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RJsfishin's avatar
RJsfishin
Explorer
Dec 31, 2013

(Update) Fridge Maintenence ? Who ever Does That ?

Fridge quit yesterday !!@#$%^&*
I have never messed w/ a fridge, probably BC I have never had trouble w/ one.
Found a "repair Guy" here in Quartzsite,....first thing he asked is if I'd done any maintenance on it. I replied, "whats that?"
Long story short, he came out, cleaned the burner/flue assy, but replaced the burner itself because it was rusted badly. When he removed the cover over the burner, I didn't believe all the black charcoal looking junk that came falling out. He chewed on me for not cleaning it once a year. Then he told me to pay attention,.....watch what he was doing, so I could do it myself from now on. This guy was a real straight shooter let me tell you ! Anyhow, point to my story,
if ya ain't ever cleaned your fridge burner, ya better do it at least every 5 yrs or s so, or it will "getcha" when ya least suspect it.
I ended up a "happy camper", mainly because he got it going,....I didn't even have to buy a whole new fridge.:)
2 hrs after it quit, and $167 (including service call and new burner) we was back to making ice !

39 Replies

  • As a FTr the fridge is ON all the time....it needs to keep working.
    So when it is shutdown to defrost ( 3-4 times a year) I clean out the backside, check connections/wiring and do a quick check of burner & flue area. By the time I'm done the fridge is defrosted and ready to go back ON.
  • Yep. Once a year. Dometic will not honor any warranties or extended warranties unless annual maintenance is done.
  • Hi,

    For a great series on fridge maintenance go to you tube and search for frvts
  • Good reminder. Was a thread about that a couple years ago. Happened to me too as mentioned in that thread.

    Recently it happened again with the Fs so I knew where to look. Big flakes of soot had fallen across the burner distorting the flame. Fixed that (easy job) and all fixed. ( Burner slots were still ok.) Banged on the outside of the chimney till no more flakes fell out.

    http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25113302/gotomsg/25115159.cfm#25115159
  • I do not plan on checking mine. However I run my frige on elec except when traveling on the road.

    Good tip though.
  • Tvov's avatar
    Tvov
    Explorer II
    Going on season 11, never have done more than look at the fridge components. This spring I'll look deeper, but I would imagine with just weekend camping during the limited summer season it wouldn't be too dirty?
  • Yes, I do maintenance on the refrigerator. It is also an excellent idea to use a manometer and check the LP pressure annually. If you read the manual it recommends annual maintenance of cleaning the burner and chimney and checking LP pressure.
  • Thanks for the heads-up. I have 9 years on mine and have never done any maintenance. Come spring I'll take it apart.