Dan de La Mesa
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2015
- Posts
- 129
When we first bought our 2006 Winnebago View in 2015, we had problems with the propane fridge not staying lit. I solved the problem at the time by removing the accumulated carbon in the gas supply holes with an old toothbrush.
On our just-completed eastern Sierras trip, the fridge kept going out, but I blamed it on the high winds we were experiencing. I shielded the flame loosely with some foil, and that solved the problem temporarily, but there came a point where it wouldn't stay lit, period.
So, with a flashlight, I discovered that the flame source, a 1/2-inch horizontal tube with cuts on the top side of one end, had accumulated very hard deposits of carbon that the toothbrush wouldn't remove. I poked carefully with a piece of wire until most of the carbon came loose. Problem solved.
The manual says that the fridge is designed to be used in propane mode up to 5500 feet. I'm supposing that above that, the oxygen/propane mixture isn't right, causing the carbon accumulation. Now that I finally know exactly what the situation is, I can stay on top of it. We often camp up to 8000 feet and beyond, and so long as the slits in the tube are clear, there's no problem.
I'm still grumpy that Winnebago put in a fridge with this critical limitation -- operating lower than 5500 feet. Is it so difficult a matter, making a self-adjusting flame according to the altitude? I had a pickup with a self-adjusting carburetor over 25 years ago, and the principle seems similar.
On our just-completed eastern Sierras trip, the fridge kept going out, but I blamed it on the high winds we were experiencing. I shielded the flame loosely with some foil, and that solved the problem temporarily, but there came a point where it wouldn't stay lit, period.
So, with a flashlight, I discovered that the flame source, a 1/2-inch horizontal tube with cuts on the top side of one end, had accumulated very hard deposits of carbon that the toothbrush wouldn't remove. I poked carefully with a piece of wire until most of the carbon came loose. Problem solved.
The manual says that the fridge is designed to be used in propane mode up to 5500 feet. I'm supposing that above that, the oxygen/propane mixture isn't right, causing the carbon accumulation. Now that I finally know exactly what the situation is, I can stay on top of it. We often camp up to 8000 feet and beyond, and so long as the slits in the tube are clear, there's no problem.
I'm still grumpy that Winnebago put in a fridge with this critical limitation -- operating lower than 5500 feet. Is it so difficult a matter, making a self-adjusting flame according to the altitude? I had a pickup with a self-adjusting carburetor over 25 years ago, and the principle seems similar.