by Engineer Guy » Fri Nov 04, 2011 1:40 pm
Some other lil tweaks I've learned when graduating from 'The School Of Hard Knocks' are these:
1. It's somewhat counterintuitive, but there's hotter and cooler parts of a Flame. Ideally, it should be burning 'all blue' and not yellow. All blue indicates the right Air/Gas mixture, and that varies at - ta da - higher elevations like WY. There's usually a small Screw or 'slide' type adjustment to vary Air/Gas to make the Flame 'more ideal' [blue].
Also, slide the Thermocouple [TC] back-and-forth laterally in the lil Holder Clamp to ensure hitting the TC 'sweet spot' internally. I shoot for the halfway point of the TC, or ~2/3rds of way away from the base 'Wire' connecting it to the Gas Valve.
2. One of the hottest parts of a Flame is just above the inner oblong Flame, just below the Flame top. If the TC can be adjusted JUST above that Flame section, the increased heat outputs more milliVoltage, which is what's signaling the Gas Valve to stay open.
3. Where the TC screws into the Gas Valve, there's typically a lil half-dome 'blob' of Solder-looking material on that 'Wire' end. Clean that with a Pencil Eraser, etc., to scuff it clean. REALLY crank down on that lil piece when putting it back together to ensure a good connection is made. Obviously, the correct torque is short of breaking anything!
4. I always hold in the Gas Valve Knob for a minimum of 1 minute after lighting to ensure the TC is outputting max. milliVoltage. You're thus giving it the best chance to 'succeed'.
Part of Troubleshooting is learning what a problem 'isn't'. If you can do these tricks above, and things still don't work as desired, you know to move on with confidence to troubleshoot other possibilities because you know what it's 'not'.
My lil TT Dometic Fridge Flame was acting up at 8,300' in UT. I KNEW all was OK. Anyway, I cleaned up all surfaces with 'Scotch Brite', yadda, yadda yadda. FINALLY, I grasped at Straws and took off a lil Housing Cover around the Flame, and propped open the outside Fridge Hatch with a Twig. Ta da, the Fridge Flame stayed lit. The problem: insufficient Oxygen @ 8,300', causing the Flame to go out after ~1 minute. It was frustrating because the Flame would stay on 'for a while', then 'puff' out audibly.
I vaguely recall that Leadville CO has ~20% less Atmosphere at their ~10,000 elevation, and it popped into my Head that elevation/less Air was the Fridge Flame problem. It had worked that morning at ~6,100', but not at ~8,300' that afternoon.
The concepts above are simplified to get to the point and not beat Theory to death... Another Lifelong trick of mine is to solve a problem and then go back to theorize what was going on, and what fixed a given problem.
~Reality proceeds with or without your consensus~
