Fridge Trouble

Mine works fine. It is hard to see if it is lite. Have to lite it by a match 'cause it is an old one. Keeps food cold even in 90 degree Florida heat. It does blow out as soon as I start down the road though. I got tired of rv refers and bought a marine frig for the motorhome and love it. No more worrying about being level. Do miss the gas option for boondocking.

Steve
 
Mine for the most part has been pretty good but my last trip it it would not cool very well on propane. I am going to try cleaning the burner and see what happens.
 
No trouble to report on my 3 way Norcold. It is a 3 cubic foot in a 2006 Hawk. On one trip last month, started it on propane in the driveway at sea level and proceeded to Eastern Sierras. Camped three nights at 10,200 feet and one night at 10,600 feet. Fridge work fine all through the trip. Have not tried to start it at a high elevation though.
Dave H
Mill Valley CA
 
It's a mystery to me, all I can tell you is this is the second 3 way Norcold I have had that doesn't work properly on propane. I thought that the things Stan and others mentioned were helpful and will do all of them and have in the past, but my refrigerator is almost brand new so my guess it's probably working as good as it ever will. Once the warranty runs out I'll sell it put in something that works consistently Like an Engel. In the meantime I have a nice marine cooler that works every time.

Solved! The problem turned out to be a simple one, the interrupter was not seated properly. All I did was just tighten it up with a wrench. The refrig works perfectly on propane now.
 
Solved! The problem turned out to be a simple one, the interrupter was not seated properly. All I did was just tighten it up with a wrench. The refrig works perfectly on propane now.

The Jinx Is On!
 
The camper has been sitting plugged in since I got back from my last trip so I decided to get into this Propane problem. I turned off the frig, defrosted it and cleaned it out. I also cleaned out the external compartment with Compressed air and the burner tube. I pruged the propane system and fired up the unit on gas. It has been several hours now and the Freezer seems to be working but not the Frig. The plates in the frig are not even cool to the touch. On A/C everything is fine. Any idea? This is a newer unit on a 07 Hawk
 
Found a new way for the Dometic/Norcold to fail. Apparently, something (bug, grack) got onto the thermocouple and coated it with carbon. This was enough insulation for the thermocouple to read low and periodically shut off the gas.

The 3-way Dometic/Norcold fridge is a POS. It has "worked" most of the time (the first was replaced under warranty), but it has lousy temperature control. We have an indoor/outdoor temperature monitor and keep the outdoor sensor in the fridge. In cool/cold weather, at its lowest setting, the fridge still drops to 25F; in hot temperature we have to set the fridge to high flame to keep it at 44F. We drive with it on DC and that works fine, keeping the fridge at 42F.
 
Still having trouble on propane freezer is working but not frig. Everyone I talk to and everything I have read says clean the burner. Well I have got in there several times with a air nozzle and blew out the burner tube and flume but still no luck, Also have not been able to remove bruner completly as the screw will not come out without damaging it. Has anyone tried any type of cleaning fluid or spray. I also have some dought as the flame looks very good with no yellow color and not flickering. The unit lights easy and stays light.
 
Still having trouble on propane freezer is working but not frig. Everyone I talk to and everything I have read says clean the burner. Well I have got in there several times with a air nozzle and blew out the burner tube and flume but still no luck, Also have not been able to remove bruner completly as the screw will not come out without damaging it. Has anyone tried any type of cleaning fluid or spray. I also have some dought as the flame looks very good with no yellow color and not flickering. The unit lights easy and stays light.
 
I also had to buy another frige because of the lousy performance while the unit was on propane. When I installed the new one I expected cold beer and unfrozen veggies but was disappointed after just a few trips in N Idaho. Sooooo I took the old one apart in the propane section to see what the heck was going on. Seems like we have some small wild bees around here that like to sniff the propane or something. Anyway, I found that they had gone beyond the screen and down into the propane supply tube to the burner. There is a .005 orifice that jets the propane past the air holes in the side of the delivery piece to the burner font. I found that the bees had nearly blocked the propane path and had messed up the .005 hole that allowed the propane to come through. I had to install a new orifice and now everything is working as designed. (not desired, just designed)
 
For the past 4 or 5 trips, the Norcold has not wanted to stay lit. I had installed the re-lighter, but on the last two trips, even the re-lighter wouldn't keep it lit.

I took it in to the RV shop and they found the problem - oil in the line. This had the effect of lowering the gas pressure below what was necessary to keep the fridge operating. The clue to the problem was evident with the stove - the stove flame was to not all blue, but with quite a bit of yellow (incorrect gas-air mix). I was told that it was not uncommon to get oil in the tank, especially if it is over filled. The solution is to disconnect the line and regulator and drain the line.
 
While I had the frig apart this weekend to install the re-lighter I discovered another problem that was causing hard starting. The burner was starting to corrode and a couple of the burner slots were almost blocked. I scraped away the rust and now it seems to work great.
 
No shame here, DD.

Godd I love this state.

mtn
 

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That's part of the maintenance on these things every year or so you need to take apart the burner box and clean it with a wire brush so the burner slots are clean. People also blow out the burner flu with compressed air.

While I had the frig apart this weekend to install the re-lighter I discovered another problem that was causing hard starting. The burner was starting to corrode and a couple of the burner slots were almost blocked. I scraped away the rust and now it seems to work great.
 
Mine works great... if you love everything to be frozen. When I attempt to adjust the temp. it will shut off.
Only when on propane of course, unfortunately that is the only source I run it from.
Gotta love popsicles in August though... in the middle of nowhere.
 
No trouble to report on my 3 way Norcold. It is a 3 cubic foot in a 2006 Hawk. On one trip last month, started it on propane in the driveway at sea level and proceeded to Eastern Sierras. Camped three nights at 10,200 feet and one night at 10,600 feet. Fridge work fine all through the trip. Have not tried to start it at a high elevation though.
Dave H
Mill Valley CA


Do you turn off the fridge when you pull into a gas station? I run mine on DC when driving....otherwise, if I run it on propane, I'd have to stop and turn it off before gassing up....then turn it back on again. Got to be too much of a pain.

Mine fridge works great on DC or propane. I did have to dismantle the tube once to clean out some corrosion that had formed...other than that it has worked great.
 
Driving with the frige on propane is a very dangerous thing to do. In the past I have done it until I talked to my local RV repair guy that I was buying parts from. He said it is the main reason so many RV's burn down when on the road. It happens quite a bit. What he suggested if you can't or dont want to run on 12 volt is to turn the frige on the day before you leave to cool it down good and then run with it off during the day while driving. I do this all the time now and the food stays ice cold all day long. This really does work great. Try It!
 
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