The thing that helps when you roll the fridge isn't the LP or ignition. It is that the ammonia inside gets to circulate. This helps with cooling as there is no circulator pump. The LP is under pressure from your tank and is forced through the line. In fact it has a common operating pressure for common liquid petroleum or LP gas appliance is 10" - 11" of water column (WC) or re-stating this in equivalent measures, that's 27.4 millibars or 2491 - 2739 Pascals or Pa, or about 0.36 - 0.40 psi or about 5.78 to 6.36 ounces of pressure per square inch. Basically the way these work mechanically is you are holding a bypass valve when you hold the smaller button in. This allows LP to flow and by passes the thermocouple. The Thermocouple is the safety feature that insures if the flame goes out that the gas is shut off so the van doesn't fill with LP and create and extreme explosion fire hazard. A thermocouple also known as a "thermoelectrical thermometer", is an electrical device consisting of two dissimilar electrical conductors forming an electrical junction. When heated it produces a small amount of voltage usually less than a AA battery. Still its enough to open the electric valve in your LP control unit allowing LP to flow after being heated if THE FLAME GOES OUT the Thermocouple cools and then that electric signal stops closing the valve. Wala safety feature engaged. My guess is your success is dues to cleaning the pilot and burner itself along with insuring good air flow. These appear to have a sealed fire box probably due to the tight small quarters of the van and so your need to get air into it is crucial. larger home LP refrigerators have an open box ( or more open) and so air flow is less of an issue. Still no Oxygen no flame!! A run down of operation: It works like this: Heat is applied to the ammonia and water solution in the generator. (The heat comes from burning gas, propane or kerosene.) As the mixture reaches the boiling point of ammonia, it flows into the separator. Ammonia gas flows upward into the condenser, dissipates heat and converts back to a liquid. The liquid ammonia makes its way to the evaporator where it mixes with hydrogen gas and evaporates, producing cold temperatures inside the refrigerator's cold box. The ammonia and hydrogen gases flow to the absorber where the water collected in the separator in step No. 2 mixes with the ammonia and hydrogen gases. The ammonia forms a solution with the water and releases the hydrogen gas, which flows back to the evaporator. The ammonia-and-water solution flows toward the generator to repeat the cycle. Chronologically: 1.Generator - creates ammonia gas 2.Separator - separates the ammonia gas from water 3.Condenser - where hot ammonia gas is cooled and condensed to create liquid ammonia 4.Evaporator - where liquid ammonia converts to a gas to create cold temperatures inside the refrigerator 5.Absorber - absorbs the ammonia gas in water. Good home video!!!
I got rid of that old fridge as it never gets cold enough and is inefficient. I installed a GoWesty fridge elimination kit for extra storage. I use a portable fridge now.
Why didn’t you say what year this FJ was.? I watched three videos and the 2011-12 engine drains are farther back on the engine block. Also for all the questions about only draining from the radiator, You would only be draining 1/2 of the old fluid. You can actually get more from the block than the radiator. So you would be contaminating the new , ( experience), fluid‼️
Excellent and Thanks.Just bought an 1981 Wesfalia,same color and galley as yours.Its in the shop being buffed and now I know how to use my fridge.Thanks from Ont.
Thank you for your instructional video. I've had a 1984 Westfalia van since 2009, and my fridge has never worked. Thanks to you I believe l will try to remove and repair my fridge.
A man and lady lobster walk into a bar and sit at a table. The man lobster gets two beers and drinks them on the way back to the lady lobster. He places the empty bottles on the table. The lady lobster says, “ You Shellfish bastard!”
@@7kpulldown A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says "What's with the long face?" Horse replies: "That guy with the Westfalia wouldn't give me a beer, the shellfish bastard."..or something like that Hahahaha
I don’t see you have answered any of the comments in regards of draining the engine block coolant. Would be helpful if you do. Also curious if you flushed the system with distilled water. Thx
I gave this a thumbs down simply because it does not show the removal or installation of the hub from or back into the knuckle. That was the only reason I viewed this video.
The point you make about turning the fridge upside down for 24 hrs, has solved many a problem as it allows the settled chemicals re-mix. One other thing I have always had success with id driving with the toggle switch on the 12 v while driving. Although you have no temperature control on this setting it functions to provide the ridge to operate thus allowing air and neat to work in the system. Once stopped the ridge will light immediately on propane and have temperature control.
Great video! I ended up here because the service manual incorrectly identifies the location of the two engine block drain plugs. Your video identifies those nicely. They are 10mm and the one on the drivers side is tricky to loosen and tighten and really didn't drain much of anything as I had drained from the passenger side and the radiator plug first. I think if I were to do this project again I would only loosen the passenger side block drain plug and the radiator drain plug. Thanks for the video.
thanks for the Fridge Video. i've got a question for you, where are you located out of? you have a Safeway Bag and Old style Pilsner. i've been try to find some anywhere close to Ohio every since i went to a Festival in Calgary a couple of years ago. I would to get my hands on a Pil Cube 24. ha ha thanks for any info. John
Awesome video, thanks for filming and posting this. My fridge wouldn't work on gas and the PO couldn't get it to work either so its at least 10 years since it last worked. I found the lower air tube (with the cap) to be full of crud and the igniter to be a bit crusty and a quick blow out of all the hoses and the combustion box with compressed air sorted it. While I was there I also found the 12v fan to be stuffed so replaced it with a PC case fan on a bracket made out of ally angle and also added thermal compound to the thermister. I think I may also add a temperature sensor and fan on the interior fins while its out so it will cool more efficiently and I can also monitor the temperature. I will crack open a cold one in your honour!
Very helpful video. I am planning for the road full time and I am deliberating whether I should keep the fridge or do the elimination kit to create storage. I wonder if it would be cheaper to keep ice in a Yeti or run the propane fridge?! :)
Ice is cheap, Yeti is not, Yeti is a tedious chore, a replacement fridge is most expensive (~$1,000) but most convenient and reliable, storage can be accomplished by a hitch box or rooftop box. Given all this, I would opt to attempt a fix 1st and then replace w/ a new marine unit if the repair didn't work. This will be my quandary soon.
