Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Topic: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner (Read 1070 times) previous topic - next topic

Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

July 21, 2021, 09:09:51 pm

Watch for yellow powder around your burner. It's highly toxic too. This is a 2001 FT with a NRD1282 side by side, that already had a new Dometic cooling unit installed 7 years ago by Camping World.It obviously had a small fire, the heating elements are welded into the unit, had to replace both.

Camping World also did a terrible install. Ice maker hose pinched,so it never worked again, and instead of spray foam, they just chalked the new unit back in with about 4 tubes of thermostatic! Was nice for me, because it just pulled out with zero resistance. What a mess.

New Amish unit going in.

Chris

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #1 – July 22, 2021, 12:31:01 am

Thanks for the info on Camping World's work. I'm glad the fire didn't do more serious damage. Hope you have better luck with the Amish unit.
I replaced the cooling unit on the Dometic in my old coach myself.
Knock on wood, the Norcold in this coach is working great.

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #2 – July 22, 2021, 10:58:03 am

Just before we bought our coach, the PO smelled a bad odor from the fridge and evacuated in a hurry. Lucky the hydrogen did not ignite. Same yellow powder. We put in a Norcold and it's been great for 13 years.

We still have a 43 year old Japanese RV fridge that still works great in the garage.

Pierce

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #3 – July 22, 2021, 11:04:22 am

With absorption refrigerator cooling unit failure, AMMONIA is usually what you smell.

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #4 – July 22, 2021, 12:10:04 pm

Yes, hydrogen has no smell but ammonia does. As a leak develops, both are released into the air.

Pierce

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #5 – July 22, 2021, 02:26:50 pm

Bringing a Foretravel to Camping World for work is like dropping a Ferrari off at Jiffy Lube.

Quote from: gracerace – July 21, 2021, 09:09:51 pm

Camping World also did a terrible install.

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #6 – July 22, 2021, 02:28:52 pm

Quote from: Bob_B – July 22, 2021, 02:26:50 pm

Bringing a Foretravel to Camping World for work is like dropping a Ferrari off at Jiffy Lube.

LOL

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #7 – July 23, 2021, 11:54:14 am

This is more like it. What a mess cleaning everything up.
Chris

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #8 – July 23, 2021, 11:59:58 am

Looks neat and professional. I always wonder why they don't use better paint when they build the fridges as it seems to rust really quickly. Perhaps a light coat of spray galvanize with paint after that. Yours looks as if they took some time finishing it.

Pierce

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #9 – July 23, 2021, 02:27:07 pm

When mine got the yellow powder, I replaced with a residential unit. First though I had to get it out the door in pieces. Thought the lines were depressurized, sooooo I used a grinder with a cutting disc to dismantle. High pressure line still lived up to it's name.

The resulting explosion and flash fire was quite interesting to say the least. Suddenly my eyebrows, mustache & nose hairs weren't nearly so long. The fumes inhaled made breathing painful for the next couple of hours and it took most of a day to get the coach aired out completely.

Lesson learned, you can be stupid at any age.

The new residential was really nice afterward though.

Larry

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #10 – July 23, 2021, 03:24:45 pm

I learned that at an early age inspecting a go kart gas tank interior with a match to see better with. I remember closing my eyes just before the flame hit my face and burned off all the eyebrows and most of my hair. This was high school so that's how I got the name "freak show."

Pierce

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #11 – July 23, 2021, 04:56:39 pm

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – July 23, 2021, 11:59:58 am

Looks neat and professional. I always wonder why they don't use better paint when they build the fridges as it seems to rust really quickly. Perhaps a light coat of spray galvanize with paint after that. Yours looks as if they took some time finishing it.

Pierce

Actually, most rebuilds are just that. Sandblasted, repaired, and painted with heavy paint.

The Amish ones, are way thicker. You can feel it when you pick it up, and also by just feeling the metal. Hence, they look like they have heavier paint, which to an extent, it is. I would never buy a rebuilt one.

Thanks for the compliment.

Chris

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #12 – July 23, 2021, 05:38:21 pm

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – July 23, 2021, 03:24:45 pm

I learned that at an early age inspecting a go kart gas tank interior with a match to see better with. I remember closing my eyes just before the flame hit my face and burned off all the eyebrows and most of my hair

Pierce

Is that why you became a firefighter?

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #13 – July 23, 2021, 06:23:55 pm

Quote from: Jan & Richard – July 23, 2021, 05:38:21 pm

Is that why you became a firefighter?

Oddly enough, at a party with everyone having too many beers, one of our chiefs admitted to having started a big brush fire when he was a kid. My ADHD got me into a lot of trouble back then...and now. An arson fire injury cut my career short after only 14 years back in '82.

