How to service and repair a 3 way fridge - Motorhome, caravan or camper van fridge 

Hullo - you really deserve a medal for making this video. This is the second time I’ve had to attack my 3-way as I avoided dismantling the gas jet the first time, which was a mistake after a 5km bumpy track showed just how a small amount of crap can block the jet. Both times your vid has been indispensable and funny. Many many thanks - and Rgrds for 2023 from Spain. Chander

Thank you. One of the very best tutorial I have ever watched.

bloody great video, I have exactly the same fridge ( e-bay special) and the igniter wasn't working.. your video was comprehensive from start to finish, I copied everything you did to yours....no bollocky music playing, and thanks to that my fridge is now icelandic !!! Thanks for taking the time to make this video.

So I took my fridge out that was not working on gas after watching this video. The jet was completely blocked and I blew it out with an airline.Reasembled as per the vid and fridge lit first time. Thanks again.

Spot on. Much better than any of the others especialy as u are genuinely doing it as you go along and no poxy background music to do my head in. Keep it up thanks.

Ross that was brilliant. Love the way you chat as you’re going along. So down to earth. And I so relate to oh I should have done that before etc. I do exactly the same. My fridge works on 240v but stopped working on gas on our last camping trip. So I should now be able to fix it. Thanks for taking the trouble to do the video.

After 3 attempts from other videos this one got it sorted, thank you soooo much 😅

Thanks for the nice and detailed video. I could not find any tutorial for that until now. Really good job!

That worked! Following your excellent video it turned out to be the ignitor. After 35 years there was enough rust to break the earth return path through the mounting bracket. Now to find somewhere open to go camping! Thanks for the video and advice.

Thanks for the very helpful video (loved the humour too) It's good to see the parts & the areas needing testing & cleaning. Thank you

Ah thanks so much! Just bought a 40 yr old T25 and want to keep the original fridge. I now really understand how they work and so can give it a good service & test so that i can be confident it's safe. Very much appreciated! :))

Great tutorial Gives me confidence to service mine ( runs warm not cold ) Love your two fridge story 😜😜 Thanks ATB

Just perfect - exactly what I was looking for. Can't thank you enough. :-)

Great video thanks, feel much more confident to try and fix my fridge which hasn't worked since I bought the van 4 years ago!

Great video , much appreciated , keep her lit ✌️🍀😎

Perfect thanks Ross, Fridge Sorted. You are doing gods work!!!! :)

Α very informativelly video man!Many thanks for your efforts to show us all the parts of the fridge,and how all these work together. It was an excellent troubleshooting presentation tha yoy have made.Greetings from Athens ,whenever wind 💨 push you here,i would glad to buy you some beers 🍻or drinks🥂in downtown!Have nice days,try to travel when you can,life is going fast!!! Have fun😎

Good educational video Endfloat. I ripped out my Electrolux RM212 series fridge, not because it was a shit fridge ( it was and still is a good fridge) but because I have done away with LPG in my van. I do have a new compressor fridge and can justify the cost and it will run on solar power alone and it will cool stuff to -22 decrees C in a matter of minutes. it will not flatten my battery ever, uses 0.4ah/h, now back to the 212. Heres the science why turning the fridge upside down for a day may get it working again. The coolant in the fridge crystalises at the top of the circuit when the fridge has not been switched on over a period of time. Turning it over allows the liquid refrigerant to glug its way through the pipe circuit disolving those crystals. Turned upright the next day, the refrigerant glugs its way back to the resevoir at the bottom taking the now disolved crystals with it. Worked for me after the van was stood for 8 years, fridge has worked perfectly for 5 years since that time. now, on earlier 212 fridges the igniter for the gas didn't require a 12v supply, it was a piezzo ignition. it worked but was a fucker pushing the button 20 times to get it to light :-) The 12v supply was ( an still is) to keep the fridge cold while the engine is running, this overrides the thermostat and just keeps it cool. it also draws 12ah/h These fridges also stop operating if the van is out of level by as little as 3 degrees. make sure your van is level when you are camped out. These fridges cannot cool anything more than 20 degrees C below ambient temperature. Great fridge in Norway, fecking useless in Morocco. Hope some of that helps.

