Refrigerator Not Cooling

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   hogone, I think you already replaced the gas valve? If so I'd try swapping out the burner control and maybe the main control board. 

Since the two of you have had similar symptoms we don't know if Mike's controls are any better than yours. But all you have to lose by trying is shipping costs and time....

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offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Post Options Post Reply Quote offgrid Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Refrigerator Not Cooling Posted: 22 Aug 2022 at 8:37am
	hogone, I think you already replaced the gas valve? If so I'd try swapping out the burner control and maybe the main control board. Since the two of you have had similar symptoms we don't know if Mike's controls are any better than yours. But all you have to lose by trying is shipping costs and time....
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

mikeyg2347 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 27 May 2015 Location: MT Online Status: Offline Posts: 75	Post Options Post Reply Quote mikeyg2347 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 14 Sep 2022 at 4:08pm
	I punted the 3 way fridge and purchased a Dometic CRX 110 from West Marine. Like Stephen H, I had to enlarge my opening by about an inch to accommodate the mounting plate. Other than not allowing myself an extra 1/16" to slide the fridge in, everything has gone reasonably well with the install. The upside to that is that I have a nice, snug fit. I also opted to forgo the LiFePO4 batteries. Living in MT and camping a lot in the fall I just didn't want to risk battery failure in cold weather. Might have avoided that by moving the battery inside, but coupled with having to change out the converters I decided the simpler alternative was to go with a pair of AGM 6-volt batteries. Now my question is can I cover the louvres on the outside vents? The fridge is so deep that sealing it tightly looks to be impossible. Since I'm no longer dealing with propane, flame and exhaust is it safe and practical to to seal the vents against dust? I was thinking of covering them with Gorilla tape. The fridge isn't screwed into place if I need to slide it out and try a different approach. I really appreciate all the help and input from my original post. This is a great online community.
	Mike

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288	Post Options Post Reply Quote StephenH Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 14 Sep 2022 at 11:04pm
	I did not seal the outside vents. I did seal around the refrigerator (don't forget underneath) with some insulation bats. I just did not know if there would be enough air circulation for the condenser coils on the back if I had closed the outside vents. I did add a fan for circulation, opting to purchase a low temperature switch to turn it on and off so it would not be running constantly when not needed. I also only used the trim flange to hold the refrigerator. I did not go through the walls of the refrigerator which would have been the way to do so if I had not ordered it with the flange. It is easy enough to remove those few screws if needed, but I have not needed to so so except when it was replaced because it had developed a crack in the inside on the bottom. I don't expect to have to do that again though.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

mikeyg2347 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 27 May 2015 Location: MT Online Status: Offline Posts: 75	Post Options Post Reply Quote mikeyg2347 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 15 Sep 2022 at 7:48am
	Looks like if I modify the frame that the old seal was mounted on I can re-use the old seal and get it pretty tight. That way I can leave the vents open. I watched a couple of YouTube videos where they'd mounted the fridge in vans with no ventilation, but I'd rather not take the chance.
	Mike

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288	Post Options Post Reply Quote StephenH Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 15 Sep 2022 at 8:33am
	I think if there is enough air circulation around the outside so that it wouldn't get too warm in the back that it would work okay. It would be like the house refrigerator then. However, it also would mean that the heat would go into the trailer's interior. I thought it best to keep that heat on the outside.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Post Options Post Reply Quote offgrid Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 15 Sep 2022 at 8:55am
	+1 to stephenH. The condenser needs to have access to plenty ambient cooling air. The heat being pumped from the fridge has to go somewhere. While there is much less heat generated with the vapor compression fridge than the absorption ones it's certainly not zero, and since you're now running 12V electric only efficiency is very important. If you close up the condenser it's temp will go up until its high enough that it can reject the heat via conduction through the closed walls, which is far less effective than air convection. That would make the fridge inefficient at best, if not completely ineffective.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

mikeyg2347 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 27 May 2015 Location: MT Online Status: Offline Posts: 75	Post Options Post Reply Quote mikeyg2347 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 15 Sep 2022 at 7:01pm
	Point taken. I modified the frame the seal was mounted on and re-used the old seal to keep dust out. Bit of a PITA but I feel good about it. Fridge is in and screwed in place, works like a champ. At least in my driveway. Thanks, guys.
	Mike