Dometic RM 2193 problem - flame puffing out around burner

[blutaco]

After not camping for one summer and part of the next, we got the Eagle on the road.

I ran the camper on 110v AC the night before, letting the refrigerator (Dometic RM 2193)
get cold.

When we got the campground, i went to run the refrigerator on propane. Seemed to fire
up fine and cool well. However, when I went to check a bit later, I could see a puff of
yellow flame coming out from around the gray metal shield (where the peep hole for the pilot
light is). I shut down, took the shield off, relit.

Watching the thing work, about every 5 minutes, flame spread to the round hole in the square
metal tube leading to the burner. Running on medium or low, versus high on the dial setting
made the flame around the square tube more frequent. Letting in run longer, made the flame
more frequent. Eventually all the black insulation or boot on the igniter wire was burned off
and flame was often extending outside the metal shield.

So I shut the unit down.

Looking for suggestions on how to proceed to diagnose the problem and fix it.

Thanks. On the plus side the fall foliage on Cape Cod is really good and the temperature
outside hit 79 deg F today as we drove away from the camp site.

2009 Eagle on a 2006 Tacoma

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Sounds like you might have a loose fitting at the burner. Maybe.
Frank

 

[NorCalSteve]

I can't quite visualize exactly what is happening but. Spiders and webs can cause issues with propane units. They mess up the oxygen flow.

Steve

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

X2 on the spider web clog idea.

Just about every refrigerator I see that has the flame coming out anywhere other than the slits on the burner tube means that the burner tube is clogged up with something.

Spider webs is what I have seen the most in the past.

I've worked on my own refrigerator, my parents campers refrigerator, and other friends over the years. It's not always easy to get the burner tube off to clean it out, but that's usually what needs to be done unless you can blow it out with compressed air and see if that works first.

to save yourself some time maybe do a YouTube video search for that topic and you can usually find someone showing you how to do it. Those videos seem to really help me.

 

[MarkBC]

This old thread helped me remove and clean the burner from my Norcold N300.
So...it's a different brand/model of fridge, but maybe similar enough.
There was nothing technically difficult about removing the burner, but I still struggled due to the confined space, hard to get the tools in there, etc. But do-able, even by a non-handyman such as me.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

I've worked on my own refrigerator, my parents campers refrigerator, and other friends over the years. It's not always easy to get the burner tube off to clean it out, but that's usually what needs to be done unless you can blow it out with compressed air and see if that works first. seem to really help me.

If you don't have a source of compressed air, you might try the caned type used for computers.
Frank

 

[pvstoy]

U-tube is full of learning..

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Thanks Pat for posting that info. Even if you aren't having trouble it's good info to know.
Frank

 

[pvstoy]

You-tube another. You may have the same tube to clean and both movies show both types.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Thanks Pat. That one is the unit I have. Most likely a lot of our campers have that one.
Very helpful.
I had gone out earlier and did some checking and minor cleaning. Everything looked good.Very little "rust".
Just some tapping of the chimney and blowing out of the flame area.
Mind was working good to start with but this was a good way to clean it.
Thanks again for taking the time to research this.

By the way how is the weather your way and outlook for next week? Is Indian Creek still open for camping?
Thinking about going to Heenan week end of 24/25/26,closing days for this year.
Frank

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

If you don't have a source of compressed air, you might try the caned type used for computers.
Frank

Be careful of the canned stuff. Some of it's flammable. Don't ask me how I know. Make sure the pilot light is out.

Yes, it was a Dometic refer where I learned this.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Be careful of the canned stuff. Some of it's flammable. Don't ask me how I know. Make sure the pilot light is out.

Yes, it was a Dometic refer where I learned this.

Thanks for the tip.
All work done on the fridge is done with GAS OFF.
Frank

 

[blutaco]

Patrick and others:

Many thanks for the responses. Got some parts and worked on the Dometic refrig in my Eagle yesterday - fixed.
Dometic has parts (1-800 544 4881), a helpful salesperson waited until I found and provided the model and serial number
info from the white sticker on the back wall inside the frig; she also emailed me a pdf file of the part number. Matching my
frig info, I ordered a burner, their part # 2923430520. I had burned through the insulation on the wire going to the igniter (as shown
in the video from Patrick) so from RV Delaership.com (1 800 325 9250) I had ordered a new wire or igniter lead and igniter.

