Oh, the joys of owning an older trailer. I wrote on this forum about my converter issues and how it died over the weekend on a last of '15 camping trip.After I killed the breaker to the converter, I turned on the battery and the fridge automatically transferred to gas because my 120v heater in the fridge is on the same circuit as the converter. I noticed over time that the fridge temp (monitored with my wireless outdoor thermometer) steadily rose. Temp setting was on 3 of 5. I increased to 5, and the inside temp leveled off around 50.I checked the flame, and it was a nice blue. We just lived with it for the remainder of our trip, and so I now get to try and troubleshoot why gas isn't cooling as well. Looking in the manual, I probably need to clean the burner, check the gas pressure, clean the flue pipe, etc. If you've done this before and can offer any advice as most likely culprit, etc., how to get to the flue pipe, etc., I won't ignore it! Thanks!This morning, I plugged my fridge into an extension cord, and it started cooling down on a/c rather nicely. I switched to gas and it started slowly warming back up. Again, nice blue flame. Looks like I have some tinkering to do this weekend.

Your stack may need to be cleaned. It is right above the flame of the burner. You maybe able to use a flexible piece of wire to go up into the stack to knock loose rust and carbon build up.

if that doesn't work , I took this from a site I use, http://bryantrv.com/refcontrols.html maybe it will help. ***If a refrigerator works fine on 120 volt ac power, but doesn't cool on gas, I generally work backwards from my electric troubleshooting- making only a rough test of the LP supply first- by simply lighting three or four burners on the range and visually "guestimating" whether the LP pressure is good by seeing if the range burner flames look good, and do not decrease in size when all burners are lit. Note that this is not the "book" way- but it is the first thing that I do.After doing a rough test on the LP supply, I do a visual inspection of the flame. If the flame will not ignite, I will light it manually by having a helper hold the safety valve (on most refrigerators you need someone on the inside to engage the safety, while you light the flame- but not all). If the flame lights and burns well, you know that the problem is in the ignition system. Troubleshooting these is usually fairly straight forward- if it is a push button system which snaps when you push it, it is a piezo electric system. These are really very reliable, and if they still "snap", the problems will usually be either in the spark probe/ gap, or in the spark cable itself. Problems in the spark probe or gap are generally confined to an improper gap or rust flakes shorting out the gap, or a broken porcelain insulator around the probe. Problems with the spark cable are generally caused by the cable having been damaged in some way- either burned or cut. Many times these can be found by waiting until dark, and having a helper push the sparker button while you look at the cable- just like a spark plug cable in an auto, you will usually be able to see where the cable is shorted. For electronic ignitors, a simple test of 12 volt power going to the electronic ignition module will be first- if that is good, then inspect the cable, probe and gap as above- if these test good, the module is probably bad.Good luck, Bob

enblethen wrote:Your stack may need to be cleaned. It is right above the flame of the burner. You maybe able to use a flexible piece of wire to go up into the stack to knock loose rust and carbon build up.I agree with this . But, I'm just guessing, I'm no expert just another TT owner like you. Mine cools down faster on gas then it does on electric. I've noticed no difference between the two in how they work once they get cold. But, I usually camp in the shade .

CavemanCharlie wrote:enblethen wrote:Your stack may need to be cleaned. It is right above the flame of the burner. You maybe able to use a flexible piece of wire to go up into the stack to knock loose rust and carbon build up.I agree with this . But, I'm just guessing, I'm no expert just another TT owner like you. Mine cools down faster on gas then it does on electric. I've noticed no difference between the two in how they work once they get cold. But, I usually camp in the shade .The fridge in the pup that I used to have was the same way. It worked much better on gas. That's why I think there is something wrong that I need to figure out.My new converter shipped today. When it arrives, I will need to install it, then I can find some time to work on the fridge.

I had the same problem with not cooling on LP as good as on shore power. TWICE, over 8 years. Both times the flame "looked" good. The first time I cleaned the burner and the jet and it cooled as fast on LP as AC. A few years later it started to not stay cool on LP again. I cleaned the burner and jet, no help. I cleaned the stack, no help. I finally checked the LP pressure and was getting 8 inches WC where I should have been getting 11 inches WC of pressure. With a new regulator it cools faster on LP than AC. I realized that while the flame "looked" good it was really just a bit low. Low flame:Good flame:

Fridge - insufficient cooling on gas | Good Sam Community

enblethen
Nomad
Nov 09, 2015
Your stack may need to be cleaned. It is right above the flame of the burner. You maybe able to use a flexible piece of wire to go up into the stack to knock loose rust and carbon build up.
bobndot
Explorer II
Nov 09, 2015
if that doesn't work ,
I took this from a site I use, http://bryantrv.com/refcontrols.html
maybe it will help.

***If a refrigerator works fine on 120 volt ac power, but doesn't cool on gas, I generally work backwards from my electric troubleshooting- making only a rough test of the LP supply first- by simply lighting three or four burners on the range and visually "guestimating" whether the LP pressure is good by seeing if the range burner flames look good, and do not decrease in size when all burners are lit. Note that this is not the "book" way- but it is the first thing that I do.

