit dodgy, hence I will take any suggestions with caution and wont hold anyone responsible).
Initially it wouldn't light so had all the burner apart cleaned it adjusted the igniter and on the bench it appeared to light ok, so put it back into the camper, unfortunately the first time I used it, it was obviously not burning correctly as I was getting some fumes and a slight bit if smokiness from the exterior vent, that was 6 months ago and have been using it just on 12/220v since,
Yesterday I took the fridge out again to have a look (which is a pain in the ass) mainly to get the details of the burner, I couldn't see anything obvious but didn't have time to try and run the fridge on the workbench, I did find that the gas pipe had got trapped possibly reducing the gas flow, so replaced the pipe, also there is a slight dent in the flue.
Anyway after putting it back in the camper and trying it, I have the same problem with it not burning correctly.
I have been looking on line and a replacement burner/igniter assembly starts at about £70 +postage which is a lot if it is not the cause of my problem, I could take it to a caravan/camper specialist but they will probably want to charge me £50 before doing anything.
It is producing fumes and a little bit of soot from the exhaust so it is obviously not burning cleanly.
Any suggestions what might be the most likely cause, I don't really want to spend a lot of money if it is something simple like the jet needs cleaning.
The last thing I forgot to mention, is I have never used the fridge on gas since I owned it, so don't know when it las worked properly.
Cheers in advance.
Dave
Problem solved...
After reading another article by somebody suggesting having a good go at cleaning the burner with a wire brush to remove any rust buildup then doing a second clean with a stiff brush and meths, I had another go,
This time I completely removed the burner from the fridge, (on previous attempts of cleaning it still had the spark electrode and thermocouple connected), I could then have a really good go at it with a wire brush, I also discovered that the tube between the jet and the burner had a bit of corrosion and muck inside, that previous attempts with blowing air through it hadn't moved, but by using a drill bit the right size I could clean all the muck and rust out, I didn't have any meths but gave it a good squirt with WD40, then washed it with petrol then burnt off the residue.
After reassembling it it now works fine, a much cleaner pale blue flame with no yellow, little if any fumes and no smoking, after reinstalling it back in the camper I left it running all afternoon with a carbon monoxide tester in the van, when I went back to check, there was no smell in the van and the tester had not registered anything, there was no sooty smoke from the fridge exhaust just a little bit of condensation, and finally a nice cold fridge, so I am well chuffed and I now know a lot more about gas fridges.
Dave
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