Fridge propane issue

[rixname]

On our recent trip out west we had a problem with the fridge propane when dry camping at altitudes above about 6,000 ft. The burner would fire but would quickly flame out. At lower alt. it worked fine.
Is there an adjustment for this?

[whemme]

Rick,

It would have been helpful if you had indicated the brand and model of the refrigerator in your Born Free. However, I am going to assume it is a Norcold unit. The refrigerator in my 2002 Born Free is a Norcold N641 and refer to the copy below out of my owner's manual concerning operation a high altitude. This probably explains why you were having problems with the refrigerator when trying to operate it in the propane gas mode.

It is my understanding that Norcold refrigerators produced years ago had an adjustable air supply orifice on the burner so that the fuel/air ratio could be varied for operation at higher altitudes but they are no longer manufactured that way.

[rixname]

Bill,

It is a Norcold. Thanks for the info. I guess I would have to run the genset when in National Parks like Mesa Verde.
Fridge stayed cold for about a day anyway.

Rick

[Sab & Ann]

Please note that our National Rally at Creede, CO, is at 8,852 feet elevation.
We have traveled the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges for many years and have not had a problem with our Norcold unit.
Sab & Ann

[bcope01]

Like Sab & Ann, we've camped above 5500 feet elev. many times without any frig problems when running on propane. I think the key in Bill's graphic above is "may" experience burner outages. I think it is a hit or miss event depending on your particular frig unit.

Bill

[whemme]

And I have not had any problems with my Norcold working on propane at higher elevation so far either. However, I did learn one thing after I replaced my burner tube with new this year because my old one had its flame slots starting to be partially plugged due to the rust particles falling down on to it from the chimney about it.

The spacing between the high voltage ignitor probe and the burner tube is quit critical. If the spacing is too little or too much, it can result in intermittent ignition or no ignition. This may or may not be more critical at higher elevations. You might want to have a certified and experienced refrigerator technician at a RV service center inspect that for you.

[whemme]

I should add that if your burner ignites and then goes out, then my comments above about the ignitor probe spacing would not help your problem. Only when initial ignition of the burner does not occur would ignitor probe spacing be a possible issue to look into.

[oliverpsmile]

My home elevation is 6900 ft. All appliances in the house are on propane. All orifices were replaced with high elevation orifices prior to installation.

However, my BF refrigerator works just fine on propane in the garage (it works all over the country as well). Is it possible that the propane sold in our area differs with the propane sold in the southern states (there was a discussion in this forum on the subject)? I always get full tank propane for any trip.