[pvusers] Re: Servel propane fridges

["Robert Warren" <robertwarren@mail.com>]

 The guy who sold you that Servel lived in the Rockies, so he probably had his unit adjusted for the higher altitude. Thinner air means less oxygen, but also lower atmoshperic pressure, so a high altitude setting would  be needed, just like cars need to be tuned for high altitudes.  Keep it on the low setting if that does the trick in keeping your food cold, but you really ought to turn down the gas a little bit. Unburned propane is pretty nasty stuff to breathe, you don't want to have a steady diet of it. Also, you need to make sure you havee sufficient fresh air intake into the kitchen, as the trend in making houses really tight against drafts can cause oxygen depletion. This is more a worry with gas water heaters which have a big flame. A gas fridge burner  is akin to a pilot light. As I said before, your flame should be about the size of your thumbnail, and mostly blue, with only a touch of yellow around the edges.   

Good luck,

Robert Warren

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Herman"
Date: Fri, 3 May 2002 08:13:20 -0600
To: "Robert Warren"
Subject: Re: [pvusers] Re: Servel propane fridges

Robert-

    I saw your posting re: old Servel refrigerators on the PVUSERS list. I've been using one of these units for several years and now, due to your posting, I'm wondering if the fridge is jetted wrong. The guy I got it from said he had it in his cabin up in the Rockies, so I would assume that it's jetted for propane. I'm running it on propane, but the flame is larger than what you described (unless you have a great big  fingernail!).

    My fridge keeps food cool, and makes ice cubes, with the thermostat set in the warmest (defrost) position. The flame is pretty large (though blue), in the "idle" position, and if I twist the thermostat to call for more, it roars to life like an F-16 on takeoff. At this "max" setting, the kitchen stinks of, presumably, incompletely burned gas.

    In use, though, (at the warm end of the 'stat) the flame is always at the low setting. In winter some freezing may occur in the refrigerator setting; in summer ice takes longer to set up, but still it doesn't seem to bump the gas flow up to F-16 level.

    Do you think it's possible the fridge actually has a NG jet?

    Thanks for your comments on this.

Bob Herman

 

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