i am having real problems with the electrolux fridge in my TALBOT talisman motorhome it will not get cold on either gas,12v or mains I have been advised (rightly or wrongly)to remove it turn it upside down for a couple of hours and then replace and it should work? does anyone know if it does or is there anyone with better advice I know i could just replace it with a new one but thats my last resort
Hi the liquid used as a refridgerant can get? lazy and lay in parts of the tubing that form the main workings of the fridge and turning it over can and often does disslodge the liquid and let it run back to join the rest and that in itself can and often does allow the fridge to start working again. Its certainly a cheaper alternative than buying a new fridge cant say it will work for you
Okay so replying to my previous post, you have had it working previously on all three power sources before so it's not a problem related to power. I have heard that the ammonia can settle and become dormant if the fridge hasn't been used for a while that's why I asked if you have had it working before. I believe this is an old remedy to get the fridge functioning again and I do know that this method did work for a family member with an 80's caravan many years back. What you have to do is remove the fridge from it's mountings and check to see if there is an ammonia leak first which you should be able to detect by a strong smell. If there is a leak then unit is not sealed and will require a new unit. If no leak is detected then agitate the ammonia solution by tipping the fridge upside down amd leave it for about an hour. Turn it back over again for another hour and then turn it upside down again and leave it over night. The next day turn it back over, re-fit the fridge and operate it on GAS only as it gets colder quicker by this method and will immediately activate the ammonia. If it does get cold then leave it connected on the gas for a day or so to keep the ammonia circulating. It may work and it may not but I have provided a link to show basically how a caravan fridges work, how to best use them and what can go wrong.
Hello there Dont forget these absorbtion fridges need to be level.
Yes that's another valid point to be taken into consideration but I didn't mention this due to the fact that it's a motohome with 4 wheels and not a caravan with 2 which can be unlevel from front to rear. If your motorhome is on a slope at all then yes this can affect the operation of your fridge so make sure you are on level ground first.
Its a fallacy about having to be 100% level, there is quite a bit of tolerance for these fridges. if there is not then explain how they still work when driving along going up and down hills / mountains
They will be on 12v while driving, usually they don't work that well on 12v & the continuous changing of levels may explain why. Certainly while parked & on either gas or 240v they need to be reasonably level, any incline that one might consider too steep for actually camping will probably cause the fridge not to work, so worth pointing this out to anybody testing fridge on their driveway that might be sloping.
I have - the fridge in my Elddis Autoquest wasn't working on EHU on one site, so we got a load of bricks and I reversed onto them to lift the back end up a bit, and then it worked.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
I don't know whether we've just been lucky but we've never had any issues over the fridge needing to be "level"...and we've pitched up on some really sloping festival sites...
...we've always found that,as long as the van is at a "liveable" angle,then our fridge(or rather,fridges)have worked...