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bobrok
Member
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# Posted: 19 Aug 2012 07:48pm
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Are your only cold settings 1, 2, & 3?
Is there anything in the refrigerator or are you just chilling the air?
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 4 Nov 2012 11:27pm
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I have a consul fridge that is 7.8 cu. ft. When the weather is hot the fridge goes through a 20# tank in 15 days or less. 30# 21 days. When it is cold they seem to last longer. Works for my needs and got it from a guy in ione california for 600$. Look for the steals.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 6 Nov 2012 05:38pm
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i've got a norcold with direct spark ignition. works like a charm, but you sure do get tired of putting propane into it.
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Lucy
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# Posted: 3 Jan 2013 05:14pm
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We have a Danby 7 or 8 cubic feet and a Consul...same size...I was told that Danby bought out Consul and they are one in the same....You can download a Consul service manual.
Most now have a carbon monoxide detector which is wired right into the fridge...if the battery is dead or it detects carbon monoxide it will turn the fridge off. Yes maintenance is the key. Ours is in a small well insulated kitchen with a small propane stove 6 by 11' so with the pilot light from the fridge and the 3 on the stove it keeps my kitchen from freezing while no one is at our off the grid cabin. One week it was -20 temps and the coldest it got in that room was +1 so we store everything that we dont want frozen in that room...when we are there it uses about a 30lb tank every two weeks
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DeniseBruce
Member
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# Posted: 18 Jul 2014 02:05pm
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My Consul fridge is emitting an awful stench. The CO detector went off last night so I used the long handled brush that came with the unit and got a little black soot, but it still stinks.
The brush seems to go only a partial distance down the tube and stops. Do I need to take off the rectangular backing below the tube and somehow clean that out as well?
The installer did not leave a manual!
I'm going to die up here if I don't get some help.
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bobrok
Member
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# Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:07pm - Edited by: bobrok
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I have a Consul propane unit. You need to perform regular maintenance on the unit even if you use it infrequently. I found out the hard way.
First, remove the aluminum shield that protects the area around the pilot assembly (one screw).
Place a piece of lint free cloth over the little screen you see in this area to prevent contaminants from entering during the cleaning process.
Remove the round vent pipe (one screw at the top of the fridge) from the lower square unit. There will be a curly apparatus haging on a hook like wire inside this square unit. This is the turbulator. This is what was in your way before. CAREFULLY remove this avoiding breaking or chipping pieces from it.
Now you need to clean everything. Start by using the wire brush to brush out dust, bugs, carbon deposits, etc from the vent pipe that you just removed. Move on to the hole in the square box. The cloth over the screen at the bottom will prevent any contaminants from falling in.
Next, CAREFULLY clean any burnt, black residue from the turbulator. Inspect the bottom tip of this piece to see if it shows signs of wear, burnt deposits, etc.
If it looks jagged you might want to replace it.
Lastly, use a clean toothbrush to gently clean that wire screen you previously had covered.
Reassemble and you should be good to go for another few months. Make sure the turbulator hook is nestled properly into its little groove.
As an aside I always check the position of the spark ignitor to insure it's working correctly, and once a year I remove and wash out all those condensation drip cups. They get pretty grungy.
Hope this helps. You can probably download the manual if you were to look around a little bit on line.
bob
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neckless
Member
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2014 01:15am
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my fridge just died last week, did a lot of research and talking to camp owners, on all the fridge post i have read, nobody has talked about burping there fridge. propane fridges have ammonia in the tubes if the fridge is not level ,it can build up in spots,, making it work twice as hard to cool.... bruping a fridge is to unhook it turn fridge upside down for a day ,,this will run the ammonia back ... i was told by many people this works wonders for efficienty and cooling alot better....i was not that lucky , i had to buy new fridge dometec 8cu. got it for 1595. on sale was a good deal here in the north thunder bay ont... it was for the better, my old fridge was 30 years old...
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neckless
Member
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2014 01:16am
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my fridge just died last week, did a lot of research and talking to camp owners, on all the fridge post i have read, nobody has talked about burping there fridge. propane fridges have ammonia in the tubes if the fridge is not level ,it can build up in spots,, making it work twice as hard to cool.... bruping a fridge is to unhook it turn fridge upside down for a day ,,this will run the ammonia back ... i was told by many people this works wonders for efficienty and cooling alot better....i was not that lucky , i had to buy new fridge dometec 8cu. got it for 1595. on sale was a good deal here in the north thunder bay ont... it was for the better, my old fridge was 30 years old...
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beachman
Member
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2014 06:15pm
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Yes, I burped our old fridge and it helped for a year or two, but eventually I brought it to a propane place and they re-charged the ammonia for about a week. It bas worked great for the last 15 years.
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papawawesome
Member
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# Posted: 12 Aug 2014 12:43am
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Has anybody had any luck running one of their solar panel? I have seen they make super high efficiency DC models now, but do they work as advertised? I'd hate to spend the money they want for one, and it not work, especially when the time tested RV propane fridge works, and lasts a long time for less money.
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Atlincabin
Member
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# Posted: 13 Aug 2014 12:39pm
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I have a Vissani 10 cu ft. electric model. supposedly one of the more efficient electric fridges. I run it on our solar panel setup (1000 W of panels plus batteries etc.) through the inverter. Cost was only about $350 at the big box store. For the difference in price between the electric and propane, I could buy a couple extra solar panels and never pay for propane, so this works well for me. Of course I already had all the rest of the solar stuff in place plus only use it in summer when there's a lot of sunlight.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 13 Aug 2014 07:58pm
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Just to update my 2012 post.
I live off grid full time. In May 2013 I went from propane to electric fridge. I have a similar solar system to atlincabin.
Since buying the electric fridge $400 w/delivery/tax I have paid for it with the savings in propane. As of feb./march my fridge is free and I'm saving about 50 bucks a month ... propane fridges use about a 1.25 lbs propane a day. At a buck a lb in my area.
My electric fridge uses 500 watts daily in the winter. Double that on a hot day. But hot means summer sun, so it balances out nicely.
neckless paid 1600 for his propane fridge. that's 1200 towards a solar system. and no 50 bucks a month in propane ... something to consider for sure.
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CaptCanuck
Member
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# Posted: 13 Aug 2014 09:44pm
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If you're just there for a few days at a time, a high end cooler will be more than adequate.
I bought this one and it will keep ice for a week (8-10 days advertised).
http://engel-coolers.com/product/engel-deepblue-65-cooler-2/
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bluefin
Member
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# Posted: 18 Aug 2014 02:10am
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Just to echo the point earlier about flipping the fridge upside down for a while... I have had good success "restoring" the performance of my older Danby propane fridge. I flip it upside down for 6-8 hours and, while there , rock it slowly back and forth, side to side every couple of hours. Then stand it up and let it sit overnight and back to being cold again !
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