G'day

Our 10 year old small Dometic 3 way seems to have stopped working on 240 & gas.

Very little sparemoney so any other suggestions on what could be wrong

PeteM

If the fridge doesn't work on gas or 240V, you have probably lost the gas in the system. You can get them regassed, but they don't guarantee the job, and if it leaked once, it will probably leak again anyway. I was in this situation and had to buy a new fridge. Cost me just under $1200 from memory, and that was a good price - most places wanted $1500. Ouch! I bought a new 3 way (gas, 12V, 240V) fridge because the new one fitted in the hole perfectly - same brand, same size. IF I bought another fridge I would have had to rework the caravan furniture. The new fridge works far better than the original ever did - I hope it continues to do so....

You can check if the fridge still works. Firstly, check the 230 supply (plug a test lamp or an electric drill into the socket and see if it goes). If you have power, check the resistance of the element. It should be something lile 3 ohms. If it is open circuit (very high resistance), the element is blown, the thermostat is not calling for cooling or the switch is not in the correct position. We have found with our new fridge that we have to turn the selector knob hard to 240 or 12V to get it working.

If you have a good element, remove the fridge from the cabinet and turn it upside down. LEave for a few hours, then tip it back to normal and try. I did this about 6 times and it still didn't work, so I got a new fridge. It was only when I was removing the 12V and 240V elements from the old fridge that I found where the gas had leaked out. There was a large yellow stain hidden by the heater cowling.

Hi,

 The selector switch spring? on our Dometic 2350 has twice over the last 5 years become disconnected - if its the same  just pull the fridge forward enough to see the control selector box on the front top of the fridge & make sure its still all connected to the switch knob & working  properly.

David 

Have you checked the 240v Plug is it plugged in.  Have you pushed it in firmly.

On Gas. Is the flame lit !   Is there heat coming from the Exhaust Flue.

With the top Fridge Louvered Vent  removed feel the topmost pipe on the back of the fridge  (it has dimples along its length)  It should be uncomfortably HOT. When using,  240v, 12v, or  Gas.  If it is Cold/cool/or warm,  to touch the liquid is not circulating.  The van may not be level.

Have you used the fridge   recently like in the last six months.

Reason I ask is that a real old fridge   could possibly have  corroded pipework on the back. This is where the liquid is that circulates and cools the fridge down.  Have you smelt any Strong Ammonia smells around the van if so the liquid has gone from the fridge.

If the pipework is cracked or corroded it is cheaper to get a new fridge than get a replacement Condenser for the fridge.

Interested to hear your findings.

Mike

Macka17 - What does household insurance have to do with a caravan? Hopefully it was a tongue in cheek comment because certainly down the wrong path if it was meant as advice. 

Model number: RM2553

Have been in constant use 8 years.

Very strong smell almost animal urine smell night before stopped working properly. Then wouldn't work on gas or 240 volt.

The Chief of Staff said it wasn't an amonia smell but it probably was, very strong inside van.

I will try some of the suggestions but we are 6km from Ravenshoe FNQ and nearest repairers are 2.5 hours away in Cairns.

The frig was out about 2 years ago when a Townsville caravan repairer found that the floor underneath had rotted away as the Caravan manufacturer hadn't put in a way for defrosting water to escape.

Thank you all for your answers. I will post again when we work out what we have to do

PeteM

Peter I do not like your chances of a fix.
re your comments..
(Very strong smell almost animal urine smell night before stopped working properly. Then wouldn't work on gas or 240 volt.
The Chief of Staff said it wasn't an amonia smell but it probably was, very strong inside van.)

And Mike's comments above......
(Reason I ask is that a real old fridge could possibly have corroded pipework on the back. This is where the liquid is that circulates and cools the fridge down. Have you smelt any Strong Ammonia smells around the van if so the liquid has gone from the fridge.

If the pipework is cracked or corroded it is cheaper to get a new fridge than get a replacement Condenser for the fridge.)


To me and 8 year old frig is not an old frig and I would have expected a longer life.

If you cannot get your frig back to life, I have dealt with RV Parts Express B4 and they provide great support and at the time of my purchase free delivery for parts over from memory $300 your replacement frig is $2180 use that figure for comparison. Of course you will need some professional assistance for the change over/install, but that should not take long.

https://www.rvpartsexpress.com.au/dometic-rm2553.html

Peter

We have been advised that the fridge is Kaput, RS too expensive to even think about repairing because:

1. It is 10 years old

2. They are not designed to run continuously or for full time use, as we have done

3. The gas & coolant are very corrosive and to replace the parts would cost around 2/3rds of new replacement cost of fridge.

Thank you all

PeteM

Sorry to hear of you news.

Do you have an Engel or Waeco type fridge in the Car.

Or

If you can afford it buy one, remove the old fridge and sit an Engel type chest fridge (4x4 type) in the hole as a temporary measure.  There are sometimes good deals going on these even in smaller towns.

Bit awkward maybe but it can tide you over till you get to a big City or Centre where you may pick up a secondhand 3 way,  or cheaper price new 3 way fridge.  They usually are much pricier in the smaller towns and cities, that's if you could get one without shipping it in.

Re the Corrosion and loss of liquid.   It might not have been corrosion that caused the leak.  The Condenser units are secured by two Coach Screws into the back of the fridge.  They are only actually  screwed into about 0.9 mm thick metal embedded in the polystyrene insulation.

They come loose allowing the Condenser  pipework  to move and swing with road vibration.  When it is doing this all the movement is pivoting/flexing on a little pipe at the bottom of the pipework.   This is where it usually cracks at a weld.  They cannot repair and refill them as far as I know.

I usually tell camping friends (Avan Club WA) It's a good idea when the top fridge louvre is off, to just give the pipework a gentle push pull  with your hand.  You will immediately know if it is loose. It should be firmly secured.

Good Luck

Mike