Fridge won’t light

[kstock11]

Hi! Just started on a trip to Alaska and have a challenge. My propane regulator went bad on me this morning. Had to take what I could get in Camping World. Stove, water heater both work. Fridge sparks but won’t light. Ideas?

[MVA]

To be clear, the cooktop, WH both work as expected with the new propane regulator, but the refrigerator will not light?

[kstock11]

Originally Posted by MVA

To be clear, the cooktop, WH both work as expected with the new propane regulator, but the refrigerator will not light?

That is correct - range and WH work fine.

[Rossue]

Is this fridge an RMD8555?

[MVA]

Originally Posted by kstock11

That is correct - range and WH work fine.

I am presuming the frig worked fine before the old regulator failed.

My first guess would be to check the propane regulator output gas pressure. The frig is the most impacted appliance to the gas pressure. The Dometic frig spec is 11" w.c. (water column). Depending on the regulator installed now in your trailer, there may be a pressure tap on the regulator to attach a manometer or electronic pressure gauge. As an aside the "standard" regulator installed by ETI in 2017 has a pre-set output pressure of 13" w.c.; my frig would not stay lighted until I adjusted it. If you are not comfortable with gas work, have a RV tech measure the output pressure and adjust if necessary.

2 cents

[kstock11]

Yes, this is the infamous RMD 8555. Overall, it has performed well. On gas, I sometimes have to spray compressed air to the flame area. Other than that, the only other challenge I had was beeping from the fridge after spending a week in high temp/ high humidity in Florida. I disconnected the light switch until it dried out and it did fine.

[kstock11]

According to the regulator, it is rated as 11 W.C.You’ve given me an area to explore. Thanks!

[kstock11]

So, after traveling through Canada, Alaska and then home over the last 90 days, it was time to tackle the fridge. First, I installed the Marshall Excelsior MEGR-253 Regulator. (The recommended replacement for the original) I could definitely tell, by the stove flame, that the pressure was somewhat higher. Then cleaning the propane aperture. Per instructions online, I used Goo Gone as the solvent. This morning, I turned fridge on & 4 hours later had solid ice in the freezer! Success! One thing that had me worried about tackling the aperture was that the reassembly required getting the igniter & thermocouple in the proper position. No worry, in my case they were not movable. Hope this helps others who come across this challenge.

[fudge_brownie]

It is not that time of year but . . . This year I discovered the RMD 8555 has another insidious trick. When on long trips, more than a week, and on propane, you may notice water beads forming on the mustache board. Warm temperatures shorten the time. Eventually the refrigerator may stop working on propane, but will work on shore power.

After living without a propane refrigerator for 10 days and returning home I decided to investigate a bit further. After sitting off in the driveway for five days I removed the mustache board. It was still extremely moist, almost dripping wet, even with a lengthy period of being turned off. I spent some time with a hair dryer removing the moisture, no surprise that it now works.

It has always been problematic, multiple cleanings of the orafice in alcohol followed by compressed air blow outs accompanied by a brush cleaning of the burner tube is standard procedure.

After researching a compressor refrigerator with the accompanying lithium batteries: the price, return on investment and skill set it appears out of the wheel house. The Dometic 10.5 looks to be my best alternative.

[HABBERDABBER]

So is this your advice and message? Walk softly & carry a BIG HAIR DRYER?
A moustache plastic cover? I'm not familiar with such a thing.

And where does the offending water come from? Condensation? Exhaust water vapor? A refrig seal leak?
Just curious.

[CharlesinGA]

It sounds like the moustache board needs to be coated with a conformal coating to protect it from the moisture.

From Wikipedia, Conformal coating material is a thin polymeric film which conforms to the contours of a printed circuit board to protect the board's components. Typically applied at 25-250 μm,[1] it is applied to electronic circuitry to protect against moisture, dust, chemicals, and temperature extremes.

