Is it possible to bypass fridge power board?

[Mojojojo]

There way larger on the inside 6 gallons of milk on the bottom if you so desire.

[jtrader]

Originally Posted by Mojojojo

There way larger on the inside 6 gallons of milk on the bottom if you so desire.

Certainly something to look forward to.

[billb800si]

If you do replace with a residential unit just buy an "inverter" so you could run off of 12VDC later if you need.

What ever you do don't bypass the thermocouple as you could over heat and cause a fire.
Good luck

[jtrader]

I broke down and called a technician. His immediate opinion was my cooling unit has a blockage. The unit will work fine for at least one cycle on either AC or LP then stops cooling completely. He said it was a particulate in the ammonia/water mix that would get stuck and cause the blockage. New unit costs around $1400 from him. Not entirely convinced yet. Maybe I'm just stubborn. The fridge has been in operation for over 2 1/2 years without a single problem. It's just hard for me to believe that all of a sudden a particle found it's way into or finally dislodged in a closed system.

When I finally throw in the towel it looks like I'll be going residential. How do I cap off the gas line since it will no longer be used?

[fonzie]

Look at these videos, might help with your issue......

RV Refrigerator Videos

[Crockett]

dude...just do the direct electric trick i posted. you can have a "floating blockage", but they wont do the same thing everytime. what happened to the 110 fridge home depot idea?

[jtrader]

Originally Posted by Crockett

dude...just do the direct electric trick i posted. you can have a "floating blockage", but they wont do the same thing everytime. what happened to the 110 fridge home depot idea?

The wife doesn't like the hot wire idea. I'm all for it but even if I made it safe if there truly is a blockage it wouldn't make the fridge reliable. That's why I'm looking at a 110v residential. "official" diagnostics by a service tech would cost me $200+ so I figure save the money and put it toward a reliable fridge with a warranty.

[jtrader]

Originally Posted by fonzie

Look at these videos, might help with your issue......

RV Refrigerator Videos

Thanks Fonzie. I've been watching Mr. Ford's videos for a week. That's where my suspicion comes in about needing a whole new cooling unit.

[Crockett]

the direct electric without the thermostat is how you test the core...im just suggesting to test the core...that 300+ fridge is a great fix if you dont need the lp..

[jtrader]

Originally Posted by Crockett

the direct electric without the thermostat is how you test the core...im just suggesting to test the core...that 300+ fridge is a great fix if you dont need the lp..

That's a very good suggestion. So I would hard wire a male 120V plug onto the connectors of the element? Does it matter which wire to which wire? There aren't any markings I can see that points to the hot wire on the element side.

[Mojojojo]

Cap off the gas line with a brass ball valve and a cap over that then in the future you or a new owner can put in a lp unit easily.

[jtrader]

Originally Posted by Mojojojo

Cap off the gas line with a brass ball valve and a cap over that then in the future you or a new owner can put in a lp unit easily.

I hadn't thought of including a valve. Good idea. The location they ran the line up through the bottom of the fridge compartment is going to give me trouble when fitting the new fridge in there. They put it about 2 inches in from the wall and about 1/8" away from the metal frame of the fridge. May have to cut it and place the valve somewhere outside the fridge compartment. That would be either under the stove or under the floor. Have to chase it down to find out.

[Scott619]

May be a dumb question, but if you use an inverter to power a residential refrigerator while you are rolling down the road all day is it going to kill your trailer battery?

[Crockett]

Originally Posted by jtrader

That's a very good suggestion. So I would hard wire a male 120V plug onto the connectors of the element? Does it matter which wire to which wire? There aren't any markings I can see that points to the hot wire on the element side.

neutral to one side and line voltage to the other....if the core is good...you still have the original issue...if you dont need it on lp, you'll be ahead of the game to just get the 110 refer...if you do go the 110 refer, some have the condenser coils ithe side. pull the insulation from that wall inside the coach so they can get some air and cool..

edit: just use a flare plug on the lp line....no need for a valve

[jtrader]

Originally Posted by Scott619

May be a dumb question, but if you use an inverter to power a residential refrigerator while you are rolling down the road all day is it going to kill your trailer battery?

Not at all. We're full timers and are stationary in Cincinnati. Don't plan on coming off of shore power. When we get our house built we plan to trade or sell this trailer and buy a smaller one for travel.

I can see where it would drain the batteries quick on an inverter though. Wouldn't think that would last longer than an hour or two.

[jtrader]

Originally Posted by Crockett

neutral to one side and line voltage to the other....if the core is good...you still have the original issue...if you dont need it on lp, you'll be ahead of the game to just get the 110 refer...if you do go the 110 refer, some have the condenser coils ithe side. pull the insulation from that wall inside the coach so they can get some air and cool..

edit: just use a flare plug on the lp line....no need for a valve

I will try the AC hard wire and see how it works. If the technician is right the cooling unit is shot and I'll be replacing the unit with a 110 residential very soon. Haven't had much time to tinker today plus it's raining/snowing outside. All I did today was shut it off and disconnect AC and DC for about 3 hours and let all the liquid settle in case it is a blockage. Turned everything back on an hour ago and switched it to AC mode and it's cooling good so far. I'll know within the next couple hours if it will quit again.

Could the cold weather have frozen the distilled water in the cooling unit and dislodged something? It was down to negative temps overnight last week and the month before when I had this problem the first time. What has me really puzzled is usually the power board will register a no cooling problem. I haven't had one single error light with any of these problems.

I want to leave the exterior wall as intact as I can so if I end up needing room back there I'll make a sturdy ledge to sit the new fridge on leaving enough air gap in the back for circulation. Might even make some holes between the fridge compartment and the stove.

[Crockett]

the 9.9 i installed had the coils in the side, not the back

[RamblerGuy]

Sorry, had second thoughts about my suggestion.

[jtrader]

Originally Posted by Crockett

the 9.9 i installed had the coils in the side, not the back

Good point I'll have to watch out for that. I have room to play with if the coils are on the side.

[jtrader]

Originally Posted by RamblerGuy

You say you have watched Ford's RV refrigerator videos. Did you try his cold weather fix of partially blocking the inlet (lower) vent?

That's one of the first things I did last fall in preparing for winter. Air is about 80% blocked by a panel of 3/4 styrofoam insulation to the back of the door. Confusing part is the last two winters I did nothing to the vent and it worked fine with similar outside temperatures. One thing I noticed with the vent partially blocked is that the air moves much faster through the "chimney" cavity over the coils. Makes me wonder if with really low temps (below zero) it cools those coils even more rapidly. I'll defer to Mr. Ford's opinion though since he knows far better than me.