first of many questions

[john hayward]

just joined the long list of expanda owners and am amazed that there is not a manual to explain all!
my first question is probably a no-brainer to most of you.
i tried to run the fridge on gas but couldn't get it started. there was no indicator light and no ticking noise and consequently no cold fridge.
i noticed that the starter does not operate on the stove unless there is power to the van (no battery at this stage).
is the fridge the same and will not start on gas without power and if it is, what happens when you go free camping.
will i need to take a generator everytime?
plenty more questiond to come.

john

 

[andrea]

John, they can take a bit to start. Firstly make sure the gas bottle is on and the fridge is switched to gas (if you have two gas bottle make sure it's pointing to the tight bottle). Then (what I do to make it easier) is the turn the stove knob and push it in until I hear/smell gas. Then I turn off. Hold down the button on the left on the fridge and keep it down then push the right button and release, wait a few seconds to see if the needle is moving, if not press the right button again. Sometimes it takes 10 or so tries. Once the needle moves from the red to the green section you can release the left button. If still not working check gas is flowing to stove and try again

 

[ragracing]

Hi John,

I know my stove of Fridge won't start with out Power of some sorts, eg 12v or 240v. If you can get the stove to light follow Andrea's instruction and it should work!

Duncan

 

[Gaz70]

if you are considering free camping probably a good idea to put a battery in....that way you will have lights, wont have to run a generator (at all or all the time) some places dont allow generators...as far as the fridge goes, sometimes can take 50 or more pushes...can be a real bit_h sometimes...keep persisting or take it back to Jayco..

 

[john hayward]

Thanks for your responses but unfortunately i don't have any buttons to push, unlike the old camper trailer.
The new fridge is a dometic RM 7401 L and it only has 2 dials ie the energy selector (gas,12v,240v) and the rotary (or temperature) switch.
The dometic instructions state that the ignition process is activated automatically accompanied by a ticking sound approx 30 secs.
The question is how is the ignition process activated when there is no power to the van???

 

[Capt. Gadget]

Hi John I had a quick google search and found the installation manual , at a guess I would say it needs to be connected to 12v for the ignition to work either by a battery in the van or a separate wire through the plug to the vehicle maybe one of the Auto sparkies on the forum may be able to make more sense of the drawing [MENTION=1773]boots33[/MENTION]

 

[grinner914]

Looks like you have a newer model of Dometic fridge (http://www.dometic.com/enie/International/Site/Caravan/Refrigerators/products/?productdataid=67915) with an electronic ignition for the gas. Personally I haven't come across this before. (Mine has the old manual buttons to press).

I am therefore assuming that you will need a power source to be able to light the pilot light for gas operation.

Looks like you may need to invest in that battery, and could I suggest as well look at changing over your lights to LED (do a search in the Technical forum). I got my LEDS from ebay for only a few dollars each.

Jason

 

[14.44-4 pajero]

Hi John I have the same fridge the ignition is automatic and wired through a fuse in the setec but you need a battery or have power via vehicle hot wire 7 pin plug hope this helps mate

 

[grinner914]

Looking at Capt. Gadgets link above, you will need 2 12 volt connections to your fridge. A & B to run the fridge from 12 volts when travelling, and C & D to power the elctronics for the fridge, which I assume would also take care of the electronic ignition.

Jason

 

[relgate]

My fridge is press button, but my hot water is auto ignition whilst on gas and that definately needs 12V. It did occur to me that Jayco sell vans without batteries that have hot water and I wondered how on earth you could run it on gas. I assume your van is new, did Jayco supply with that fridge and no battery? I would hope they would point this out before delivery/ordering!

 

[john hayward]

Thanks for all your replies.
The van is 2 years old but hardly been used - maybe the original owners couldn't work it out either.
I am assuming that jayco believe that everyone will run their fridges on 240v if they don't have a battery.
The hot water system mmm.. - i guess that i'll wait until i get the fridge solved before i start on a new problem!

