Dometic fridge on propane shuts off at night

[dgocamper]

Long-time reader; first-time poster. I have read plenty of posts regarding issues with the new fridges (mine is a Dometic RM1350SLMX) not running on propane at elevation. After experiencing this issue while camped at around 10,000 ft, I assumed I had a similar situation. But now I'm not sure. This last week we camped again at elevation, but this time only around 7,200 feet or so. Fridge ran great the first day we were there, but woke up the first morning to find that it had stopped during the night. Now this is where things were different than the previous trip at 10K elevation -- I turned it off, and turned it back on, and it relit! And it stayed relit all day, but quit during the night. Turning it off/on worked again the next morning. When I was at 10K elevation, it would not re-light automatically -- but would if it used a multipurpose lighter. Why does it go off at night (I'm assuming because it gets cool outside so it shuts off -- but then can turn itself back on automatically?) Do I have an automatic spark igniter problem? Any help/input/advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum
You may have a flame sensor/sparker issue. Take the bottom cover off and start the fridge on LP. Once it’s lit, let it operate for a minute letting the sparker/sensor get hot. Then blow it out and see if it starts to spark and attempt to re light. If it doesn’t, then I would check the gap between the burner and the sparker. 1/4” if I remember. I’m leaning towards a bad sparker/sensor.

The flame will shut off once the fridge reaches temp, and during the night your not opening the door so it can get cold. You may have a thermister issue but let’s rule out the sensor.

[dgocamper]

Thanks Chuck. I blew out the flame and it immediately re-lit. So, does that mean a thermister issue -- and if so, do you have any advice on how to address that? Thanks!

[Bill-2020]

Think about getting yourself an Acurite wireless freezer and fridge sensor. It has high and low alarm set points. If your fridge or freezer gets out of the set range it'll alarm and let you know something's up. It's nice to be able to see at a glance what the temps are in both areas without having to open the door(s).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I keep the monitor in the truck when traveling (yes, it reaches that far) and I can monitor the fridge temps to be sure the propane lights and doesn't blow out.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by dgocamper

Thanks Chuck. I blew out the flame and it immediately re-lit. So, does that mean a thermister issue -- and if so, do you have any advice on how to address that? Thanks!

It may. The test I had you do was. A “quick test” of the sensor. You can download the service manual for your model and it should have some specific tests.