Forum Discussion

Grey_Mountain's avatar
Sep 01, 2018

More Refrigerator Issues - Propane

Our refrigerator is not switching to propane when shore power is disconnected. Doesn't appear to work on generator power either althugh I haven't fully checked that out. We are leaving Belelvue, NE on Tuesday heading to Denver. 600 mile trip with one overnight stop.
We have a 120v chest freezer that works great on generator, so al our frozen foods are in that unit. I also have been freezing water bottles in it. When we pull out, I plan to put several frozen water bottles in the coach fridge "just in case."

Last MOnday, I almost left the coach in the middle of Kansas and walked home...

GM
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Ok re: Generator or shore power.. Fridge can not tell the difference but depending on your RV there are two (usually) Circuit breakers on teh genny. I have two indicator lights in my RV.. one on each breaker.

    As others have said no 12 volt = NO fridge. 12 volt comes from one of TWO sources. Battery or converter.

    TUrn on an interior light. is it nice and bright. Have your partner unplug from shore power (Turn off pedistal breaker first) the light may dinm.. Slightly that's ok. Goes out completly. that's your problem.
  • Does it switch to LP on the control panel?
    If so, do you get a check light?
    Did you purge the air out of the propane lines by running the cooktop?
    Have you checked to see if crud came down the stack and is sitting on the burner?
    Does the burner try to light?
  • 1. You need to state Brand and Model of Refer
    2. Regardless of Brand and Model, IF the refer fails to LITE on LP, you should have either a CHECK Light or a LP error code
    3. Have you tried to put the refer ON LP ONLY? I assume you have it on AUTO.
    4. Genset or SHORE, the refer will work on 120 as long as other 120 appliances are working on Genset
    5. When was the last time you did maintenance on the refer? Clean the burner and such? Doug
  • OK, well, there are some simple things a carpenter can look for...

    We still sort of need to know if there's any display on the refer? What brand and model is it? There's an 'Auto' switch on it, press that, and it should switch to LP for testing.

    What happens when you switch it to LP?

    Assuming that the flame tries to light, but goes out quickly...

    Outside, under the vent cover for the refer, check for debris in and around the chimney area. Blow out with a 25 PSI compressor (or vacuum cleaner) gently. Tap the chimney to see if any rust falls out. Rust can block the flame. Note that there are spiders that love to build nests right on the gas flame assembly.

    Check for loose hardware in and near the flame area. Everything there should be tight. The two stiff wires that hang inside the flame area should be there inside where the flames should be. Make sure the assembly that holds that device is tight and those two stiff wires haven't shifted any.

    Let us know.
  • If any of you happen to be traveling I-80 or I-70 between Omaha and Denver and see a Discovery pusher sitting on the side of the road, it's yours. I'll leave the lights on and the keys in it.

    GM
  • We left home on Monday. The coach had been plugged in to shore power for several days with the fridge on and empty. Cooled down the way it was supposed to. Sunday night, uplugged the coach, moved it so I could hook up the toad. Monday morning, it was evident that the unit had not worked on LP. Got on the road, turned on the generator and I think it worked - hard to tell since now all the food has warmed up and the unit has to try to cool it down. After a 385 mile leg, stopped for the night, plugged in to shore power and the unit worked. I had moved all the food from the freezer portion to the 120v freezer in the back. It's still there, although we've been here since Tuesday and the unit is workng on shore power. I'll do a bit of trouble shooting, but as I have stated before on this forum, when it comes to those kinds of things, I am a very good carpenter.

    GM
  • X3 on checking for 12 volt behind the vent cover.

    Check your 12 volt fuses and circuit breakers too. There is a 5 amp, 12 volt fuse on the control board that sometimes open circuits.

    Do you get any lights? Does it display a fault code?
  • Quote:
    Our refrigerator is not switching to propane when shore power is disconnected.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Didja ever think about switching it manually ??
  • It takes 12 volt DC to make refrigerators work on LP, so check for 12 volt power at refrigerator.