I have a manual start Norcold refrig, that I am having a hard time getting to lite, above 6000'. I live in Colorado and my TT is always above 6000'. I have tried all the tricks in the book. Will changing to a smaller orifice help and where do I find one? The Refrigerator is a NORCOLD N305/306.
We just left Colorado where our Eagle spent all of its time above 6000' except for winters in AZ. Our home was over 8900' and we turned the fridge on and off often during the summer without any problems. I'm interested in reading Norty1's cited discussion, as we still have land there and plan on returning this summer to escape the horrible San Diego climate!
Knock on wood we have been camping above 7000' feet for years no refrigerator problems.Both were Norcolds.One problem we have run into is generators wanting to run rich!The Onan had an adjustment, the Honda 2000s not sure!
I will be trouble shooting the refrigerator next time I get on my land. Norcold sent a response that said they do not have a fix. I will make sure the line is clear and the igniter is working. This is the little frig that you have too manually hit the igniter button to start it. It does have a electric board that has both AC and DC with no wires on the DC terminals and I wouldn't mind running it DC. I do run it AC when the generator is on but would prefer LP.
We have a new hummingbird 17RK with the norcold fridge and the manual igniter. We live at about 7000 ft. In my admittedly brief experience treating the igniter like the one on our BBQ grill (one short sharp push) never worked. What has worked is holding down the temp dial and repeatedly pressing the igniter 4,5,6 times in rapid succession until I see the indicator start to move. So far, no trouble getting it lit using that method.
A couple techniques that work for me at altitudes about 6,000 feet.
Put the dial on the low setting for lighting rather than the high setting. When on high, if the piezo igniter ignites a cloud of gas in the burner area it can sometimes "woof!" and blow itself out. Lighting on low seems to help a lot by putting less gas into the combustion area.
Press the igniter about 2-3 times per second for several seconds. Then check the needle for movement to see if it lit. Again, if too much gas builds up inside the combustion area before it ignites, I've heard it ignite but--"woof"--blow itself out. Hitting the igniter repeatedly seems to keep this from happening by igniting excess vapor until the main flame is finally lit.
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