Mark Wilkes Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 Hi all. Here I am again asking this great community for some advice. We have a Thetford 3 way fridge freezer and no matter what we run it on it will not go cold anymore. What I am wondering is could the gas of leaked out without us knowing and can it be re gassed or is there anything else that it could be. Thank you again in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teccer1234 Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 the same thing happened to my dometic 3 way fridge, the gas had leaked out from the fridge (pipe rusted away)and there was now way to repair it, (spares no longer available) so it cost me £1450.00 to get a new one from O'Brians in Andover, bummer :-( with your thetford fridge spares may still be available, fingers crossed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 Suggest you first check the aluminium finned transfer plate in the fridge compartment. The paste between the finned plate and back wall may have dried out, thereby reducing cooling significantly. Unscrew the finned plate and check the condition of the paste. If it's brittle the old paste can be removed and new paste applied. I don't think it's possible to re-gas Dometic fridges. You can check the functionality from the outside back of the fridge by checking for hot pipes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wilkes Posted August 27, 2019 Author Share Posted August 27, 2019 Hi Robbo, there is heat coming out of the outside vents but the fins are neither hot nor cold.It did work on our trip to Wales with the leisure battery and was cold when we got here but whatever of the 3 power sources we now use there is no cooling in the fridge at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceM Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 If you could state the model and age of the Thetford that would assist. I’m assuming that you always operate the fridge freezer on the level or close to it. The issue hints of a gas loss in which case I suspect a Thetford engineer will be required to diagnose and offer options to correct the fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 Mark Wilkes - 2019-08-27 6:23 PM Hi Robbo, there is heat coming out of the outside vents but the fins are neither hot nor cold.It did work on our trip to Wales with the leisure battery and was cold when we got here but whatever of the 3 power sources we now use there is no cooling in the fridge at all. There maybe heat coming from the top vent from the gas burner or 230v element. But the acid test is whether the pipes at the back of the fridge are getting hot, or at least the lower ones. Remove the lower vent and check if there is any heat in the pipes. As mentioned, the van needs to be reasonably level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wilkes Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 Thank you all for your comments. We are at a friends house at the moment and they are on the side of a hill so the van, despite every ramp, brick and stone that I can find, we are still leaning slightly forward. Having gone over mountains and down dales to get here and using the leisure battery for traveling and the fridge being cold once we got here then I thought that a forward leaning van would not effect it but I am now not so sure but there is no level ground to find out so I will have to wait until we get home to fully check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 Mark This link provides useful advice on how to trouble-shoot a malfunctioning 3-way fridge http://www.motorhometech.co.uk/fridge_repairs_11.html A fairly recent Dometic or Thetford appliance (I think yours may be 2007 vintage) should not be problematical if operated with just a small amount of ‘tilt’ - older fridges could demand much more precise levelling. During a discussion on a caravan forum about a Thetford fridge not functioning properly the following statement was made: ...it sounds like you have issues with the cooling matrix, or more precisely the coolant within. Unfortunately with Thetford fridges the cooling matrix cannot be replaced on its own and it does indeed mean a new fridge complete... As has been advised above, you really need a Thetford engineer to investigate what is happening. (At least your fridge was capable of cooling when running from 12V while your motorhome was being driven to your friends’ house, which suggests that the fault (whatever it is!) may be fixable.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wilkes Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 Thank you Derek that was a most helpful link if I can't find a repair "shop" near me in Bolton then a drive out to Nottingham might be worth it as his costs are still cheaper than a new fridge even with the diesel used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 Thetford service centres can be identified via this webpage https://www.thetford-europe.com/gb/dealer-and-service-centres-locator This one has a Bolton address https://jmbleisure.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wilkes Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 Thank you once again Derek. The first link will not load for me but the second one is a company about 1mile from us and I didn't even know it was there so I will ring them when we get home. Thank you again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 The 1st link works OK for me (Before submitting a posting I normally PREVIEW it and ‘test’ that any links in it operate as I expect them to). You could try entering the main Thetford GB website https://www.thetford-europe.com/gb and clicking on SERVICE & SUPPORT - which should allow the ‘Find a dealer ir service centre’ feature to be used. If you still have no luck, it’s possibly because the software you are running has a security application that ‘dislikes’ the Thetford website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wilkes Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 I have just had a thought . . . would it be possible to put a standard fridge in the motorhome as we don't really need it to run on gas or the leisure battery and we could always freeze it down on the house electrics before we set out and use the camp electrics while were away. I don't know if the movement of the van whilst driving would be an issue or would it not make any difference to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 Some previous on-line discussions about using a ‘domestic’ fridge https://tinyurl.com/y6nze73u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wilkes Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 Thank you once again Derek. It is fast becoming an option for a domestic fridge as even if our fridge could be repaired it would be more expensive than the cost of new or possibly second hand domestic one. We don't travel very far when we go away, about an hour, so I think it would stay cold if we plugged it into the mains prior to leaving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 Or run it off a 12 volt to 230 volt inverter while on the road. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wilkes Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 Hi Keith what wattage power would I need to run it on the move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 It would depend on the power consumption of the particular fridge you choose but our quite large larder fridge quotes Wattage as 60 Watts. There will be a start up surge but I'm not sure how you would calculate that! Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wilkes Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 Thanks for that info Keith I have just had a quick look on eBay and you can get a 12 to 240 that is 5000 Watt's or is that overkill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 Total overkill!!! I suspect you may only need 200 or 300 watts (at 230 V) but hopefully someone who has already done this can help. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 Re running fridge from an inverter, I have set up on our van that the inverter is connected to the engine battery, so I can run the fridge on mains whilst traveling. This allows the fridge to be temp controlled as opposed to the 12 volt element that is unregulated. On using a mains only domestic type fridge as a rough guide you will use 28 amps @ 12 volt d.c. To produce 1 amp @ 240 volt a.c.. So a 250 watt element will need an inverter that provide 500 watt peak so I would say a minimum 100 watt ideally pure sine wave but as it is just a heating element a modified one would probably be ok unless it's a modern one with sensitive electronic controls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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