After doing a rough test on the LP supply, I do a visual inspection of the flame. If the flame will not ignite, I will light it manually by having a helper hold the safety valve (on most refrigerators you need someone on the inside to engage the safety, while you light the flame- but not all). If the flame lights and burns well, you know that the problem is in the ignition system. Troubleshooting these is usually fairly straight forward- if it is a push button system which snaps when you push it, it is a piezo electric system. These are really very reliable, and if they still "snap", the problems will usually be either in the spark probe/ gap, or in the spark cable itself. Problems in the spark probe or gap are generally confined to an improper gap or rust flakes shorting out the gap, or a broken porcelain insulator around the probe. Problems with the spark cable are generally caused by the cable having been damaged in some way- either burned or cut. Many times these can be found by waiting until dark, and having a helper push the sparker button while you look at the cable- just like a spark plug cable in an auto, you will usually be able to see where the cable is shorted. For electronic ignitors, a simple test of 12 volt power going to the electronic ignition module will be first- if that is good, then inspect the cable, probe and gap as above- if these test good, the module is probably bad.

Good luck,
Bob
CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Nov 10, 2015
enblethen wrote:
Your stack may need to be cleaned. It is right above the flame of the burner. You maybe able to use a flexible piece of wire to go up into the stack to knock loose rust and carbon build up.

I agree with this . But, I'm just guessing, I'm no expert just another TT owner like you. Mine cools down faster on gas then it does on electric. I've noticed no difference between the two in how they work once they get cold. But, I usually camp in the shade .
fallsrider
Explorer
Nov 10, 2015
CavemanCharlie wrote:
enblethen wrote:
Your stack may need to be cleaned. It is right above the flame of the burner. You maybe able to use a flexible piece of wire to go up into the stack to knock loose rust and carbon build up.

I agree with this . But, I'm just guessing, I'm no expert just another TT owner like you. Mine cools down faster on gas then it does on electric. I've noticed no difference between the two in how they work once they get cold. But, I usually camp in the shade .
The fridge in the pup that I used to have was the same way. It worked much better on gas. That's why I think there is something wrong that I need to figure out.

My new converter shipped today. When it arrives, I will need to install it, then I can find some time to work on the fridge.
Gene_Ginny
Explorer
Nov 10, 2015
I had the same problem with not cooling on LP as good as on shore power. TWICE, over 8 years. Both times the flame "looked" good. The first time I cleaned the burner and the jet and it cooled as fast on LP as AC. A few years later it started to not stay cool on LP again. I cleaned the burner and jet, no help. I cleaned the stack, no help. I finally checked the LP pressure and was getting 8 inches WC where I should have been getting 11 inches WC of pressure. With a new regulator it cools faster on LP than AC. I realized that while the flame "looked" good it was really just a bit low.

Low flame:

Good flame:
fallsrider
Explorer
Nov 10, 2015
Gene&Ginny, did you do a write up on this forum when this happened? I think I read it if you did. On Sunday morning while DW was still sleeping at the campground, I did a search. What I read was where you made a homemade manometer to find the low gas pressure.

I think I'm going to start with cleaning the burner and jet. If that doesn't work, I'll proceed with the gas pressure testing. I bought a new regulator last year, but that is no guarantee that it is producing the proper pressure. I bought this one...

Camco Regulator

I'm not sure my flame looks as good as your "good" flame does. It will be interesting to see what I find.

@enblethen - I think I will at least start with a couple good shots of air pressure up the flue pipe and see how that goes.

@bobndot - I tried the visual test on the range. I ended up with all 3 burners and the oven lit. Lighting or turning off individual burners did not change any of the others. So at least from that perspective, I hopefully am getting good gas pressure from my one-year-old regulator. If cleaning the burner and jet doesn't work, I will probably do a manometer test anyway.
Gene_Ginny
Explorer
Nov 11, 2015
fallsrider wrote:
Gene&Ginny, did you do a write up on this forum when this happened? I think I read it if you did. On Sunday morning while DW was still sleeping at the campground, I did a search. What I read was where you made a homemade manometer to find the low gas pressure......
Yes, I did make a homemade manometer and then forgot when/where I posted it. :h

As you said, start with cleaning the burner then tap the stack and if a lot of rust falls out it may need cleaning. Sometimes even a new regulator doesn't have the correct pressure. After I hooked up the manometer I also tried turning on all the stove burners and they looked fine and the manometer only dropped a tiny bit. (from 8 inches to about 7 3/4 inches.)
Gene_Ginny
Explorer
Nov 11, 2015
fallsrider wrote:
... I bought this one...

Camco Regulator....
That is the one I bought too. I looked at the link and Amazon said I bought it on September 2, 2013. :B
fallsrider
Explorer
Nov 11, 2015
Gene&Ginny wrote:
fallsrider wrote:
... I bought this one...

Camco Regulator....
That is the one I bought too. I looked at the link and Amazon said I bought it on September 2, 2013. :B
So you bought the Camco after you discovered the low pressure situation?
Gene_Ginny
Explorer
Nov 11, 2015
fallsrider wrote:
.... So you bought the Camco after you discovered the low pressure situation?
Yes. It replaced my Marshall Brass regulator which was no longer being made.