Fridge flame blown out?

Camper_bob · 10-16-2013, 07:55 AM

Has anyone ever experienced their fridge flame blow out while traveling with the fridge on LP?

We were on our way to the coast a couple weeks ago, and we stopped to wait for the ferry. Since it was an hour wait, the DW decided to use the facilities in the TT. She said the lights on the fridge were blinking. I found out later that it was a fault because the LP wouldn't light. I reset the switch and it lit itself (albeit with some difficulty) while at the CG. But I had the cover off and it seemed like the flame was awfully susceptible to the wind, but then I did have the cover off...

I don't think it happened on the way home, and we have another trip planned this weekend, so I'll be keeping a close eye on it.

I'm just curious if you all have had that happen before? If so, what's the fix?

weekender · 10-16-2013, 09:16 AM

I have experienced this before and found that I had air in my LP line. Now before I take off on a trip I purge the air from the LP line by lighting the stove burners briefly. I then cut them off of course. This has helped prevent the fridge from not converting over to gas.

Camper_bob · 10-16-2013, 09:56 AM

Does air randomly get into the lines? We used the camper a couple days before the trip to test it out and made coffee and breakfast on the stove. We didn't turn off the propane between then and when we left. I can understand that happening if we turned off the propane at the tank, then turned it back on later, but with the propane constantly on, it seems the lines would stay pressurized and not allow air in...?

I guess it's also possible that the fridge never ran on LP before that trip. We picked it up from the dealer, drove it home and plugged it into 50 Amp service at the house, did our first night in the driveway, and a week later we unplugged and went to the coast. That could also explain why it worked fine on the way home...

hrmmmmm, I guess I'm going to be conducting a few experiments this weekend...

RedHorse1 · 10-16-2013, 10:28 AM

I find that after the gas has been off it will take a couple of cycles on the "gas" setting before the fridge will ignite. Once it starts blinking I don't think it will try to light the pilot again and must be reset by switching to "off" and then back to "gas" or "auto". Lighting the stove before trying the fridge on "gas" seems to help a bit but it still takes a couple of cycles. After switching to "gas" it takes the fridge a minute or so to figure out the pilot won't start and start blinking. I discovered this after cooling down while on shore power at the house and then setting out without checking to see if the fridge would run on LP. After making sure it will run on LP before leaving home I've not had any problem.

Camper_bob · 10-21-2013, 07:40 AM

After much experimentation this weekend, it seems to be that air does get into the line somewhere. The fridge faulted 3 times before it finally lit when we brought it home after a week in storage, and that was after letting the stove burner run for a minute. It seems to me like it shouldn't have to try that hard, but I guess that's just another thing to pay attention to...

So DW added it to her pre-travel checklist on the inside of the unit; make sure the fridge lights on propane before it's buttoned up for travel. Once it was lit, it stayed so for the entire time we were on the road last weekend.

bigbird · 10-21-2013, 07:59 AM

We had a situation when leaving for a trip last year when the lights started blinking about 15 minutes after we switched over to gas. I thought it was due to the steep angle in my driveway. I was hooked up and ready to go but didn't leave for 15 minutes. I did light the burner on the stove prior to switching over to gas but maybe I just had some air still in the gas lines. Ever since that I always take a last check at the lights before we take off.

Camper_bob · 10-21-2013, 12:28 PM

I can actually hear the ignition trying to light the flame. After three tries, the lights start flashing. Cycle the switch and it tries again, rinse and repeat until it lights. I can hear the "woosh" when it finally lights.

While we're out on the road, (we stop somewhat frequently between the small fuel tank in the TV, the small waste tank in DW, and the dog, we stop quite often) I just walk by the fridge vent and put my ear up to it and listen for the fire. When I hear it going, I know I'm GTG, and DW knows to look at the indicator when she walks by to use the facilities...

Just another item on the list of things to be monitored while towing.

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