Less than full flame on fridge

sirrealone · 09-08-2016, 07:47 AM

We run our Norcold fridge on gas during travel. During a recent trip the tank went dry so when I got home it was of course blinking as there was no gas.

After switching tanks, the fridge now lights but doesn't produce a substantial flame. So it lights, the Gas light stays on in the fridge, but it's basically a flame only a fraction of the size of what it should be.

Sometimes it takes 3-4 tries to get the gas to run through the line, but I've run it at least 50 times and no better results.

Stove and water heater run perfectly on propane.

I'm stumped and would appreciate any help.

SouthCo · 09-08-2016, 07:52 AM

I've never looked at the flame on mine. What made you look at the flame? Is the fridge not getting cold now? I ask because you only mention the flame and not the temp of the fridge. As long as mine stays cold I have no idea or care what the flame looks like.

Running it out of propane is a regular occurrence so that shouldn't have hurt anything. I routinely shut my gas off first after returning from a trip and then go in to turn the fridge off.

mike837go · 09-08-2016, 07:54 AM

The flame on a fridge is usually fairly insubstantial.

For an electronically controlled fridge, the blue part of the flame should be about the same as the bristles on a manual toothbrush.

My totally mechanical fridge would vary the flame from barely a pinky finger (idling, box up to temp) to less than a thumb (full bore, warm food was recently added).

sirrealone · 09-08-2016, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthCo

I've never looked at the flame on mine. What made you look at the flame? Is the fridge not getting cold now? I ask because you only mention the flame and not the temp of the fridge. As long as mine stays cold I have no idea or care what the flame looks like.

Running it out of propane is a regular occurrence so that shouldn't have hurt anything. I routinely shut my gas off first after returning from a trip and then go in to turn the fridge off.

Normal behavior for as long as I've had it:
--When you switch it to Gas, you can hear it lighting (the series of clicks followed by a whoosh as it lights)
--After it's lit, you can hear the burner if you stand outside next to the fridge
--The fridge stays lit (gas light solid on the fridge panel) for as long as it's on gas

Now:
--There's no whoosh when it lights. Only evidence that it's lit is peering inside
--You can't hear it at all after it's supposedly running
--The flame will eventually peter out and the Gas light on the front of the fridge will be blinking within 15-30 minutes.

So, something's definitely not right.

sirrealone · 09-08-2016, 08:13 AM

Also, it's level when travelling and definitely level now for troubleshooting.

SouthCo · 09-08-2016, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirrealone

--The flame will eventually peter out and the Gas light on the front of the fridge will be blinking within 15-30 minutes.

So, something's definitely not right.

Ok so it's not staying lit. That is a problem. Before you only talked about the size of the flame... Sorry I've not experienced this, but now that the problem is stated hopefully someone can share some experience...

hoppers4 · 09-08-2016, 09:51 AM

I'm guessing that the two could be unrelated. Perhaps running out of propane is not related to the poor flame now. You may have either a kinked hose or the flow restrictor that controls the flame has gotten plugged with something. I think the only way to determine if the restrictor is plugged is to replace it.

mike837go · 09-08-2016, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirrealone

Normal behavior for as long as I've had it:
...snip...
Now:
--There's no whoosh when it lights. Only evidence that it's lit is peering inside
--You can't hear it at all after it's supposedly running
--The flame will eventually peter out and the Gas light on the front of the fridge will be blinking within 15-30 minutes.
So, something's definitely not right.

May or may not have anything to do with running out...

Check for:
- Kinked supply line. The rubber hoses are prone to it.
- Remove the burner assembly and use a #22 wire to clear the orifice.

As long as all other gas appliances appear to be functioning properly, everything from the manifold to the burner in the fridge is suspect.

(My brand-new in 2015 gas burner crapped out on the first outing with similar symptoms. It showed fine during the PDI and testing at home. The fine aluminum filings when the gas tube was manufactured, eventually clogged the burner.)

BCK · 09-08-2016, 10:27 AM

X2 on checking to orifice. You could have ended up with a small piece of debris that carried through when the line recharged.

Also, check that the flame tube is clear and not blocked. I had a similar problem with my last tt and it turned out that the flame tube was almost completely blocked with deposits from the burning propane. It looked like hard packed fine grey sand and once the tube was cleaned out it worked flawlessly again.

RedHorse1 · 09-08-2016, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirrealone

We run our Norcold fridge on gas during travel. During a recent trip the tank went dry so when I got home it was of course blinking as there was no gas.

After switching tanks, the fridge now lights but doesn't produce a substantial flame. So it lights, the Gas light stays on in the fridge, but it's basically a flame only a fraction of the size of what it should be.

Sometimes it takes 3-4 tries to get the gas to run through the line, but I've run it at least 50 times and no better results.

Stove and water heater run perfectly on propane.

I'm stumped and would appreciate any help.

To verify, the stove and WH are working after the refilled bottle was installed?
If "yes", as suggested, I'd suspect debris in the orafice or blockage in the air flow. If "no", I'd suspect the check valve in the threaded connector has closed. The tank valve should be opened slowly to avoid a "whoosh" of propane which will cause the valve to close.

BCx213 · 09-09-2016, 12:03 AM

Open your propane tank slowly...opening it too fast will trip the safety valve on the tank

**norty1** · 09-09-2016, 07:19 AM

Blow out the gas orifice with high pressure air. Most likely a small blockage.

sirrealone · 09-09-2016, 10:53 AM

Thanks to all. I'll grab a can of compressed air and try blowing it out later. Will report back on results.

Definitely running propane to everywhere else in the camper, so hopefully this is the problem.

mike837go · 09-09-2016, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirrealone

Thanks to all. I'll grab a can of compressed air and try blowing it out later. Will report back on results.

Definitely running propane to everywhere else in the camper, so hopefully this is the problem.

Another real longshot is the manual valve on the gas solenoid. It's about 1/4" diameter knurled knob with a deep scratch indicating the flow port. See if it is aligned properly.

After you have successfully cleared the orifice, you should be able to blow through it. But remember the hole is only a few thousandths of an inch in diameter.

sirrealone · 10-14-2016, 10:42 AM

Well it took awhile but I did try blowing air around everything and it didn't change a thing. Tthe other appliances (stove, water heater) have roaring flames so I know it's not an issue of how much propane is coming out of the tank. There's no crimp in the line at least in the fridge as ours is a hard line, so there's no bend.

I put it away for the season and will maybe give it another look-see in the spring. Who knows, maybe it'll 'fix' itself between now and then. If anything, the fridge runs fine on electricity and seems to hold the coldness well, so if we don't have the fridge running during our travel (which is usually no more than 4-5 hours), maybe we can survive without it.

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