Does my fridge run on gas ??

[Tommyscaravan]

Sorry photo so bad , can’t upload a better one. I have what seems to be a gas line to the fridge (the hot water and the heater line work, as both this times work)

bit I think the previous owner may have taken the “gas fridge “ out and put an electric / mains electricity one in .. looking at the new sealant etc (sorry no photos) … if there anyway I can check this ? Anything I can look for to see if it will run of gas ?

mom hoping someone will tell me there’s a label , or certain type of switch or something/ anything I should be looking for to see / know if it still runs on gas .

thanks all , if I have to pull the fridge out etc to find out I will .. but it looks like that might be tricky.

 

[otherclive]

Most fridges run on electric when the caravan is connected to the EHU and will also have a gas mode too. Does yours have a control on the facia that shows mains, car, or gas. Picture would help.

 

[Tommyscaravan]

Thanks , yeah picture would help but forgot to take one .. ran out of time. From memory it doesn’t have that “control” panel you mention .. which is what leaves me to think the previous owners may have changed it for a “standard “ plug in fridge. Do you know if getting hold of a gas / car / mains fridge it easy? Easy to fit ? Sorry lots of questions and not one good photo 😅

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Tommy,

It's actually unlikely the fridge has been changed becasue caravan fridges are an unusual size and there aren't many if any size compatible units, and secondly many caravan fridges sit on top of a wheel arch and have a cut away to accept the arch, that's something domestic fridges don't have.

Usually just inside the fridge door there will be a data label. and that will tell you what fuels the fridge can use.

 

[Tommyscaravan]

Well thank you … that makes complete sense ! Much appreciated

 

[Buckman]

As suggested maybe the caravan is well overdue for a service. For the safety of your family, maybe you should consider getting the caravan serviced by an AWS technician.

 

[Tommyscaravan]

Thanks for the suggestion.. all serviced and checked and up to date , everything changed that needed changing, tyres etc also … even new fire extinguishers , co2 , smoke alarms , water systems cleaned etc etc … thanks. Again all suggestions appreciated

 

[otherclive]

Thanks for the suggestion.. all serviced and checked and up to date , everything changed that needed changing, tyres etc also … even new fire extinguishers , co2 , smoke alarms , water systems cleaned etc etc … thanks. Again all suggestions appreciated

Does your service sheet say anything about checking the fridge operation on electric and gas?

 

[Tommyscaravan]

Ah ha Great shout !! Will have to check today , thank you … never occurred to me to look at that . Thank you

 

[otherclive]

Ah ha Great shout !! Will have to check today , thank you … never occurred to me to look at that . Thank you

Ive often found that of all the gas appliances the fridge tended to be the more difficult to light on gas. So what I did was to light the water heater, light the caravan heater and light the Cooker all burners and oven/grill. This would then 'purge' the system of air. I would then turn them off and light the fridge. If its a push type of piezo ignition you have to hold the fridge temperature control knob firmly in, whilst simultaneously pushing the igniter. Sometimes igniters fail even though it makes a loud click as you push it in.

Prior to each trip out even though I did not plan to use gas for heating or water or fridge I would just light the fridge, water heater and caravan heater ,helps keep burners clean and also lets you know if one isn't working.

 

[Buckman]

Thanks for the suggestion.. all serviced and checked and up to date , everything changed that needed changing, tyres etc also … even new fire extinguishers , co2 , smoke alarms , water systems cleaned etc etc … thanks. Again all suggestions appreciated

Hopefully you are aware that the gas appliances are only checked at a servcie and not actually serviced however the technician shoudl have checked to see if the fridge worked on 240v and gas.

 

[Tommyscaravan]

I was aware but must admit was surprised because i recall we have this conversation… they were all checked .. so does this mean I need to get (*should get) a seepage service for the gas ?? Assuming as it’s has the answer will be “yes” thank you for advice / info … I think he checked the fridge RE gas / elec but if I’m honest I now gloomy recall 100%

 

[Tommyscaravan]

Ive often found that of all the gas appliances the fridge tended to be the more difficult to light on gas. So what I did was to light the water heater, light the caravan heater and light the Cooker all burners and oven/grill. This would then 'purge' the system of air. I would then turn them off and light the fridge. If its a push type of piezo ignition you have to hold the fridge temperature control knob firmly in, whilst simultaneously pushing the igniter. Sometimes igniters fail even though it makes a loud click as you push it in.

Prior to each trip out even though I did not plan to use gas for heating or water or fridge I would just light the fridge, water heater and caravan heater ,helps keep burners clean and also lets you know if one isn't working.

Now this is great 👍🏻 thank you rather than wasting time will just do this first .. may take an extra 2 mins and 20p in gas but may save me hours of messing around ! Thank you

 

[Parksy]

There will be a shut off tap for each of the gas appliances including the fridge Tommy.
Caravan service engineers sometimes turn the shut off taps off to test the system for leaks, but they don't always turn them back on again.
Locate the shut off taps on the gas pipework to check that they're all on.

 

[Bluetonic]

Now this is great 👍🏻 thank you rather than wasting time will just do this first .. may take an extra 2 mins and 20p in gas but may save me hours of messing around ! Thank you

Even if we are on EHU I usually run the fridge and heating on gas for a few minutes.

 

[Tommyscaravan]

There will be a shut off tap for each of the gas appliances including the fridge Tommy.
Caravan service engineers sometimes turn the shut off taps off to test the system for leaks, but they don't always turn them back on again.
Locate the shut off taps on the gas pipework to check that they're all on.

Thank you

 

[ProfJohnL]

Even if we are on EHU I usually run the fridge and heating on gas for a few minutes.

Lighting the fridge is only likely to be a problem if you have fitted a fresh gas bottle, as its teh time the bottle is disconnected when air might get into the system. Its not usually a problem if your simply switching to a fresh bottle straight away, its if teh bottle is disconnected for any appreciable time.

The reasons fridges can sometimes be difficult is because the burner uses a very small amount of gas (compared to any of the other appliances) so its injector (the device that controls the gas flow into the burner) has a very small hole, and it physically takes longer to purge any air out of the pipework.

 

[Tommyscaravan]

So it turns out …. Previous owners took out caravan fridge and put in a main fridge (at least that’s what it looks like) no controls for gas / power, a “new” dedicated power cable with “isolation” 😂 plug and some nice diy timber framing …. Looks like it’s an cold box full of ice this weekend and make look to install a “combi” fridge on the future .. thanks everyone for your help … photos attached

 

[ProfJohnL]

When I've seen caravans that have been modified similar to yours, it does set alarm bells ringing. What else have previous owners done? and that makes giving advice via forum very uncertain.

Questions like "Was the gas properly terminated?" have the 12V electrics been managed correctly - I note that you have already posted about battery and charger problems.

I do have to advise you to progress with caution as we apparently cannot assume anything is as we would normally expect it to be.

 

[Tommyscaravan]

When I've seen caravans that have been modified similar to yours, it does set alarm bells ringing. What else have previous owners done? and that makes giving advice via forum very uncertain.

Questions like "Was the gas properly terminated?" have the 12V electrics been managed correctly - I note that you have already posted about battery and charger problems.

I do have to advise you to progress with caution as we apparently cannot assume anything is we would normally expect it to be.

Good advice ! Thank you

 

[RogerL]

The Logik branded fridge would have come from Curry's, it's their own brand label - Curry's don't sell three-way caravan fridges so that confirms your suspicions.

 

[Beachball]

I would get in contact with the previous owner and ask him if he alter anything else in your caravan just for the peace of mind