Lillian1961 Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 My husband and I have a 1980 Toyota Heritage motor home. The refrigerator says it is a "Trav'ler by Elixir" gas/electric. In 2010 the refrigerator worked fine on propane but did not work, as I recall, on straight electrical at all. We weren't too concerned because we generally use propane going down the road anyway and didn't even bother to check the electrical the few times we plugged in. The missionary trip to the northwest through Washington, Idaho and parts of Montana lasted more than a month. After coming home in November of 2010, the RV sat parked at home for 2011 and most of this year. We recently decided to take the RV on a missionary evangelistic revival trip to Peoria Illinois so we began to make sure that everything worked. First we tried the electrical portion of the refrigerator and it only cooled to 65 degrees inside the fridge so we assumed it did not work at all. We tried the propane and noticed that only one flame was going up and recalled seeing two flames previously. A friend of ours helped us clean the propane flame area until we now see three flames going up BUT the fridge does not get cold. Granted, it is an old refrigerator, but things seem to work in the back: the heat exchange coils get hot. The plugin receptacles test working when we are plugged in to house current. We really thought the propane should work. We have asked around by people who have RVs or have worked on RVs. One thinks the ammonia went bad - whatever that means. Another told us we weren't parked level and had to be level for it to work. That was contrary to our experience in the 2010 trip. Another said the fridge is just getting old, but that doesn't help - the best appliances usually are the old ones that were made in the days of quality in the USA. So, can anyone offer us any hope or suggestions as to what might be the problem or what we should do? Yes, we would pay $25 for a good used refrigertaor - we would consider paying less also! The refrigerator says it is a "Trav'ler by Elixir" gas/electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 If you used it when it was not level for any length of time you probably damaged the tubes. It is very old and probably shot. Does it make a gurgleing sound. Do you smell any ammonia inside. You can try checking craigslist for a used one but I have never seen one in good condition for only 25 bucks. Yours is so old it can not be repaired. No one restores cooling units for an Elixer anymore. Worse case scenario is use it as a cooler. Mine didn't work when I first got it and I stuck a dish pan in the bottom and put block of ice in it. Stayed cold for 4 days with limited door opening. Just remember to pour the water off before you drive anywhere so it doesn't slosh around Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillian1961 Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Dear Linda, Greetings in the Name of Jesus, Who loved you so much He died for you! You ask if the fridge makes a gurgling sound - no, it makes no sound at all. You ask if we smell ammonia - no we don't. Never have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Well those are the usual signs of a dying fridge but not always. If the heating units get hot though and it doen't cool it pretty much always means it's done for. As far as the propane flame having 3 flames it should never have had more than one small flame area. Not like a stove, looks more like a pilot light. That is all thats needed to heat the ammonia in the tubes. New refigerators are pretty expensive but you could try searching crailslist for a truck camper or tent trailer being parted out. They usually have the smaller refirgerators that might fit you camper. I the mean time you might have to make do with my dish pan and block ice method of cooling. Works pretty well. Good luck Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidadro Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Here are some parts available on eBay for the Dometic fridge. I'm not sure of the model, but most offerings can lead you to their eBay store to locate the part you need. Hope this helps to give an idea of what parts to look for being bad, as well as locating them. http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOMETIC-RV-Refrigerator-Thermocouple-part-2932052018-/130738727993?pt=Motors_RV_Trailer_Camper_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e70a2ac39&vxp=mtr http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dometic-Refrigerator-Thermister-44-Inch-Part-3851210025-/390383462794?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae4aae98a http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOMETIC-Refrigerator-Dual-Thermostat-part-2007199009-/130747662430?pt=Motors_RV_Trailer_Camper_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e712b005e&vxp=mtr http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOMETIC-RV-REFRIGERATOR-12-VOLT-HEATING-ELEMENT-FOR-3-WAY-MODELS-/140828392573?pt=Motors_RV_Trailer_Camper_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20ca06bc7d&vxp=mtr http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dometic-Cooling-Unit-RM2652-605-style-395-after-rebate-/390284253404?pt=Motors_RV_Trailer_Camper_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5adec118dc&vxp=mtr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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