Problems with Dometic fridge in Thailand
 

Hi,

Can anybody help,
My wife and I traveled from the UK to Thailand in our overlander truck in 2014, stopping and refilling our LPG tank (LPG only used for cooking,heating and the Dometic fridge) in the UK,Greece,Russia and China without any problems, however, when we arrived in Thailand we refilled the LPG tank and left it full for over 1 year not using it very much, but now we want to use it the fridge flue keeps getting black sut in it, I clean it out and within 2 days it is back with a bad smell with it.
Do I need to empty the tank and refill it. I have contacted Dometic in the UK but they are reluctant to help as I am not a qualified gas fitter and I don't think there is such a thing in Thailand, I also contacted by email Dometic in Australia but got no reply.
Hope someone can advice us

Dave & Lesley
www.plodd.net
www.overlandersthailand.com

I would drain & refill the tank, or try piping the fridge to a separate bottle for testing purposes.
I'm thinking maybe the LPG has separated chemically ?
I'm no expert, just thinking out loud for you bier

Are you sure that the flue hasn't become home to some critters.

Cooktop flame normal or do the pots get black too

Nothing in there
 

Hi,

Firstly I would like to thank both of you that have replied so quickly.
In answer to your questions: I think that if all else fails I will try emptying the tank and refilling it but I did not want to have to release the gas out if I could find an alternative, not because of the cost but I think it could be quite dangerous.

Secondly I not only cleaned the flue but I dismantled it before cleaning, the cooker is burning fine,also when I relight the fridge after cleaning I can see a nice blue flame no yellowing which makes it even more confusing.
Hope someone can come up with some ideas

Thanks

Dave
www.plodd.net
www.overlandersthailand.com

I'm a Canadian refrigeration mechanic (I don't work on propane refrigerators much but know the theory) and can add a bit. If you are sooting up, you are not burning the gas properly. That means either too much fuel or not enough air. Not enough air is easier (and safer) to check and correct. Look for anything blocking the natural flow of air that will be mixing with the fuel as it burns. Plugged chimney, bugs blocking ports off etc. If everything is clear, too much fuel is likely a regulator issue. If the propane is feeding the stove or furnace or any other appliance then they will be burning with a lazy yellow flame instead of a nice blue flame. If the flames on other appliances look nice and blue, it isn't the regulator so go back to looking for air problems. If the regulator is bad, do not try and fix it. Get a new one.

Where do we go from here
 

Hi Roger,

I think I understand what you are saying but we have been traveling without any problems for 5 months, weather conditions at extremes, Moscow at 38c Siberia at -10 and the Gobi desert at +40c and without any problem until Thailand.

We really do not know what to do. If we were in the UK or the USA we could find a company that would be able to sort the problem, but we are in Thailand and the Gas fitter(engineer) is the guy that was helping the gas fitter yesterday, with absolutely know knowledge of LPG gas or any other gas for that matter.
The fuel tank was new when we set off from the UK, I can only think that it is the gas that we have bought, like I say I am a little scared of just realising the gas.

Dave

Soot is unburnt fuel... or something being burnt but not well.
If the flame looks ok ... try a spoon above it to check for any soot that you cannot see?

Getting rid of the LPG .. use the cooker to burn the fuel ? While on the subject of the cooker .. try the spoon above the flame to check that for soot too. (Might be on the bottoms of your pots and pans?)

It will be something simple frelated to sitting there for months - mud dauber wasp blocked the combustion air or the top of the outlet vent for instance.

Dave, it only takes one tiny bug to plug up an oriface. If you turn the valve off at the tank, it's pretty safe to open up the burner section and look things over. Everything is really small in the burner section so lots of light will help. The older the fridge, the simpler they are. The newer ones have electronic ignition, the older ones a standing pilot light that you light manually to start the fridge. I can't tell from your posts what you've got but if a man(or woman) put it together, I figure a man can fix it. If you have access to an air compressor, that'll help. Pull some covers off and take a look around the burner section. Put on safety glasses if you have them and start to gently blow the compressed air around the burner and see what comes out. Blow air up the chimney etc as well. If there is a little fan in there it's job is to push air into the burner. The fan would only be on a newer fridge, the older ones are just a tiny burner that has a low flame (pilot) and a higher flame for more capacity. Look for tiny little ports in the burner and blow the air around them to try and get whatever is plugging things up out of the port. The burner section is seriously tiny and hard to get your fingers into so lots of light and take your time and you shouldn't have too much trouble. As long as you don't loosen the nut that is holding the gas line into the gas valve, you can't cause a leak. The ports are pretty tiny that pull the air into the burner so it doesn't take much to plug them off. My old fridge had the same symptoms years ago and it was a spider web plugging things up. Take your time, try to understand what the design is trying to do and don't muscle things apart and remember that it wasn't working before so you can't make it much worse as long as you don't break things. 😄