Took the wind screen off. I could not break the nut at the end of the burner - using a 1/2 inch open end to hold the burner and
a 7/16 inch open end on the nut, so I broke the nut at the other end of that piece of tubing, loosened the hold down for the
thermocouple and took the tubing and burner out together. I took out the screw holding the burner, then used the 1/2 inch open end to
rotate the burner until it slid out from under the chimney. Once out, I could put the burner into a vise and use a 7/16 inch open
​end to break the nut. The orifice looked clean, but cleaned with solvent, put it together with the new burner. Reassembled
everything with new igniter lead. Tested - beautiful blue flame at the burner now, no flame from the holes in the side of the
burner back by the coupling nut.

Tested the two couplings with leak testing liquid (like liquid soap). Slow leak at nut by burner, so I had to crank down to make
a non-leaking coupling - explains why it was hard to loosen.

Then took a look at old burner - looked a bit dirty but not blocked. Then, aha, a dead dried up spider the size of a small
pea came out of the burner. This explains why gas was not getting all to the burner and coming out the holes back by the
coupling, burning the igniter lead.

Spring check out in the future will see me taking off the wind screen and verifying a good burn just at the burner. I really
cannot see the burner flame through the peep hole.

​Thanks again for the info and responses, gave me good guidance and allowed a fix.
-Bob

 

[chnlisle]

I've had a half dozen propane/AC-DC fridges before I bought an Engel compressor fridge and years before I became an Engel dealer.
This is my experience with every single gas absorption (propane) fridge that I've owned.

Outside temp 70 fridge works good.
Outside temp 80 fridge marginal about 40 degrees at its coldest.
Outside temp 90 fridge close to useless about 55 to 60.
Outside temp 95+ fridge no better than 40 to 50 below the out side temp. at their coldest they got down to around 60 with 100 degree outside temp.
They have to be level. Burner needs frequent cleaning and there are issues above 6000 feet.

Conclusion they work great if you don't need a refrigerator.

My Engel wth an 85 watt solar panel and a single 75 ah battery will and has frozen beer in 100+ temps and I never need to supplement my solar by running my truck. It works at all altitudes and doesn't need to be level. When loaded correctly frozen stays frozen on the bottom and fridge stuff stays 35 up above.

It is true, they ain't cheap but I offer a pretty nice discount to WTW Members.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Thanks Bob and Jay for all the info posted.
Bob glad you got the fridge working again.
If you can't see the flame,place your ear close to the burner area and you can hear it.Just don't singe your ear.
Frank

 

[winks]

If the wind is blowing, you (I mean myself) cannot hear the burner. You can feel if the exhaust is hot to see if it is still on.
I just bought the Atwood relighter, but I cannot figure out how to get the combustion chamber/tube out. There is not enough room to drop it down below the up pipe to get it out. Any ideas would be very appreciated.

 

[pvstoy]

Looks like the unit is mounted too low to drop the burner down after removing the Phyllis screw and loosing the nut on the gas tube. There may not be enough space to pull the bottom toward you and twist it out. I would be afraid to bend one of the ears to gain that extra space incase it breaks off or can't get it back. If you lift the bottom of the refg could give you the space needed. Might have to remove some hold down screws. That's all I can think of at the moment.


link to pictures for relighter.
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/1111-tech-tip-auto-relighter-for-propane-refrigerators/

 

[winks]

Successful install.

The tool that made it possible.

A liberal amount of prying and hoping nothing breaks seems to have paid off.
Less than an hour total time.
Mine was not as neat and pretty as the one linked to, but at least it works.

 

[pvstoy]

Congratulations glad you got it done! That would have been one of my tools of choice.

 

[TDFuego]

Many thanks to those who posted the how to clean maintain the RM2193. I just followed the advice given by Winks and others and my fridge works like a champ now. These posts with photos were very helpful. Thanks again!