Brilliant video. I had no idea that butane and propane had different size jets. Until you mentioned it, sense the previous owner had changed the regulator on my caravan to butane, and on butane my 3 way fridge and carver heater wouldn't ignite. After watching this, I tried a propane tank and regulator, lo and behold, my fridge and heating work. 😂 Much appreciated!!

Ross, brilliant explanation and excellent video on how to solve that problem with the igniter. Ours is an old Electrolux in a 1997 Elnagh 4 camper. Thanks. Very appreciated. Cheers from Tony in New Zealand.

Good information.

Only just found this vlog ! Top work brother.After a trip into Wales the other week had mine in bits as didnt work on gas . Took it out gave ita"service " and its never worked or lit as well😁😁😁

Good info and find your technical terms down to earth.

Brilliant well informative and entertaining video Ross. Mine is lighting fine but not getting cold anymore. Gonna remove service and turn upside down. Have done this on another fridge and it worked again. You are right, I think by turning upside down maybe gets rid of the air in the liquid. Many thanks 😊

Great video and good explanation if how it works on gas. Yes totally agree with your rant. I am an EE with 45 yrs experience and I have no issue with tightening a gas connection or doing a leak test 🤔. Thank u v much I now must fix my gas fridge, it is 2001 RM20X model. Very similar to what you have. Igniter working but no flame - hopefully a piece of cake after your excellent video.

Thanks from Australia. Mine is a Dometic but I got the gist. Good Man! Great video

Excellent video. Comes in at the right level and we can see producer making the odd mistake but that is fine. Really helpful. My fridge is intermittent. Not sure if it needs re-gassing but certainly this film can set me on the right path.

A Great Helpful Video, Thank You For Posting.

Brilliant! Now confident in doing mine....I have the same problem with the gas side,I had a service guy come out and service the van but he would investigate the gas side which does work but takes a lot of clicks:) He just said "not working" and would not look further.I will also do my Gas water heater and clean that out even though that does start quicker after a lot of years I'm guessing there will be muck in there as well. I'm handy with diy and have already put solar on our Caravan because it's far cheaper to stay in a field with just water and waste disposal than go on a full hook site...I've changed my own tyres and the valves which perished through standing and upgraded the valves as the ones they use are poor.lol...I've even dyed all my curtains because they were sun faded. There are a lot of jobs we can all do with people like you taking their time to show us all how we can save a lot of money....Thank you once again.

Well done man, excellent video, up the Dubs 😊

That was one bloody good video. Very informative . At times very funny. Thank you so much i just bought a camper van and it has a 3way fridge. This has given me some peace of mind that I will be able to sort it when i need to service it. I just subscribed hope to see more of your content. All the best Paul.

😂 i love the comments mate :) you helped me a lot with setting my fridge, thank you for video

Fantastic video. Exactly what I needed , right down to putting your spanner down and just like magic, it's gone. Doesn't assume we have a the premium tools, air supply etc. Thanks,

Excellent. Early part of the video when you are testing the resistances, we can see the red probe but have no idea where the black probe is because your hand is blocking the view holding the red probe.

Yea great video, I’ve just bought a 1988 Toyota hi ace with one of those fridges, probably has never been serviced, I’m inspired to get into it

Really good detailed problem solve, thanks for this

Fantastic, thank you for taking the time to show us this! It was voodoo until you do.

great video. thanks

Great video. Thanks!

Enjoyed watching this video, i am fairly confident with most things, knowing now after seeing what you did taking the thermo ect apart i can do it if needs be, i now listening to you know the principles of how the system works especially the 12v side which was puzzling me why the fridge did not go cold, thanks for sharing this video very helpfull 😊

Thankyou sooo much for this sometimes comedy and very helpful video. I used this knowledge to service mine and although I havnt got the 12v set up to test the ignition yet, after giving it the same treatment im sure this will have done the trick. Also, thankyou!! Can of unicorn farts!! I always wondered what the smell of gas reminded me of but I just couldn't put my finger on it!!