 

[john hayward]

The van is just 2 years old but used only twice - maybe the previous owners were as confused as i am?
Yesterday i plugged the van into 240v power and started the fridge on gas. the yellow light was on and a few hours later i checked and the fridge was cold. so far so good.
i then unplugged the power to the van but left the fridge on gas - progress eh?
except that this morning the fridge was not cold.
why?? (yes i checked the stove was working & that i hadn't run out of gas).
was the fridge running on 240v even though the energy selector was on gas?

any ideas or any ideas where i could get help.
and apparently i've got the hot water system to look forward to!

 

[Burnsy]

Hmmm, the only thing I can think of is maybe it has a 12v solenoid valve for gas and the 12v is supplied from setec unit? This kinda defeats the purpose with running on gas though, as you would also need a continuous supply of 12v, sounds strange!
There must be a manual you can download for your fridge?

Cheers.

 

[boots33]

Hi John
have not seen these fridges before but as the others have said it seems pretty clear from the installation manual the capt posted that you will need to supply a permanent 12v feed to get your fridge to work on gas. There is a valve ( thanks Burnsy ) shown on the diagram that is connected to the control unit, probably meant to turn off the gas if the pilot goes out. without 12v it will shut down as well. The text at the bottom of the diagram makes it quite clear that you will need to fit a battery to your van for it to work on gas (unless you have 240v available, which will then supply the 12v from your setec power supply)

if i were you i would just fit a battery to the van. that will be the best all round solution. there is really no point in running another permanent supply all the way from the car as this would mean you would have to have the car connected all the time... not very practical at all.

 

[john hayward]

Thanks boots33 - you may have hit the nail on the head.
You would think that it would be written in plain english in the manual even though it is a german company.
I did sent an email to dometic but i am yet to receive a reply.
Looks like i'm off to get a battery installed soon than i thought.
What happens if the battery runs flat - does the fridge stop?
looks like i may be in the market for a solar panel too.
I might put off looking at the hot water until i get a battery as it too may work on the same principle.
Thanks for all your replies.

 

[boots33]

What happens if the battery runs flat - does the fridge stop?

Yes the way i read it if c/d looses power the gas will shut down. A great step forward for fridge technology. I am glad i have one of the older push to start models that will run on gas without batteries.

 

[macca]

From that diagram the 12V is required to run the ignition module, this unit does not have a thermocouple lead like the simple units. It electronically senses the gas flame. Simple terms, its has a circuit board (computer) running the show, the simple ones use a mechanical valve.

 

[macca]

Yes the way i read it if c/d looses power the gas will shut down. A great step forward for fridge technology. I am glad i have one of the older push to start models that will run on gas without batteries.

Boots, You are right. More stuff to go wrong, I would rather hold a button for 10 seconds.

 

[satyoga]

I found this out on the weekend, you need 12volt to start the fridge on gas,
Sounds strange but after a unhappy wife tried for half an hour I flicked the battery switch and fridge came to life.
Same with the stove and oven, makes you wonder.
Cheers Tony

 

[john hayward]

Yep - you guys were right. Actually got a reply from dometic and for your future reference here it is:

Dear John thanks for your enquiry. I am not sure how the fridge worked at all without having any 12v power to it as it requires 12v to power the pcb.

The rm7401is a manual energy selector model, which means you will have to switch the dial between each power source, it will not automatically change if one of the power sources is removed.

I would recommend connecting a 12v battery to the input marked house battery or electronics first, the trying the selector on 240v and see if the fridge is cold after about 4 hours. If that all works ok, if you have the gas connected already, try the selector on gas you should hear the igniter start ticking then the gas should ignite and maintain the cold in the fridge. It is best not to run the 12v until the van is hooked up to a running vehicle as the 12v element will draw too much power from the battery in a short period and flatten the battery.

If you have any further queries after this testing let me know and I can help you from there.