Fridge repaired and works good.

[Mighty_Thor]

The fridge in my Jayco never worked and we have used the trailer for several years with the fridge sitting in the garage and plastic taped over the openings in the trailer. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a replacement cooling unit. The install went smooth and the electric heating worked perfectly, but when I hooked up the gas I had major leaks from the main gas valve. When I went to replace it I found out you can't get there from here. They haven't made that valve in 20 years. Took some thinking but after reading about folks here doing repair to the valves on their stoves, I decided I would try to rebuild the fridge gas valve. turned out to be fairly simple. The valve is a brass cone that fits into a brass block with the reverse cone in it. The valve is held in by a spring that helps hold pressure on the mating surface of the two parts. The sealing grease in my valve was stiffer than frozen butter. I was able to order some stove grease online (holy cow is that stuff expensive) and after cleaning away the old grease I put a generous amount of new grease on both parts of the valve and presto... no more leak. Fridge works great and cost about $600 in total parts.

[Mighty_Thor]

dougrainer wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Nice work, I've never even heard of repairing a valve like that!

Scott

You can rebuild but NO shop or service center ever would. Liability and the fact that Gas valves are NOT to be repaired- replace only. But, if you want, like the OP, rebuild it. Just understand the risks. I would never allow a friend or family to use a rebuilt gas valve. I value them. Doug

I have to respectfully disagree. First, if it was not meant to be rebuilt they would have constructed it in such a way that it could not be easily disassembled. Also, If your not supposed to rebuild them why do they sell the grease to do it with. Once the grease is in place assuming the valve is not damaged it works very simply. turned one way the gas flows through the holes turned the other way the gas does not pass through. This is on the low pressure side of everything, and assuming that you check for leaks, as I did periodically) there is little or no danger. This valve is not like on a stove where it is used often and in multiple positions. On the fridge, it is on or off. But, If you have a couple of grand for a new fridge, you might want to replace rather than repair.

[dougrainer]

ScottG wrote:
Nice work, I've never even heard of repairing a valve like that!

Scott

You can rebuild but NO shop or service center ever would. Liability and the fact that Gas valves are NOT to be repaired- replace only. But, if you want, like the OP, rebuild it. Just understand the risks. I would never allow a friend or family to use a rebuilt gas valve. I value them. Doug

[Mighty_Thor]

I got my cooling unit from Arcticold Refrigeration on EBAY and I was very satisfied with the system. It looks well built and they provided all the screws and the special mastic sealant that you need to put the new cooling unit in place and useable instructions. I also got plenty of help from watching the videos that are out on the internet. There were a couple of minor fitment issues with screw holes not lining up, but considering the age of this fridge and everything else, I have no complaints. Compared to the price of a replacement refrigerator this was a real bargain.

[Wet_Coast]

I think that most of the appliance gas valves are of the cone design. I have a 100 year old Magic Chef commercial range in the house with similar designed valves. I have to re-grease the controls every few years because of the wear as I can't replace them.

OP was right, the grease is expen$sive, but obtainable. I had to visit a few appliance repair shops before I found one that would sell this voodoo stuff to me as I was not "qualified".

If you search the gas appliance repair sites, the all have some kind of message that if not done correctly, re-greasing the controls will kill you and your hair will catch on fire, etc, etc.

Same can be said with re and re-ing the wheel bearings on our rigs. If not done correctly.. I am sure a gas fitter will pipe in about now....

[ScottG]

Nice work, I've never even heard of repairing a valve like that!

Scott