Troubleshooting the Westfalia Propane Refrigerator 

Great! Made my day.

Glad it helped.

Thanks!

When operating on propane the pilot light always remains on. And yes, the last year or two of the Westy full campers had electronic ignition. When the pilot light gets blown out, (assuming you're not out of gas) the electronic ignition automatically relights the pilot. Not so with the vast majority of campers out there. Although I've never done this, there is a website on the net which shows you how to make this upgrade to electronic ignition using a common RV module. When lit, the actual flame itself is always the same size. When it's hot outside the fridge cycles more often, less so when it's cold. There is no pilot to light when the fridge operates on AC or 12 volts.

I assume you're talking about the plates which are mounted outside the van and are covered by the polished aluminum flu/vent we see from the outside. All of them need to be installed. There is one aluminum plate which is screwed directly into the end of the flexible flu pipe which snakes upward from the combustion box at the bottom of the fridge unit. Then, there are two more pieces: one chrome-plated steel piece and another aluminum piece. There are no "spacers," however there is a notch at the end of the intake/exhaust pipe which sets one of the plates correctly into position. The outside, polished aluminum flu/vent cover fixes the position of the plates. The sizes of the offset holes in these two plates are such that you can only correctly assemble them one way. The polished aluminum flu/vent sort of press-fits and packages them all together. You need ALL the plates so the pilot flame won't be blown out by the wind as you drive down the highway. Take a few minutes to look at the plates and notice how the holes in these plates are slightly offset. You'll may also notice that there's ONLY one way these actually oval-shaped plates can be reassembled. NOTE: When pushing the fridge unit back into its position in the van it's ABSOLUTELY necessary to have someone else standing on the outside of the van using a screw driver or other pointer stick to jockey the exhaust stack into position at the opening. I have an extra set of these plates. Free. Just pay the postage. I'm sure there's some available on TheSamba too.

There are no special "spacers." The size of the hole and outer diameter of the various plates set the distances for you. That said, you can still screw up the order of the plates and discover that the pilot flame will blow out too easily.

Thank you.

Thanks!

Send me a good picture of your refer's controls and I'll tell you which does what.

@@JohnThomas-ou2rn I figured out it's model 182B! Thanks for replying.

No more than other cars

Thank you for the compliment.

Hope it helps! Here's another video you might find interesting: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-P62ckPoGfKg.html Don't give up hope! You CAN get it to work...and they do work GREAT. Hang in there.

Thank YOU!

EVERYONE fights with these units. But, when you do get them working it's very neat. They even make ice cubes, well...little tiny cubes anyhow. They don't make anything like these anymore. Clever, three-way refrigeration technology. They still use anhydrous ammonia refrigeration in ice factories.

Hope you won the match! Here's a tip for lighting the unit on propane when all else fails: Buy one of those emergency 12 volt Chinese-made tire inflaters - the kind you plug into a cigarette lighter. Attach the provided plastic tip that you'd use to inflate an inner tube or an air mattress, not the one for a tire valve. Unscrew the tiny water drain plug at the bottom left front of the unit. Turn the mini tire inflater on and stick that tapered plastic end into the drain opening while you press the starter button. ALWAYS works.

Thanks!

The only thing I can think of which would make any kind of noise in the back is the cooling fan. This little 1975 era motor and fan uses a propeller identical to the ones I used on wind up rubber band airplanes many years go. I'm amazed these cheap fans have lasted as long as they have. If you can replace it with a 12 volt computer fan. No more noise AT ALL, and the unit works MUCH better. Unfortunately, it is a general pain in the rear to remove the unit. But, make the modifications and you'll never have to do it again. I know that many, many people have replaced the Dometic unit with a modern 12 volt refer like the kind used in the big rigs. But will it run for three weeks in the middle of nowhere? Even with solar panels, will they get enough juice to operate the unit and everything else? Plus, where's all the fun in that? Suffering with the Dometic unit is part of the undocumented fun (?) of owning a Westy. Except for the hand-operated air pump, there's no "pump" to speak of with this unit since it uses ammonia as the coolant liquid. No compression as with current fridges, etc. Not sure what you call these thinks, but the fan blows cool air across the many cooling fins or heat sinks which surround the tubes full of ammonia at the rear of the unit. Think of it this way: the propane flame, or heat created by DC or AC is blown away by the fan...over and over again. Each time it removes a little bit of the warm air inside the refer. Keep doing this enough and the inside starts to get cold. When the unit is working at 100% it can actually make a small tray of ice cubes - enough for one regular sized Bacardi and coke.