Pierce

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #14 – July 23, 2021, 08:13:35 pm

Chris, is the "Amish" unit what JC Refrigeration sells? I bought a unit from them and the fella that rebuilds told me their unit is heavier duty and "better" than The Dometic original when new. Of course I would expect him to say such but now wonder if there's anything to his song. I wasn't very impressed with the neatness of a couple of the welds but it is holding its charge and cooling couldn't be better.

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #15 – July 23, 2021, 10:13:22 pm

I found the yellow death trail a couple weeks ago. We really like the original refrigerator in the unit with its beautiful wood panels, and its plenty large enough for us, so decided to go with the Amish 12v compressor retrofit.

Thought about replacing it with propane/electric, their alternative 120v model, or a regular residential. I have plenty of solar and battery for always on inverter, but in the the end the 12v and some added internal circulation fans seemed best for me. I like the option to turn off the inverter when off-grid and not needed. 12v is slightly less efficient that the 120v version, but I think with the added overhead of running an inverter, its probably a wash.

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #16 – July 23, 2021, 10:20:31 pm

Quote from: Dub – July 23, 2021, 08:13:35 pm

Chris, is the "Amish" unit what JC Refrigeration sells? I bought a unit from them and the fella that rebuilds told me their unit is heavier duty and "better" than The Dometic original when new. Of course I would expect him to say such but now wonder if there's anything to his song. I wasn't very impressed with the neatness of a couple of the welds but it is holding its charge and cooling couldn't be better.

Yes Dub they are made by the same people. There are 3 different names, and JC is one of them. There is some ruff spots, but it works, and is for sure thicker. When mine goes down, if it does, will get one.
Chris

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #17 – July 23, 2021, 11:07:08 pm

That be the one I have, working great for the last 5 years.

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #18 – July 25, 2021, 06:20:51 pm

Quote from: Dub – July 23, 2021, 08:13:35 pm

Chris, is the "Amish" unit what JC Refrigeration sells? I bought a unit from them and the fella that rebuilds told me their unit is heavier duty and "better" than The Dometic original when new. Of course I would expect him to say such but now wonder if there's anything to his song. I wasn't very impressed with the neatness of a couple of the welds but it is holding its charge and cooling couldn't be better.

I must agree my new Amish unit seemed a little rough around the edges. Welds were made with a wire feed welder. Real small thin wire. Time will tell. But it's making ice in less than 12 hours with Freon chiller off. And started at over a 100 degrees. I've also never seen frost on the fridge chiller fins prior so I think that is a good sign. Not a big deal but had to move control unit over a bit, there wasn't enough room anymore for it with new cooler. RM1282
Scott

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burn

Reply #19 – July 25, 2021, 06:25:36 pm

Regarding JC Refrigeration....Awesome customer service. We had a cooling unit installed at JC's shop. Six months later we were in FT. deSoto, Fl when it died. JC overnighted a new unit and dispatched a tech that he trained to install it.

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #20 – July 26, 2021, 11:46:34 pm

Where would one see this?

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #21 – July 27, 2021, 08:43:31 am

Quote from: movingman – July 26, 2021, 11:46:34 pm

Where would one see this?

Open the fridge 'hatch' on the drivers side of your coach.

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #22 – July 27, 2021, 10:10:58 am

Quote from: Jeff & Sandy – July 25, 2021, 06:25:36 pm

Regarding JC Refrigeration....Awesome customer service. We had a cooling unit installed at JC's shop. Six months later we were in FT. deSoto, Fl when it died. JC overnighted a new unit and dispatched a tech that he trained to install it.

I know of four, maybe more, of these that have failed. Mostly the 12 or 120v conversions. Customer service is nice. I guess if I were buying one I would rather have a reliable product that doesn't fail within a year. Nice that they fixed it though.

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #23 – July 27, 2021, 10:59:17 am

I have installed probably Five Amish JC units over the last 5 yrs., never had a dud. I know of several more that have been installed for several years by other tech's and friends that are still up and running fine.

They literally sell 1000's of their cooling units annually. They sell rebuilds, and new. I will never use a rebuilt, as it's the same steel piping as a factory Norcold or Dometic one. I always buy new, because they are thicker.

The fact that they give a 3 year warranty, with the option of an additional 3 yrs for a few bucks, tells me they are confident in their product. Most companies warranty their stuff for 90 days if your lucky.

Dometic refers only carry a 2 yr warranty, don't even know how long cooling units are warranted.

When I was a FT tech, we replaced (under warranty) every newer Norcold cooling unit sold , whether they needed it or not.

Chris

Re: Watch For Yellow Powder around your Refer Burner

Reply #24 – July 27, 2021, 11:05:05 am

Lots of videos on YouTube for how to do the installation. Has to give one more confidence watching these before trying it yourself. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jc+amish+installation

Pierce

Affiliate Notice