Coatings can be applied in a number of ways, including brushing, spraying, dispensing and dip coating. Furthermore, a number of materials can be used as a conformal coating, such as acrylics, silicones, urethanes and parylene. Each has their own characteristics, making them preferred for certain environments and manufacturing scenarios. Most circuit board assembly firms coat assemblies with a layer of transparent conformal coating, which is lighter and easier to inspect than potting.

Google conformal coating and you get lots of hits. If this is a chronic problem it is probably worth doing something about it that prevents it.

Charles

[Treblemaker]

Originally Posted by fudge_brownie

It is not that time of year but . . . This year I discovered the RMD 8555 has another insidious trick. When on long trips, more than a week, and on propane, you may notice water beads forming on the mustache board. Warm temperatures shorten the time. Eventually the refrigerator may stop working on propane, but will work on shore power.

After living without a propane refrigerator for 10 days and returning home I decided to investigate a bit further. After sitting off in the driveway for five days I removed the mustache board. It was still extremely moist, almost dripping wet, even with a lengthy period of being turned off. I spent some time with a hair dryer removing the moisture, no surprise that it now works.

It has always been problematic, multiple cleanings of the orafice in alcohol followed by compressed air blow outs accompanied by a brush cleaning of the burner tube is standard procedure.

After researching a compressor refrigerator with the accompanying lithium batteries: the price, return on investment and skill set it appears out of the wheel house. The Dometic 10.5 looks to be my best alternative.

If you do end up replacing your frig, look into the Dometic RMD 10xt. It was a direct replacement in our 2015, with a few mods on gas fitting and wiring in the outside vent area. It opens from either side, is better designed inside, and definitely is an upgrade. We just got back from a 2 week trip where temps were in the upper 70s to low 80s daily and I never turned the frig past 3, most of the time on 2. Temps held at around 39/4. When we cooled it down to load for the trip the outside temp was 85, and 3 hours after turning it on it was already at 50 degrees. We have been very happy so far with it. We had also considered a compressor but just couldn’t justify the changes necessary as far as lithium and more solar at this time. No regrets.

[whatme34]

Check valve to fridge gas is open all the way.

[Ian and Sue]

Originally Posted by fudge_brownie

It is not that time of year but . . . This year I discovered the RMD 8555 has another insidious trick. When on long trips, more than a week, and on propane, you may notice water beads forming on the mustache board. Warm temperatures shorten the time. Eventually the refrigerator may stop working on propane, but will work on shore power.

After living without a propane refrigerator for 10 days and returning home I decided to investigate a bit further. After sitting off in the driveway for five days I removed the mustache board. It was still extremely moist, almost dripping wet, even with a lengthy period of being turned off. I spent some time with a hair dryer removing the moisture, no surprise that it now works.

It has always been problematic, multiple cleanings of the orafice in alcohol followed by compressed air blow outs accompanied by a brush cleaning of the burner tube is standard procedure.

After researching a compressor refrigerator with the accompanying lithium batteries: the price, return on investment and skill set it appears out of the wheel house. The Dometic 10.5 looks to be my best alternative.

I have this problem too. I replaced the "Moustache board" as the buttons were worn out too. But moisture is the real problem. I now turn on the fridge frame heater once or twice a day if on battery and wipe the condensation whenever I open the fridge...it seems to help. I also am having a problem getting enough flame to cool properly on gas. Blowing it out seems to help but I think it is time to tackle removing and cleaning the orifice. There does not seem to be any good videos on this though.

[CharlesinGA]

Dometic fridges have a spiral metal piece inside the boiler to disperse the heat. rust flakes, mud dauber nests, and other stuff can clog this and prevent it from working on gas, while it will work fine on Electric.

A friend had the issue of works on AC but poorly on gas and pulled it and removed the flue baffle and cleaned the mud dauber nests from it and it worked fine after that.

On many RVs it will be necessary to remove the fridge from the compartment and get it down on the floor to get the height to pull this out, It has a wire with a finger loop in it so it just pulls out. Some RVs may be able to get it out by removing the roof vent.



Charles