Excellent tutorial Thanks

thank you for that demo very useful

Spare fridge, nicely done. Thank you for video. Very helpful. As a gas engineer I would use specific leak detection fluid (as soapy water causing corrosion) and gas joining compound but you seem to know what your doing

excellent video, very helpful, thank you.😁

Thank you, helped me loads there! 😎

Thank you so much for taking the time to show us how to fix these fridges. Mine that came in our old camper won't light. I'll try following what you did, thanks mate. Unicorn farts 😂😂😂😂 brilliant.

Great video . We have a 28 year old caravan with the same fridge . . It's a bit hit n miss if the fridge works . No idea when it was last serviced . Thank you feel confident I can sort it .

Brilliant video. Our fridge stopped working on gas so I'll follow your vid to see what the problem is. Thanks.

I now consider myself somewhat of an expert thanks to you! Only kidding! Brilliantly explained, thank you very much.

Thank you man, this help me before i buy a caravan 😃

Hi. Just come across your video. Great thanks. Have you got any info about replacing the thermocouple? Also you mentioned you could still get spares for this fridge quite easily. Any suggestions as to where? I'm in Scotland. Looking for a replacement lazy elbow, the piece at the top of the flu. Thanks again. Dave.

Great vid and commentary! i have a nice flame but no coldness. Have had fridge out before but just sort of blew over everything and it just worked, now know what to do. Cant find your Lister vid but will be watching your T25 conversion, mine's ready for one. Just need to find a bottle of that unicorn farts.....

Thanks for a very interesting video. I have a Dometic RM7270 very much like the one you worked on. The problem I have is that the the gas is still flowing even when the flame goes out (say because of a draught) so I have no thermocouple action. This would cause a build up of gas around the burner and possibly a safety issue. I suspect a faulty thermocouple but I would appreciate your comments on this problem. I have also fitted a new burner and gas jet which cost £84.

The tape its useless on the compression nuts join Good job for al the work and advice! 👍

Thanks Ross, i will follow your advice but I also need to change the thermostat on mine as its either on or off and I’m unable to control the fridge temperature. I wondered where I need to install the sensor head of the thermostat capillary (long wire) on the rear of the fridge? Thanks in anticipation, Shaun

Hi Ross,quick question my electrolux 400 doesn’t cool down very well one day it was ok the next it wasn’t on on hook- up works fine on gas could it be the thermostat if so how would you test it.thanks buy the way loved the video 😊

After watching this, it set my mind at rest to remove my fridge, have flame but not getting cold will try the upside-down test.

The knob on my 3way van fridge, when you turn the gas up it gets to halfway then flame goes down a bit as you turn it up past halfway..? And the gas wont stay on which im guessing thermocouple until i test it. Ive taken everything at the back and cleaned it all, get a good spark and first time ignition but no cooling even when bypassing the thermocouple by holding the knob in

Thanks for that. I've just bought a small Autosleeper with a 3way electrolux. It works fine generally but on gas, in any kind of a breeze, it wont light or stay lit. I've noticed that the flame looks orange thru the inspection window. So I'm guessing that the burner/Flue may be blocked and also that the shield may be missing. This video gives me hope that I can sort it, so thanks again.

I have a similar issue. The Dometic fridge in my touring caravan stopped working shortly after I bought it. It's on a seasonal pitch and I cant find anyone to go look at it. It's putting a downer on the new caravan experience. I think it's thermostat related. Doesn't work on gas or electric. Do you work on these at all? It's in Clare.

Good video, great detail. I am wondering what the material the insulation is made from? My concern is that its asbestos, and perhaps this is a reason companies will are refusing to service this type of fridge? Just a thought that some care maybe needed when handling this section of the unit.

