I've got a Dometic 2852RBX that works ok most of the time, but when I had it at 9,750' last year it kept going out and wouldn't relight. It would try, but I'd come back after being gone for awhile, or awaken in the morning, and the check light would be on.My dealer said its the orifice size that needs to be changed for high altitude and said to talk to Dometic technical support. I called and was not happy with the level of 'support' I was provided. Among some curt responses, I was told they aren't guaranteed to run at over 5,000'...NO further help! I live near Denver....EVERYTHING is above 5,000'!! I continued to try to get some information on what size orifice would make it work at altitude to no avail. Finally the unhelpful phone rep went to ask 'the boss' if it can even be changed on my fridge and when she came back on the phone she told me NO...I can't change the orifice in my unit. I just looked and yes it can be changed. It has a 53 in it now.Since the problem occurs at high altitude, less air pressure, I'm guessing (if this works like a carburetor) means I need less propane, thus a smaller orifice (or jet if you will).Does anyone know if I'm on the right track so that I can keep my fridge running next trip up there? If I could get the right sized orifice, my thoughts are to take it along on a trip and if problems, put it in until returning to lower altitude.In case you are wondering, I was at my dealer because I was guessing the problem was a faulty regulator, but they said thats not the problem if it works fine otherwise.Thanks.

Easiest thing to do might be to run it on electric instead of propane when at that altitude. Of course, that is if you are not there a lot. If you plan on spending much time there, a change might be in order. Remember though, that for proper operation, you might need to change it back at lower altitudes.

I live at 6500' and the local propane distributor knows what jets are needed at altitude. I would call them and see what jets they would recommend at 9000'. I suspect that jets are standard and the ones they sell will probably fit your refrigerator.I wonder if anyone sells an adjustable regulator that could adjust the propane to a lower pressure when you are at altitude?

I did camp at 10k' attitude and drove 12k+ with RV and my refrigerators work just fine. It was "some time" ago so the refrigerators were pilot-type that did not have electronic boards. But still I don't buy the explanation you've got. Propane burner is opposite principle to carburetor. When in carburetor air sucks the fuel and mix ratio is crucial, in burner gas is sucking the air and mix ratio is having pretty loose tolerance. Did you try to clean everything and see at what point the flame goes out?Some advanced boards will flash a code.Since the problem might be just relighting, how about setting the thermostat to lowest and let the burner work 100% duty.

I havent tried to clean out the jets. I could remove it to see if its plugged. What else should I try to clean? And I dont know what you mean about seeing at what point burner goes out.This fridge has no DC option and we're boondocking at that altitude so electric isnt a viable option.I bought a new regulator last Fall (after the trip) but havent tried it at 9750. Thats kinda part of the struggle...ie...I cant duplicate the problem nor test a fix without hauling it somewhere. The dealer said most fridges work at Taylor Park (the 9750 location).

My Norcold quit working several years ago and it was because soot had fallen down from the vent and had clogged up the burner. It was obvious when looking at the burner. I cleaned it with a toothbrush and it went back to working. The burner was also worn and I replaced it. An easy job. I don't know if a Dometic is like mine but it is worth a look.

Refrigerator & High Altitude | Good Sam Community

d-mac1
Explorer
Jul 02, 2016
Well...not sure about my previous question, but I just installed my new board and electrode/igniter. Gonna go start it up and see what happens. It should work fine cuz its warm. I won't have any idea if the problem is resolved until I take it to altitude again.
grizzzman
Explorer
Jul 12, 2016
d-mac1 wrote:
I've got a Dometic 2852RBX that works ok most of the time, but when I had it at 9,750' last year it kept going out and wouldn't relight. It would try, but I'd come back after being gone for awhile, or awaken in the morning, and the check light would be on.

My dealer said its the orifice size that needs to be changed for high altitude and said to talk to Dometic technical support. I called and was not happy with the level of 'support' I was provided. Among some curt responses, I was told they aren't guaranteed to run at over 5,000'...NO further help! I live near Denver....EVERYTHING is above 5,000'!!

I continued to try to get some information on what size orifice would make it work at altitude to no avail. Finally the unhelpful phone rep went to ask 'the boss' if it can even be changed on my fridge and when she came back on the phone she told me NO...I can't change the orifice in my unit. I just looked and yes it can be changed. It has a 53 in it now.

