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Cypress
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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Mood: undecided
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Those old refrigs make good smokers
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El Camote
Senior Nomad
Posts: 514
Registered: 9-7-2003
Location: Above the clouds
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Cypress
Those old refrigs make good smokers |
Yeah. I'm starting to think a couple coolers with a thick block of ice shoved underneath in the cargo compartments ain't such a bad idea. 
Knowledge is good. - Emil Faber
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vandenberg
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5118
Registered: 6-21-2005
Location: Nopolo
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Al G
This thread got me off my well used arse and ripped my water heater apart...now the sputtering is gone and I have a nice blue flame with no soot. It
now goes from zero to hot in 25 minutes... 50% improvement more or less.
Thanks Nomads |
Doesn't do much to get your Pacifico cold however 
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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
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Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
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Mood: In love!
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El Camote - What is your ambient temperature?
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
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Location: South of the broder
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The Dometic propane frig in my 5th wheel here acts the same way and has for a couple years. Freezes great summer or winter, but frig part will only
drop about 30-35 deg below ambient temp. Tubes to the coil for fridge are getting plugged. I put a rebuilt cooling unit in it about 5-6 years ago.
Worked OK till last spring.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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El Camote
Senior Nomad
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Well, 54 degrees was optimistic. That was this morning and it never got below 58 for the rest of the afternoon.
The freezer is staying a consistent 18 degrees though.
Grover, I don't think its the door gasket, it seems to close tightly. I switched it over to 110 volt so I can compare temps in the morning and that
will (or won't) rule out the seal.
Neal, the ambient is now 59 and dropping quickly with a coastal fog coming in. I don't think it got much above 65 today and the gloom never fully
lifted.
Lou, I'd be happy if the fridge could drop 30 degrees below ambient but I can see how that wouldn't fly in a San Felipe summer.
Last resort is drive the road whale to our only RV repair shop in town but somehow I'm not too thrilled with the idea of giving up my left one!  
Knowledge is good. - Emil Faber
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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Too bad - sounds like the tube for the fridge part is about totally plugged -
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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El Camote
Senior Nomad
Posts: 514
Registered: 9-7-2003
Location: Above the clouds
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Mood: y Blues
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajalou
Too bad - sounds like the tube for the fridge part is about totally plugged - |
But if it cools properly on AC, won't that rule out a plugged tube?
Knowledge is good. - Emil Faber
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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I forgot that - you've got gremlins for sure.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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El Camote
Senior Nomad
Posts: 514
Registered: 9-7-2003
Location: Above the clouds
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and the diagnosis is...
For those of you who have been losing sleep, tormented by what was wrong with my propane fridge. Worked on it this weekend, went out this morning to
check the temp after running all afternoon and night on propane....36 degrees F.!!!! And the freezer is colder than a witch's mammary gland as
well.
Several weeks ago, I talked to the local RV repair shop and explained the problem. They said hands down it was a gunk build-up towards the bottom of
the vent tube and below the electric heater element. He said the best way to access it was from the top, pulling out the baffles and running a rag
down through the vent. Looking down into the vent, this was nearly impossible because the roof vent was sealed with a screen and the vent tube was so
far down, it could barely be seen with a flashlight.
Plan B was to remove the burner ass'y again (PITA) and access from the bottom which is difficult because there's only 3 or so inches of access space
below the bottom of the tube to ram something up in there. First thing I used was a flexible, foam tipped swab dipped in alcohol. Like a Q-tip but
longer and with a fatter foam tip - I use them to clean the heads on tape decks. This came back encrusted with soot and knocked loose some big chunks
of the black gunk. To do it even better, I took a long, flexible retrieval tool and wrapped a small piece of rag around it soaked in alcohol and
reamed it around in there as far as I could go. This also came back black but the chunks all but stopped dropping out.
Replacing the burner tube ass'y, I broke off one of the wire connections to the thermocoupler, tried to solder it but ended up having to buy another
for $40. The new one is a better sealed design which would avoid this problem.
RV shop said they do a maintanence service on propane fridges for $125. which includes cleaning out the burner and the vent tube - exactly what I did.
Had I known what I was doing to begin with, I could have done this whole job in under an hour.
Now, to fill that bad boy with brewskis and head to the beach for the 4th.!!  
Hope others can learn from this experience.
Knowledge is good. - Emil Faber
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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Great work Mike
Will you do the same to mine here in my 5th wheel next time you come down. Freezer is 5 deg. right now and frig part is 53 deg.
It's 95 here in the trailer and 96 under the patio roof. Might make part of the difference???
[Edited on 7-3-2007 by bajalou]
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Mood: Inquisitive
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Lou, try taking a rubber mallet to the tubing at the back. I've read the whole idea behind turning it upside down is to dislodge sulfates that begin
to build up in the ammonia tubes, blocking movement of the ammonia.
Worth a try.......just dont get heavy-handed.
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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Heading to Nuevo Mexico in a couple days and will give it a rest, then try the mallet and tube job when I return.
Thanks
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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