Forum Discussion

alaska_guy1's avatar
alaska_guy1
Explorer
May 16, 2016

fridge doesn't work on propane.

So I have a 2014 lance 865 that I bought from a dealer up here and their service center iis bad... They would fix my issue under warranty but I don't believe they are a very competent service center and don't want them touching my rig. Long story short they said they checked everything out prior to me picking the unit up and when I took it out the shower had a leak, fridge didn't work on propane and they gave me the wrong piece used to make up my dinette.

Sorry for the back story... on to the issue at hand. So the fridge requires me to push on a button for a few seconds and then push in another button for my igniter. I assume the first button is the pilot jet for the propane. The second button is the electric igniter. I have verified I get spark, the pilot will light but I get a weak main burner flame. Eventually after 10 seconds or so the main flame looks like it has a leak, or somehow it is catching the pipe on fire behind the orifice on the main burner. I can blow it out as its a yellow flame but the leak will catch on fire again etc. 1. This doesn't seem safe. 2. My fridge never gets cold enough. Fridge works fine on AC and DC. So the fridge unit is fine...

This looks like the main jet my burner takes.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/44027531?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222228032018330&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=61133303096&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=108545898056&veh=sem

I have tried vacuuming out the fridge area along with compressed air. Neither seemed to remedy the issue.

Can I just swap out my current soutty orifice with a new one to resolve my issue or should I take my camper to a pro?

The warning about possible explosion or death seems worry some.

Thanks.
Truck Campers
  • Joe417's avatar
    Joe417
    Explorer
    May 17, 2016
    I've had similar issue in trusting my local RV repair people in the past.

    The only way around it is to learn how it works and do it yourself.


    Now, with that said, there was 17 hours between your question and surrender.


    "" The wife got to you, didn't she?""

    I've had those kind of wife problems. Most of us follow directives well or at least know the kind we have to follow.

    2 more cents worth, I had a somewhat similar issue, but without the burner flame back part of it. Wrong color flame, not cooling well.

    I found the following issue - dirt dauber nest in the burn.




    By the way, I couldn't see the dauber nest until I disassembled the everything.

    I may be wrong but I don't think my local RV places would have found it. From what I hear, they usually say "the cooling unit's bad - you'll have to replace the fridge".

    You said it's under warranty so maybe your dealer will prove they are competent with refrigerators.
  • alaska_guy1's avatar
    alaska_guy1
    Explorer
    May 17, 2016
    Thanks for the feedback. Tried all of the above besides replacing the orifice. I dropped it off at the service center. With a new kiddo I just don't have the time anymore. Thanks fellas.
  • tattoobob's avatar
    tattoobob
    Explorer
    May 17, 2016
    If you don't know anything about propane bring it back for warranty and have a professional fix it, gas is dangerous it's not to be fooled with
  • vic46's avatar
    vic46
    Explorer
    May 16, 2016
    I had a similar problem with a Dometic. Shore or DC fine. Propane no go. The problem turned out to be a fuse that was "dead". Visually the fuse was fine. However a test light showed power ACROSS the fuse terminals but no power through the fuse. Replaced the fuse and the fridge fired up on LPG and ran like a well oiled sewing machine. The apparent moral of the story is things are not necessarily as they seem. The Dometic had two fused circuits. One for AC and one for LPG.
  • ADC0731's avatar
    ADC0731
    Explorer
    May 16, 2016
    Same fridge, same problem, from new. I used a coupe of twist ties to clean out the tube. There was something blocking the vent holes in the top of the tube, once I got it cleaned out everything worked fine.
  • kohldad's avatar
    kohldad
    Explorer III
    May 16, 2016
    Odds are the tube is clogged. With the tube clogged, the propane back builds pressure until the flame jumps to the start of the tube. Definitely not safe.

    Either remove/replace the tube or just clean the tube in place. It has several slits which can be cleaned with a dental pick or thin metal finger nail file. Doesn't take much, just a stroke or two.

    Sometimes they will have rusted out where the slots are holes but since you are getting back pressure, this doesn't sound like your case.

    Also, take some air and blow up into the chimney to clean out any bugs. I actually remove my roof vent, cut out the molded in screen. This allows me to remove the air diffuser in the chimney and then swap with a piece of foam on a hanger. To replace the screen at the top, I bought a piece of gutter guard, bent the four edges, and notched for the screws. Make sure to only swap when the tube is cold and to replace the diffuser.
  • midnightsadie's avatar
    midnightsadie
    Explorer II
    May 16, 2016
    try a google search on cleaning your burner ,if your handy its not a bad job.and fix that leak.
  • Dick_B's avatar
    Dick_B
    Explorer
    May 16, 2016
    Mine doesn't work on propane either (see previous post) but when I took the cover off the innards looked too complicated to proceed further. Since we usually work off electric I will take it to the dealer one of these days.
  • tragusa3's avatar
    tragusa3
    Explorer
    May 16, 2016
    A few things to check. First, bugs are attracted to propane. Check the path of gas, particularly, run a pipe cleaner through the burner tube. Second, the chimney will drop rust particles into and onto the burners.

    Doing these two things fixed mine. Had to do them each year. It takes very little blockage to keep the fridge from getting maximum efficiency.

    I have since added screen over my vent covers. This has definitely slowed down bug activity.

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