My 220v element has died in my 89 LHD westy.
I've been following the instructions on the brick yard forum to
Remove the fridge. I have got to the gas union and have added a picture.
I need to know if A. is this the gas union and B. how to undo it the instructions say its clockwise
But it won't budge in either direction and the pipe adjoined to it has bent very slightly. I need help
Guys. Need fridge working as I'm off to France.
I can't help with whether this is the correct union to disconnect on a westy fridge - it certainly looks like a gas union though. But in terms of which direction to turn the nuts, imagine you are looking down the gas pipe towards the right angle bend, the nut needs to be turned anticlockwise so that it unwinds away from the right angle bend. That applies to both of those nuts.
Depending how soon you are going away, if the fridge already works on gas I'd be tempted to forget about the 240V element and just run it on gas. If you're worried that you've disturbed the gas union, spray a little soap solution on the joints and watch for bubbles when the gas is connected and turned on.
"I'm a man of means, by no means....King of the Road!"
Spanner on each part so that it doesn't twist the pipe and loads of wellie - if someone has used sealant on the joint it may be very tight. Use the longest spanners that you can get in there to get the maximum leverage.
It may well have a left hand thread and clockwise does undo it. If you look at the end of the union you may be able to see the end of the thread and thus know whether or not it is left handed.
If you are lucky and have a lower fridge vent you can sometimes access the elements at the back via this.
Oldiebut goodie wrote:
It may well have a left hand thread and clockwise does undo it. If you look at the end of the union you may be able to see the end of the thread and thus know whether or not it is left handed.
I stand corrected - in fact I found the post that I think Angie might be referring to, and it specifically says the thread is left handed.
"I'm a man of means, by no means....King of the Road!"
I removed my fridge last week and yes it is left handed thread. I undid the union located at the bottom of your picture, nearest the wires.
Think a 17mm spanner from memory and with the spanner upright, pull towards you.
When you come to reattach the pipe, I put a small bead of 'plumbers mate' around the union. You get a tight seal without the need to do it up
excessively tight.
Can i ask why you are attempting to fix this before your holiday? If it works on gas then use gas. My fridge is ice cold when using the gas option.
Thanks for your replies the fridge has never worked on the gas , and I never got it fixed it has only worked on the 12v or the 240v, it still works on the 12v and I don't think I'm competent enough to fix the gas but I'm happy to have a go at the 220v element. I will have another bash at it but thanks for your help.
I took my fridge out at the lower union and it was a normal thread. I may be wrong but i think gas fittings that are left hand thread have cuts (notches) on the corners of the nut as you see on left hand thread regulators. Hope this makes sense.
The fridge is out thanks for the help. I can see the 12v, 220v element I Assume they just pull out of the pipe they are slotted into (behind the fridge at the lower corner?
They have a little flat headed screw in the bottom of the cylinder which will need to be loosened first (like a grub screw), the heating element should then slide up quite easily.
You may need to unclip the insulation part which surrounds the heating elements in order to access the screw
The gas is quite easy really, new jets are easy to fit (just drops in to the fitting) brush out the flue while the jet holder is unscrewed. When doing up the unions again I use the slightest little smear of gas jointing paste on the thread and olive, then tighten to finger tight followed by just enough to tighten with a spanner (not wrenched round as this overdoes it and causes leaks). Next connect up on the bench using flexible pipe for now, hold in gas valve in lighting position and light burner, keep holding in valve for about 30 seconds (make sure the thermocouple is just in the flame) Now the flame should stay alight if you let go. Now cover all the joints you made with w/up liquid and watch for bubbles. If you get any just tighten about 1/8 turn and see if that does it. If the flame wont stay alight and the thermocouple is in the flame then you can get a universal one for about £8.00 from ebay or DIY stores. Flame should be blue with no orange if all is clean and well. If you cant get the gas to come on the gas valve is possibly caput (you can get them on ebay). The electronic igniter on some rm212 fridges fails so I replaced mine with a piezo push button generator for £6.00 and just connected the electrode wire to this instead of the electronic unit. Once I'd done mine I asked my heating engineer to cast his eye over it while he was servicing the house boiler. When reconnected in the van check the connection for leaks as before. If in any doubt at any point ask an expert.!!!! To behonest though it is fairly easy to see if you have a problem.
123-jn Autohomes Komet 2.1 DJ AUTO 1989 (closed loop LPG pierburg 2E3)
- Citroen C4 Picasso 1.6 HDi