Since the problem occurs at high altitude, less air pressure, I'm guessing (if this works like a carburetor) means I need less propane, thus a smaller orifice (or jet if you will).

Does anyone know if I'm on the right track so that I can keep my fridge running next trip up there? If I could get the right sized orifice, my thoughts are to take it along on a trip and if problems, put it in until returning to lower altitude.

In case you are wondering, I was at my dealer because I was guessing the problem was a faulty regulator, but they said thats not the problem if it works fine otherwise.

Thanks.

Does your unit have all rubber supply lines?
d-mac1
Explorer
Jul 14, 2016
Supply lines?? Supplying what? Sorry not sure about your question.
grizzzman
Explorer
Jul 14, 2016
d-mac1 wrote:
Supply lines?? Supplying what? Sorry not sure about your question.

OK I will explain. My 2007 class C had a Dometic fridge. This fridge worked just fine at 10000 feet no problem. However my 2016 Domestic was going out at 8600 feet. One of the differences is the 07 had copper lines and the 16 has "all" rubber lines. Why does this matter? Well here are the fact's 1. At higher altitude the mix goes a bit rich. 2. The colder propane gets the more dense it becomes. 3. A rubber line will contract when it gets cold. The copper line not so much. During the day the unit would spit and sputter and it would continue to spark. After a few minute's it would settle down and go quiet. At night it would go out. It would relight after a few trys. I took it apart and watched the flame. The flame was lifted off the burner. This is why it would continue to spark. It did not have a path to ground so the control board believes it was not lit. It is my theory that when the hose contract's the pressure raises enough to over pressure the flame and given a bit of time the pressure drops and the flame goes normal.
That answer your question?
d-mac1
Explorer
Jul 14, 2016
Yep! Thanks. Mines a copper line to the burner assembly.

I wonder if you can replace your rubber line with copper. You wouldn't think rubber is even safe as a propane line!!

Surely the RV industry, and its suppliers, are building us quality products? (don't die laughing!)
grizzzman
Explorer
Jul 14, 2016
Good to hear you have copper. If I can prove out the pressure change, I will be going copper. The hoses are propane certified. Remember you have hose at the regulator. (I estimate about 30' of rubber line in mine) I believe that ease of install along with speed are the reason. I will be headed to the Sawtooth mountains this weekend in Idaho. Perhaps my new water column gauge will shed some light on this issue.
d-mac1
Explorer
Sep 12, 2016
Just a late follow-up after trying the trailer in exactly the same location where it had problems last year:

The new circuit board and new ignitor fixed the problem. It worked perfectly at 10k' in spite of Dometic's comments about it not guaranteeed to work at anywhere near that altitude. Dometic was right about 1 thing...it wasn't a jet related problem.

Maybe this winter I'll put the old ignitor back in and see if the cold causes it to be faulty. If it works fine, I'll strongly suspect the old circuit board.

Thanks again for everyone's help.
dmac
joshuajim
Explorer II
Sep 12, 2016
Just a thought, but does the regulator self adjust pressure as altitude changes, i.e. remain steady at 11" regardless of altitude? It would seem that as barometric pressure on the diaphram reduces at altitude that the w.c. would increase.
wnjj
Explorer II
Sep 12, 2016
joshuajim wrote:
Just a thought, but does the regulator self adjust pressure as altitude changes, i.e. remain steady at 11" regardless of altitude? It would seem that as barometric pressure on the diaphram reduces at altitude that the w.c. would increase.

I suspect the regulator is always holding 11" WC relative to atmospheric pressure. The absolute pressure of the LP would necessarily decrease but that makes sense if you want to keep a balanced mixture of air/fuel at the appliances.

The movement of the diaphragm is what causes the regulator to alter the internal gas pressure.
joshuajim
Explorer II
Sep 17, 2016
I've thought about this for a few days and while the regulator "may" compensate for altitude, I realized that most gas appliances - i.e. residential furnace, residental water heater, gas dryer etc. ALL have high altitude kits that change the jets for higher altitude.

This tells me that RV appliances would also benefit from this change (which generally is not available).

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