Great video…..I like the way you mentioned with causing about laws and safety advice you are a very wise man. You solved the problems and achieved your goal….nice one. As you made it clear safety is so important and must be strictly adhered to for the sake of Life and Limb…….Well done.

Hi Brilliant video. Greetings from Dublin 16! Have a problem with almost identical fridge. Works on gas and 12 v. Have checked mains. Power getting to fridge. Checked ohms as you described on heater described as 125w 240v. Came up with 350ohms. So heater appears OK thankfully. Any suggestions welcome. Will check all connections at switch etc. Thanks very much for your video!

@Endfloat this is excellent. Thanks. Have you done one on the control side of the fridge? Mine is cooling, just not very well, performs the same on both gas and electric, only gets down to about 9deg. Any pointers?

Thank you so much for making this video. I got a camper van with this fridge in back in March and didn't have a clue what I was doing! It seems like it wasn't used with gas and the pipe you attached your orange line to has been cut off on mine. Is it possible to get it going with gas again? Thanks again

Hi great video, just wondering when testing the elements for resistance does the power need to be connected and turned on? Cheers.

the trouble that i have with mine is i need to know how to wire up the igniter unit as was taken off and not sure where wires go any help would be great xx

I like your style but hint: if your hand is in front of the camera we cannot see where you are sticking the multimeter probes, so the electrical bit was no help. Useful with the burner and the spark thing though. When I take my burner apart I'll be turning the fridge upside down first so all the bits are not falling on the floor!

Just cracker mate, a very sensible and straightforward explanation. After 4 mins watching I reckon I know the problem with my identical fridge: it's not connected to the mains, NOR is it connected to a battery. And the ignition sounds like an ekectro-pieza sparker, but "relies on power to work". So tomorrow I'll put the battery back in and see if it then starts. You've given me hope at least to be able to have a cold beer tomorrow night! We need to support people like yourself who take the time, make the effort and show the rest of us what can be done with patience and dedication. 2022 05 29 22:08 France

Thanks for the video. In terms of getting someone to service the fridge - have you tried Daniel O Donnell?😊😊

Found it Ross. It comes in to the fridge itself from the back and attaches on to the metal chiller with a clip.

Endfloat, I have an ammonia smell coming out of my electrolux RM212. Is this a leak? Have only tried it on electric. My fridge was working before winter, on leccy and also on gas. Superb video. or is it just becuase its settled in the bottom? If I do the upside down trick, will this put it right?

The dohicky in the flue is to hold the heat at the same place as the two elements instead of the heat going straight out the top. Makes the gas more efficient

Thankyou,

How did you get the fridge out? I cant find any fixings?

I have the same fridge in my 1993 T4 Vision camper van, one minute the ignitor switch was clicking I switched it off to set off driving, arrived at my site and the switch is now not clicking so obviously not igniting. Do you think I need to do all this to get it sorted ? Thanks for this video. From the UK

Quick question...the freezer part of the fridge which is a separate part to the main fridge if you get me (its a 2 piece fridge)...well the freezer gets amazingly cold but the main fridge takes hours and hours..sometimes over 24 hours for it to get cold...is the right? any advice would be much appreciated...cheers

how about driving your van into the north and servicing it there. You would be outside the jurisdiction.

I had no idea there were even gas fridges! sounds like a really annoying catch 22 you have there. perhaps you could drive somewhere that you are allowed to service yourself, then do the job, then drive back...not sure if that'll work if vehicle still ROI registered. Is the NI regime different for example?

If getting anyone to service your gas is so difficult, I suggest that you get the qualifications as there will be plenty of work out there for you!

I have the same type of fridge but mine has a push button to ignite but it's not igniting

What if refrigerant leaks? How to refill?

It’s your property do as you wish .

Common sense in short supply..

Unicorn farts 😂 🦄💨

I only hope this aircraft engineer doesn’t maintain my RyanAir 737!

Such a ridiculous regulation, shame on this country.

drive to England and get it serviced

hard to listen you 57 minute.....

You cannot comply with "the Law" if these "Laws" are ridiculous and anti human.