Fridge

[Mitchellfried]

Hello,

I have an 1972 Alaskan camper that I just bought today. The fridge does now seem to work. I have propane pressure at the fridge. I think it is the igniter not working but I could be wrong. I also put the 2 D batteries in it that it says it should have. That doesn't seem to help.

There also seems to be a vent that the fridge should have that has been removed. It goes from the counter top to the ceiling where there is a vent. I tried to upload a picture but it wouldn't work.

 

[Rusty]

The older fridges are a tough nut....not only did they carbon up fast...but they were vented into the interior of the campers....not good

take a look at my gallery...there's an adjustment I made to vent to the exterior and cover the interior vent....takes a little time but well worth the effort

sometimes the pictures are too big to post...through site restrictions...

 

[Mitchellfried]

Thank you very much for the response

 

[JTFlag]

What is your model? I also have a 1972 CO and fridge, but it does not vent to the top. It only vents to the outside via a manually operated (and loud) fan. The opening is directly behind the top-center of the fridge.

 

[JTFlag]

I was just working on my fridge (Dometic RM 36A) this weekend, from a 1972 CO Alaskan 8ft. The electric works, but the gas was too slow to cool. However, even the gas setting would freeze 1/2 cup of water if left on overnight in the freezer compartment. It also has a broken control knob for gas in the front of the interior, at the bottom.
Photo below: Control panel with busted shaft and knob for gas control.

I went to a junkyard yesterday, where they keep old RVs in the back. There was a Dodge CO there with an RM 45A Fridge that had the exact same controls, only a bit taller (same width). I pulled all the propane control valves, pilot and burner nozzles, and even the control shafts which run all the way from the front to the back. Cost $5 and 2 hours of my time.

I'm going to replace my control shaft and the burner nozzle assembly. I can already see that my original pilot and burner nozzles were not properly aligned, base upon what I have read. That may fix it (it may even have a colder gas setting that what I was stuck with, given the broken control knob shaft).

Another thing that may be affecting you: These old systems have a very thin, hollow copper tube that is used as a temperature sensor to the control valves. These tubes are no more than 1/16" in diameter (no kidding, see photo) and are very fragile. If cracked, they will not properly transfer temperature info to the valves from the interior of the fridge. There are two for a 2-way fridge: One for the electric controller and one for the propane controller. I broke one of the tubes as I removed them out of the junked Dodge RV.

Photo below--red arrows indicate the long copper tubes. Left box is electric thermostat, rightmost box (partial) is the gas thermostat (green arrow).

You can also just replace the entire thermostat, which comes with a new wire. About $60 online, search for "Ranko V35 Gas Thermostat" (if your fridge is same as mine). Hey, I already sunk $5 into this junked one, so I'll try that first, just for fun, if the control knob/shaft replacement doesn't work on its own.
Hope that helps. If one solves your problem, let us all know.

 

[Mitchellfried]

I will look into those options and let you guys know.

It's a Morphy Richards fridge. Model 7306/BG/1. Its 540 btu on propane

Another question. The propane tank sits in the camper in a closet. I am wondering if that is normal or not.

Thank you guys again.

 

[ntsqd]

Is it vented where the tank sits? It needs to be if it isn't.

 

[Rusty]

propane tanks have many locations.....I'm leaning toward removing mine entirely and mounting a horizontal under the bed with a quick connect in the bed....makes for refilling easier...and .....the ever to valuable ..."storage space"

fans work but like has been noted...some varieties are noisy....brushless microfans...ie; computer fans....are perfect for this application and they are really quiet.....with a top clearance of at least 1-1.5" it will work with a two fan draft...I'm switching an old 120v, noisy fan right now in a 73 remodel CO

be careful when you locate your vent...you need an exterior fresh air supply on the lower half to maintain a
stable flame

 

[JTFlag]

My understanding is that the older Alaskan campers have the propane tank travel in the closet, then are set outside somewhere to be hooked up to the external propane fitting. That's why so many Alaskan restoration threads discuss mounting the tank externally somewhere. I like the idea of squeezing two smaller, 11 gallon tanks onto the tailgate or between the inside bed wall and the camper.
Others just hang a 20 gallon tank off the back.

As to the Morphy Richards fridge--never heard of it until your post. From my googling, it seems that even the old ones had a thermocouple for temp control. Maybe that's the issue for your unit. I don't think my fridge experiences will translate.

 

[Mitchellfried]

Good to know. Thank you guys for the information

 

[Mitchellfried]

Well I took my camper to an RV place today and had them look at it. I didn't know the D batteries the fridge took were for the igniter so that was my issue there. The fridge works perfectly.

The vent from the top of the fridge to the ceiling was the exhaust for the fridge so they remade the duct system to work proper.

For the propane I have decided to make a aluminum rack and have it mounted outside. It looks as though a person had one mounted on the back at one time or another