Sorry about the long wait to answer you. My best guess is that the bearing in the unit's cooling fan is shot. It will squeal as the fan turns on and off with each cooling cycle. In any case, you'll need to pull the unit out and get the unit running on your bench to be sure. (operate using the 110ac or 12volt settings) No matter what, tossing out the old, 1970's cooling fan and replacing it with a new 21st century computer cooling fan is one of the best things you can do. Much quieter and those things last forever.

I have a new Vanagon/Dometic video on RU-vid at ww.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-P62ckPoGfKg.html

Sounds like the fan is not feeling too well. Not much else can make that noise. Won't know until you pull the unit out of the van.

Sorry for the late reply - No excuses I screwed up. Of course, anytime you smell gas you need to take action asap. Your post seems to indicate that you only smell gas when the fridge is running so you can probably eliminate the stove as the source of the leak. You also write that you smell the gas inside the van and not outside. These pesky leaks are usually solved just by tightening up the offending connection. It's not hard to track down the leak if you mix some liquid dish soap with water in a spray bottle. Open the main gas valve at the exterior propane tank and squirt behind the valve and see if bubbles appear there. If necessary, lightly tighten the nut behind the handle until the leak stops. Also spray the other nut which attaches the copper gas line that leads inside the van. If these are okay, start looking inside the van. Be safe, open all the windows and the sliding door and do your leak detecting outside where there's plenty of fresh air. There is a typical leak source at the connection deep behind the fridge inside the van. This is the copper line which leads directly from the external tank to the fridge unit itself. It's way behind the unit, near the top and can be reached by first removing the the under-sink drawer and shelf from the right side to gain access. It's a very tight fit and you may need a flashlight. Squirt some soap solution at the connection. If you see bubbles, that's the leak source. It may seem impossible, but be patient, you can get a wrench or two in there and tighten the connection if needed. If that doesn't solve the problem, all the other connections are actually on the fridge itself and you'll have disconnect and remove the fridge from the van. If so, test the connections at the on/off gas valve at the top of the unit, the pilot light safety button to the left, temperature valve and where the gas lines enter the combustion box at the bottom, rear of the unit. Just follow the copper tube from one point to the next, connection to connection. (Be careful when disconnecting the gas line! There's a looping U-turn in the copper line - you'll see it - which can be easily pinched like a soda straw cutting off the gas supply, eventually leak and cause all sorts of problems.) Yes, pulling the unit is a nasty job, but while it's out you can clean the unit, make improvements, (new fan) and repair the oxygen pump. There's plenty of info online about this process. I'm working on an oxygen pump repair video now. Can't see the the pilot light in the sight glass? Neither can I! If the unit's cooling with propane, the pilot light IS lit.

Not sure, but you may have gas going to the combustion chamber AND a leak somewhere. This can happen after the unit has been removed from the van and the small copper gas lines have not been tightened enough, or, even worse, a line was bent too far and pinched open. Turn the gas on outside and use a bottle of soapy water to spritz all of the gas connections until you spot the one making bubbles. You can access the small gas lines behind the fridge by removing the shelves below the sink. Slide under the sink, use a flashlight and look upwards behind the fridge unit. It's tight, but you can reach up into that area. Carefully tighten the offending joint and the gas smell should go away. DO NOT use the refer until the gas smell is completely gone!

If there's a leak, you've got to fix it. Too dangerous otherwise. If it lights and cools for a while, but then you smell gas, it's possible the safety valve, (at the other end of the button you hold in while lighting the unit) is not working. This safety valve automatically senses when the flame has gone out and shuts the gas off...mainly so you don't explode or burn up and die! Squirt all the gas connections with soapy water to make sure they're not leaking. That safety valve only protects you from a flame going out in the tiny combustion chamber at the back of the unit where you can't see it. It won't protect you from a leak elsewhere in the system. If you smell gas, there's a leak somewhere - no question.

Eh, you'll probably never see the pilot light. I never have. So, obviously you've got a small leak on the inside of the van which needs to be fixed. (Also, don't forget that the smell may be coming through the windows from the outside.) It would be helpful for you to determine if the gas leak is in the refrigerator supply, or for the stove. It may be with both too. So, go step-by-step. But, this is something too dangerous to put off. Do it now. Pull out all the drawers below the sink and get your head up inside where all the copper gas tubes are. With the fridge on, use a spray bottle full of a mix of dish soap and water and squirt all the connections. One of them is bound to be loose and showing bubbles at the connection. Some of those connections, especially at the far back side, are hard to reach if you've got big hands like me! It will take two, smallish-sized wrenches to tighten the fittings. Be careful, take your time and be easy with those old, tiny copper gas lines which will snap or bend in two if you're not careful.