Exhaust from gas fridge entering living area
Discussion
Recently got a 1995 coachbuilt Elddis motorhome, fitted with an Electrolux 3-way fridge (RM4236).
Had our first trip away last week. No hookup for the first night, so the fridge was running on gas.
After half an hour or so, the missus said she could smell "gas" inside the 'van. A little while later, I could smell it too. Then, the CO alarm went off. We turned off the fridge.
Investigating at home, I borrowed a gas leak detector, and it doesn't go off inside the 'van. A digital CO detector shows a peak of 136ppm after an hour, pretty much the same reading as if I hold the detector outside against the fridge flue.
The exhaust gas is building up in the cupboard next to the fridge (where an oven would be fitted if we had one), then into the grill housing, and up through the hob. There is a 1" gap at the top of the partition between the fridge housing and the oven/grill/hob housing.
I have removed the vents and flue, and blown through with compressed air. The flame on the burner is blue, no sign of a yellow flame.
The fridge works fine on gas, apart from the smell and CO inside the living area.
2 questions:
What's the normal CO level in the flue gas from a fridge?
Is it normal for the back of the fridge to vent into the living space through gaps in the cabinets?
I'm wondering if the fridge is faulty, the installation is poor, or both.
Had our first trip away last week. No hookup for the first night, so the fridge was running on gas.
After half an hour or so, the missus said she could smell "gas" inside the 'van. A little while later, I could smell it too. Then, the CO alarm went off. We turned off the fridge.
Investigating at home, I borrowed a gas leak detector, and it doesn't go off inside the 'van. A digital CO detector shows a peak of 136ppm after an hour, pretty much the same reading as if I hold the detector outside against the fridge flue.
The exhaust gas is building up in the cupboard next to the fridge (where an oven would be fitted if we had one), then into the grill housing, and up through the hob. There is a 1" gap at the top of the partition between the fridge housing and the oven/grill/hob housing.
I have removed the vents and flue, and blown through with compressed air. The flame on the burner is blue, no sign of a yellow flame.
The fridge works fine on gas, apart from the smell and CO inside the living area.
2 questions:
What's the normal CO level in the flue gas from a fridge?
Is it normal for the back of the fridge to vent into the living space through gaps in the cabinets?
I'm wondering if the fridge is faulty, the installation is poor, or both.
Think I've sorted it now. Previous owner didn't give us much info!
There were covers fitted to the fridge vents, which are understand should only be installed in extremely cold weather.
I removed those, and all is now OK. No smell inside, and zero CO. Even the exhaust gas coming from the flue outside has almost no smell now.
I think there was not enough oxygen entering via the rear lower vent, so combustion was incomplete.
There were covers fitted to the fridge vents, which are understand should only be installed in extremely cold weather.
I removed those, and all is now OK. No smell inside, and zero CO. Even the exhaust gas coming from the flue outside has almost no smell now.
I think there was not enough oxygen entering via the rear lower vent, so combustion was incomplete.
clockworks said:
Think I've sorted it now. Previous owner didn't give us much info!
There were covers fitted to the fridge vents, which are understand should only be installed in extremely cold weather.
I removed those, and all is now OK. No smell inside, and zero CO. Even the exhaust gas coming from the flue outside has almost no smell now.
I think there was not enough oxygen entering via the rear lower vent, so combustion was incomplete.
Apart from the vent covers, check that any floor vents inside the furniture structure around the fridge/oven area have not been covered over. Have a look under the 'van in the general area and see if floor vents exist that may be covered on the topside.There were covers fitted to the fridge vents, which are understand should only be installed in extremely cold weather.
I removed those, and all is now OK. No smell inside, and zero CO. Even the exhaust gas coming from the flue outside has almost no smell now.
I think there was not enough oxygen entering via the rear lower vent, so combustion was incomplete.
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