| Pvusers Archive for May 2002 |
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| 53 messages, last added Tue Nov 26 17:28:45 2002 |
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From: "Jason J"
Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 23:41:51 -0700
To:
Subject: please help
I found a thread that contained a a message about propane fridges. Maybe you can help me. I have a NORCOLD propane fridge. It starts, and cools really cold. But when the thremostat clicks off, the flame goes out. It either freezes or it's off. What's the deal? The orifice is not obstructed...
Jason,
You may have a burned out thermopile. I have never worked on a
Norcold, but it sounds like one of the newer models with two flames.
The main flame should be only the size of what you think a normal
pilot light flame is. The flame will be about the size of your
index fingernail, mostly blue with only a bit of yellow around
the edges. The pilot light flame is a little smaller and just
stays on all the time.
The fact that you can light it and get it makes me think that
the thermopile !
is almost burned out. It may generate just enough
electricity when the main flame is on, but not enough when the
smaller pilot is lit. A thermopile is the small sensor thingy
placed just near the edge of the pilot flame area, and it creates
a tiny millivoltage bit of power, which is enough to hold open
the little electrical coil that operates the safety valve. You
can get another thermopile at your local Ace hardware or a
refrigeration supply. Even though you won't be able to match
it exactly, all you really have to do is to match the thread
size where it screws into the gas valve. Be sure there is no
gas supply hooked up when you unscrew anything on this valve.
The electrical voltage signal is not very much, and they
don't vary that much anyway. You just have to try to match
the bott!
om end in shape and thread size. By shape, I mean you
have to look at where the bottom end contacts the electric
point inside the hole where you unthreaded it. Look at this
with a flashlight. Clean it out with a Q-tip and a tiny touch
of WD-40. Screw the new thermopile in without any Teflon
tape, and don’t use any pipe dope, either. Otherwise you
may insulate the negative side of the electrical connection.
A thermopile makes electricity from heat across a dielectric
junction: e.g., 2 dissimilar metals in contact, and electrons
flow from the one with the higher charge to the lower charge
on the outer electron shell. The business end of the
thermopile should be just near at outside edge of the flame,
or slightly above it, but not in the centre, which is the hottest spot.
The other possibility is that your gas valve solenoid is
getting corroded or the coil itself is weak. You may be
able to find an entire replacement valve kit from a
refrigeration catalogue.
I live in London now, so there isn’t much else I can do
for you.
Last, if all else fails, take it to an old time
refrigeration guy. Sometimes, you have to get help. How much is it worth to have a really cold beer on those hot summer afternoons?
What will we do if there is another fuel shortage?
Did you know that there is a pollution free, completely renewable fuel which you can use right now in your own car?
Don't replace the engine, replace the fuel. Check out my website on making your own fuel:
http://running_on_alcohol.tripod.com
Preview my new book, "25 years as a moonshiner"
by Robert Warren
robertwarren@mail.com
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