RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

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Choppski
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RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by Choppski »

hi guys - need your help.

i read quite a few forum post but none quiet answers my issue.

i have had my van with this fridge for the last 8 years - no problems until this summer. its a RM122 B 3 ways fridge in a 1982 viking - looks to be the original i think (but guessing).

240v works great and gets from 30C to 5C in less than one hour with empty fridge - perfect. 12v is ok at maintaining temp but not really good to get it down properly - i'm ok with that.

however, my issue is when working on gas - it doesn't go below 19C even after 6 hours on full blast. I use camping gaz with 907 bottle that is brand new and works fine on cooker. The fridge lights up well first time and has a nice blue flame coming from 4 jets that i can see underneath. i have had the fridge out, checked the baffles and they are clean as a whistle - no soot. i have tipped it upside down and hears a reasonable amount of fluid sloshing down the tubes at the rear. i'm at a loss of what the issue is and why it won't work properly.

The door seals have a nice 'tug' on them so they feel like they work.

I've had a gas engineer look at it to check no loss of pressure/ leaks - all seems fine.( I did this because the carbon monoxide alarm went off this summer - for peace of mind.)

is it time for a new fridge?
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Tinium
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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by Tinium »

Is your van perfectly level when you've been testing the gas? From my experience, running on gas is far more picky about the fridge being level than it is on either of the electric modes... could be as simple as that :)
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Choppski
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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by Choppski »

The van is level when running the tests.
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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by captain Byrne »

Have you checked the burner is directly underneath the flue? Also, despite the fact the flame is blue, it doesn't mean anything if there's not enough gas getting through. You can have a nice blue flame with very little pressure & although it looks ok, there won't be enough heat for it to work. Have you removed the injector & cleaned it or soaked in spirits? My money's on either the position of the burner or a partially blocked injector.
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Choppski
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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by Choppski »

I haven’t checked the position of the burner, the gas engineer did pass compressed air over it. I’ll give it a try and check position of the burner too.
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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by captain Byrne »

Choppski wrote:I haven’t checked the position of the burner, the gas engineer did pass compressed air over it. I’ll give it a try and check position of the burner too.
Blowing compressed air over it does nothing. It needs to be stripped & cleaned properly.
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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by nobbyfox »

Maybe your gas inside the tubes have crystalised?
Remove the fridge and turn upside down for 24 hours, you will be surprised the difference it makes
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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by Ralf85 »

nobbyfox wrote:Maybe your gas inside the tubes have crystalised?
Remove the fridge and turn upside down for 24 hours, you will be surprised the difference it makes
He says his fridge works on hook-up and battery so that's not the problem.

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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by Porkscratching »

Had the same symptoms with my fridge a decade ago. A refrigeration engineer sold me a new gas jet (still readily available) which resolved the problem. Exact same thing happened earlier this year. This time I removed the jet and syringed some surgical spirit through it and for good measure I poked a single strand of copper wire through it.
Worked for me. Normal service resumed, Cold beer in hand.

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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by adrianbutter »

Can I ask, why 24 hours upside down (rather than less), what is it that is happening?

Many thanks,
Ade
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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by Oldiebut goodie »

It takes a long time for the crystals to re-dissolve into the liquid.
24 upside down then 24 right way up is the recommended regimen. Then retest. Only if it isn't cooling on any heat source and the 12/240v elements are OK.
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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by Mocki »

It’s a burner or jet issue .
If it’s lighting, but not cooling, as long as it is reasonably level , the jet is the main fault .

For the long term readers of this subject , in the future , and to help others understand , I’ll post this from my archives of stuff I have written on the subject before .....

If it is not working on any form of power at all, you can try the turning it over ritual !
Inside is not gas , but ammonia based coolant, which crystallises if allowed to dry on any surface, so if the fridge hasn't been used for a while , and therefore no circulation , the crystals build up , eventually blocking the smaller pipes....so turning the fridge upside down, leaving it for a couple of hours, and then righting it for a couple of hours and doing this two or three ( or more) times, flushes the coolant through, and it washes the crystals back into the coolant, and they dissolve .

If it is working on mains , but not on gas, chances are the flu is blocked, or the jet is blocked, or partially blocked .
If it's working on gas, but not on either one, or both of the electric sources, it's an element issue , providing you are sure it is actually getting power to the element

It is also important to remember that a flame only ever burns vertically in a drought free environment, so the fridge must be within a couple of degrees of level for the flame to "hit the mark" , this however will not have much effect on electric only gas

12v feed should be fused to the relay from the main battery

If it’s not working on gas , but is lighting , you need to clean the burner assy
Turn the fridge upside down, undo the burner retaining screw from the bottom of the chimney heat shield and disconnect the gas pipe , blow high pressure compressed air through the jet ( never "proggle" with anything , of you make the hole in the jet anything other than perfectly round the gas won’t squirt in the right place ) you can force WD40 or similar through it with airline
You need a big blue flame the full size of the burner mesh when you reassemble it

Mains and 12v are simply 120w ( depending on model) heating elements and are easy to change .
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Oldiebut goodie
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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by Oldiebut goodie »

You have just replied to a year old post!!!!! :lol:
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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by Oldiebut goodie »

I have the full manual if required. It is an old one but then so are our fridges in the main! Extracts:

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Re: RM122 - 3 ways fridge woes

Post by adrianbutter »

Thank you.. tried both the long upside down and rotated a few times. It’s blooming working again.

Also, the tech notes on the refrigeration much appreciated.

Holiday in two days, beer situation looking more healthy.
Ade
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