Brian,
Refrigerators are notoriously slow in cooling. I'm sure you will get
other responses. Always start the fridge the night before. It helps to
freeze some things that will ride in the main compartment that will
stand freezing. This helps to initiate the cool-down - some can be
added. the night before, but I always do it the morning of the trip.
Containers that can expand; some holding water, juice, Gatorade, milk,
etc...... butter sticks, frozen meats that will be used that night or
the next day. You'll figure out what works frozen. Same for the
freezer, put already frozen stuff in, including your ice cube tray if
you have one.
There is also a fan to circulate air inside the fridge, and one to blow
air onto the cooling coils, available from Camping World. The interior
one has batteries and some streamers have made a little solar plate
power the coil cooling fan. I'm not sure how they are rigged; each one
to fit the particular cooling unit. Note you don't want the fan blowing
onto the flame section if it is near the coils. These fixes have worked
for many and saved the enormous expense of new refrigerators or
retrofits. Check Tom Patterson's website on "burping" your unit.
Cooler trips down the road,
Tom Walden
brian ganoe wrote:
>
> Jim,
>
> I had an easy time attaching the piezo but an awful time getting it to
> light the burner. It seems that it likes a match much better than the
> piezo. I pulled off the job as my wife got home(6 days) and I wanted to
> spend time with her. I will try again today.
>
> I just read a message from John that dealt with burner problems with an old
> Dometic frig. I think I also have a case of the "slows", when it comes to
> cooling. I left it on all night and it was 38 degrees this am but it took
> it all night to do it. I checked it about 3 hours after starting it on gas
> and only the ice box was cold. Is this normal? There seems to be only one
> output level of burner flame. I don't see how you can get a brush up the
> chimney above the burner without more access. I have found mud dabber nests
> in other places and wonder if they had taken up residence there also. Jim,
> where did you mount the piezo? I had hoped to use the flint wheel hole but
> it seems determinded to stay put.
>
>
> ..........Brian.........
> 73 Safari
>
>