Compressor
 

Hi Roger,

Thank you for all you help, it is much appreciated, I have used a compressor to blow anything out, The refrigerator does have a electric ignition and it does have a fan at the rear.

Today I have emptied the gas tank, i am now going to leave it empty, as we are going to fly back to the UK next Friday, I still dont know how we stand with the problem but I have run out of time. We will come back to Thailand at the end of July and hopefully when I fill the gas tank at a well known supplier (say Shell or PPT) everything will be OK. We are now thinking that we will be turning round and heading for Europe in the new year it will take us about 5 months to reach Europe.

I would like to thank everybody that has tryed to help and I would still like to hear from anybody that as any other ideas.

Kind Regards

Dave
Plodd - A Trip of a Lifetime
www.overlandersthailand.com

Spoon test
 

Hi Warin,

I did what you said I tried the spoon test ....Nothing, so that is when I decided to get rid of the gas. I hope when I refuel it the refrigerator works OK.

Thank you

Dave
www.plodd.net
www.overlandersthailand.com

Emptied the gas tank
 

Hi,

I emptied the gas tank, then found that I had to fly back to the Uk so I have left the truck in Thailand wirth its empty gas tank, I will be going back at the end of July so if anybody can think of anything I would be very grateful.

Dave

www.plodd.net
www.overlandersthailand.com

Perhaps a face to face talk with the people you bought the fridge off might be beneficial?

Help with info on the fridge
 

Hi Again,

I am now in the UK and I have visited several caravan centre's for advice and everyone of them say it must be the gas, so when I return to Thailand at the end of July I think the first thing is to refill the gas tank at a reputable supplier like Shell or BP and take it from there unles enybody as any other ideas.

Dave
Plodd - A Trip of a Lifetime
Overlanders - Stellplatz stop over and tour Pattaya, Thailand

Recent post on pan american facebook reporting exactly the same problem with the fridge. Similarly the stove flame was perfect with no sign of soot on pots and pans.

I did a search and there are many similar cases and the consensus was the combustion air supply or chimney or vent is blocked somewhere.

Rifer madness
 

Had the same problem in Mexico with a gas rifer in my antique Airstream trailer,
it was the gas:

Varieties of LPG bought and sold include mixes that are mostly propane (C
3H
8), mostly butane (C
4H
10) and, most commonly, mixes including both propane and butane. In the northern hemisphere winter, the mixes contain more propane, while in summer, they contain more butane.[1][2] In the United States, mainly two grades of LPG are sold: commercial propane and HD-5. These specifications are published by the Gas Processors Association (GPA)[3] and the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM).[4] Propane/butane blends are also listed in these specifications.

Your problem may have been that your rifer and the gas you purchased were not compatible. But, the mechanic who posted here might know more.
xfiltrate

Great help
 

Hi Guy's,

I hope that you keep your thoughts coming in on my problem as I am now in the UK, but will be retrurning back to the truck and Thailand at the end of July when I will start putting your ideas into practice and hopefully solve the problem. We are now starting to get ready for our trip back to Europe, we are hoping to leave Thailand around April/May next year traveling a similar route as our trip to Thailand in 2014 (Plodd - A Trip of a Lifetime).
I would like to thank you all for all your ideas and hopefully I will be able to sort it out before we set off.

Dave
Hello
Overlanders - Stellplatz stop over and tour Pattaya, Thailand
www.overlandersthailand.com

Conclusion it was the gas
 

Hi everybody,

I would like to thank you all for your advice, after returning to Thailand and a empty gas tank I went to a PPT garage (this is the bigest fuel company in Thailand) and put just $3 of gas in and the refrigerator worked for about 2 weeks, I then went back to the garage and put another $6 in and I have had no problem with the refrigerator. So my conclusion is that it must have been the gas.

Hope this helps anybody that has the same problem.

Dave
www.plodd.net Plodd - A Trip of a Lifetime
www.overlandersthailand.com