How far do you need to drive to check fridge on car battery power?

[T25Hugh]

Just spent the last couple of days trying to get the original 3-way Electrolux RM212 fridge in my van up and running. (NB: I'm a new owner and the van was 'sold as seen'. The fridge didn't work - not in the time I've owned it anyway). The outcome of my efforts? It still doesn't seem to want to work on GAS (even after a thorough check to the best of my abilities anyway!) There's power to the mains cable for the fridge on EHU but, again, sadly no sign of life! All that's left to try now I guess is if it kicks into life in transit when running off the car battery. (If I can just get it working on one power source then I can work the other two out but I'm beginning to think that the fridge itself might be brown bread!) OK then, one last ditched attempt to see if I can kick this thing back into life here! Anybody have any idea how long it takes to know if your fridge is working in transit when just running off the batt? (Strange question I know but I'm running out of options here!)

[jigarai]

Hiya Hugh,

They’re simple beasts really. They need heat to drive the circulation of the coolant.

In reality running it on gas will be the most common use of it unless you always camp with electrical hookups in which case the 240v will be your friend.

I tend to put some freezer blocks into it when I go anywhere then Switch over to the gas when I stop. The 12v just us to maintain the temperature then. Note that any fridge works best when it has stuff in it other than air to cool and stay cool. Best way to check is to locate the heating elements which are long thin tubes just above the gas burner that those wires lead into. If they are getting warm after a bit of a drive there’s something going on there.

In your shoes I’d tinker with the gas first though as you’ll need that regardless… the igniter is likely to need a clean up- it’s in that little rusty box at the bottom right looking at it from behind.

Mine takes a bit of fettling each spring to get it working again but actually I really appreciate its functionality and it really doesn’t t use much Gad… and it’s silent!! GnT on the rocks anyone?

If you happen to be anywhere near Plymouth I’ll be happy to share what I’ve learned getting mine working.

[R0B]

Worth a read. https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Camping_int ... aintenance

[mike9009]

Try putting the fridge upside down for 24 hours.....that worked for my old one ....

Old 12v power will not cool the fridge down but maybe maintain a temp. We used to top the fridge up with loads of cold stuff and freezer packs when starting out.

The gas would get it proper cold. So this is where I would start too.

[Mocki]

If it is not working on any form of power at all, you can try the turning it over ritual !
Inside is not gas , but ammonia based coolant, which crystallises if allowed to dry on any surface, so if the fridge hasn't been used for a while , and therefore no circulation , the crystals build up , eventually blocking the smaller pipes....so turning the fridge upside down, leaving it for a couple of hours, and then righting it for a couple of hours and doing this two or three ( or more) times, flushes the coolant through, and it washes the crystals back into the coolant, and they dissolve .

If it is working on mains , but not on gas, chances are the flu is blocked, or the jet is blocked, or partially blocked .
If it's working on gas, but not on either one, or both of the electric sources, it's an element issue , providing you are sure it is actually getting power to the element

It is also important to remember that a flame only ever burns vertically in a drought free environment, so the fridge must be within a couple of degrees of level for the flame to "hit the mark" , this however will not have much effect on electric only gas

12v feed should be fused to the relay from the main battery
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Way-Circuit ... Sw4UtWRMVM

If it’s not working on gas , but is lighting , you need to clean the burner assy
Turn the fridge upside down, undo the burner retaining screw from the bottom of the chimney heat shield and disconnect the gas pipe , blow high pressure compressed air through the jet ( never "proggle" with anything , of you make the hole in the jet anything other than perfectly round the gas won’t squirt in the right place ) you can force WD40 or similar through it with airline
You need a big blue flame the full size of the burner mesh when you reassemble it

Mains and 12v are simply 120w ( depending on model) heating elements and are easy to change .

One of the biggest issues with three way fridges is the camper conversion companies didnt do a v dry good job when they wired for 12v , the 12v element should “draw” about 11amps , but most of the 12v installs used silly 5amp cable and so the 12v side of the fridge wont work to full capability. The old myth that the 12v side is only to maintain temperature is bourne out of caravan installs, where the 12v feed from the car is 30ft long from the battery or alternator along the length of the car and half the length of the caravan on thin wires with a less than good connector between the car and the caravan, voltage loss was massive . If you install with a good oversize wire from the main battery on your van via a 30amp relay triggered by the alternator and use chassis earth as the neg the 12v heating element will be very much closer to the mains in power and the cooling will be pretty much as good …..