Chescold RC1180 Questions & Answers (page 2 of 3)

No sorry I haven’t had this issue. However, before purchasing the unit I had read a few reviews and quite a few people had said that they had to have their 240v connection replaced.

G'day Tomo, are you having problems on 240v ? I did also some time ago. I think they have a 2 year warranty so if your inside that just take & back & they'll sort it N/C. Mine stopped working on 240v about 3 years in - hence no warranty, I thought I was just unlucky but from the comment above it might not be that uncommon ? I've got 2 mates with this fridge also & they have never had a issue with 240v. But what I had to do is take it back in & have the Element ( part no. F400/RC) replaced it cost me $194 including labour. That was about 4 years ago, no issues since. Hope this helps a little. Cheers Shane.

Most likely the a.c. element faulty...there are two in the unit, one should read about 2ohm the other about 29ohm, cannot remember which is which..not too expensive about $80 and easy to install

Why surely must be under warranty?
Does pipes still get warm while it's running on say 240v?
If yes Will be heat exchange unit...(expensive)
If not turn unit upside down for 24 hours, turn it upright wait one hour and turn it on. If been sitting around the ammonia crystallises and there is no flow through pipes etc.
Hope this helps.

Hi Gary thanks for answer,
warranty is devoid taken it in container overseas.I have turned upside down for 24hrs - nothing
Does not work on anything - dead unit.
Doesnt get warm on 24ov - just does nothing on anything

Same as Gary.

No, not at all....divider will stop fridge side from freezing.

No, certainly not.

Thanks

Food stored in a freezer should be stored at -18C.

The dial just adjusts the amount of gas that is let through to burn so it would be hard to select an actual temperature and keep it there as it fluctuates with the sun and temperature and opening and closing and putting new things in.

I usually check how it is going and adjust it up or down as necessary. I had a digital temperature gauge once but it broke and I never bothered getting another one. I do it by feel and sight.

I hope this helps.

when quoting wire measurement, the manufacturer usually takes into account the insulation as well, thus giving a false rating. I would take the wire to an auto electrician or a retailer who employ people who have technical knowledge, ie, Jaycar and you should be able to get the information there.

Check that the flue is clear and has no obstruction. Could be a partially blocked jet near the burner preventing a nice blue flame right along the bar. That is the only problem I have encountered re gas. That is the Iimit of my expertise and cannot suggest anything else.

G'Day,

I would make sure the jet and flue are clean and clear.

You could try another regulator if you can get your hands on one to make sure the correct amount of gas is being fed to it.

Could possibly be the gas adjustment knob / mechanism.

If it is still getting cool on 12v and 240v then there should be nothing else wrong with the cooling aspect of the fridge.

I had also heard of people turning their fridge upside down for a few hours while they are off to try and get the internal gas / liquid to go back to the bottom (when righted). I've never had the need to try it and I forget what symptoms / problems those people were experiencing.

I hope this helps.

When it's on gas make sure that it's level

The technical data section of the product manual says that on mains operation 240v (AC) the input is 120w (0,5 Amps) so it appears to be 0.5 Amps. You would also have some power usage running the inverter to run the fridge on 240v.

For example the redarc site states:

Question
How much current is drawn from the 12V (or 24V) battery when running an inverter?

Answer
The simple answer is- divide the load watts by 10 (20). E.g. For a load of 300 Watts, the current drawn from the battery would be:

300 ÷ 10 = 30 Amps (300 ÷ 20 = 15 Amps)

https://www.redarc.com.au/faq-tech-tips/inverter-current-draw

So in your case 120w ÷ 10 = 12 Amps.

You would need to add the 0.5 Amp usage of the fridge to the inverter usage of 12 Amps for a total of 12.5 Amps per hour.

You are far better off running it on 12v when driving and then on gas if you don't have mains power available.

Obviously if you had mains power the usage should only be the 0.5 Amps but with mains power you wouldn't normally worry about how much energy the fridge is using.

I hope this helps.

My answer is similar to above. However according to my manual, when using 12 volt, DO NOT CONNECT TO A 12V CIGARETTE LIGHTER PLUG. The minimum wiring used should be 6mm squared, (I use larger) with a 16amp fuse connected to the positive lead, as close to the battery as possible, and the length of the lead kept to a minimum to avoid voltage drop. It is also recommended to place an on/off switch in the line. Gas consumption is listed at 0.833Mj/h, or 270gr/24hrs, about a month on an 8.5kg gas bottle, which I have found to be the most efficient medium to use when camping. Also keep the fridge out of the sun which is most important.

It sounds like the 240v element needs replacing. You can find them online for about $100 from memory.

Take off back grill and you can see where it sits in the back. It slides all the way down into a little ring and connectsby two wires.

Not a hard fix and not that expensive. I think mine died after 11 years, so pretty good I think.

Thanks. Replaced the element and it is ok now

I never do that myself if I remember to switch over. Several times I have forgotten to disconnect one before engaging the other and it has had given no problems at all. But, for safety advice, I would not recommend it. May be you could check with Dometic themselves in Melbourne - they are very good with advice over the phone. Regards.

I would not recommend it.

There is nothing mechanically that prevents you from doing both but they would both be heating their respective elements and this could perhaps cause too much heat because the fridge is designed to dissipate the heat from one element at a time.

I am sure the instructions say only to do one of each of the input methods at once.

According to the manual, only ONE source of power should be used at a time.

I have had mine go out in the wind.

If the jet is partially blocked it won't stay alight for long or cool nearly as efficiently.
Mine was also going out after a short period. But after boiling the jet and cleaning thouroghly it is working properly and not going out any more.

If the jet is partially blocked it won't stay alight for long or cool nearly as efficiently.
Mine was also going out after a short period. But after boiling the jet and cleaning thouroghly it is working properly and not going out any more.

If you put your hand over the flue at the top and you will feel the heat or light it at night and you will see the flame down the bottom through the hole.

I did notice there was a pice of crap in the connection pipeline tried to get it out but it went all the way in it did work for about 10 mins as I could feel a small amount of heat out the exhaust but now there is none I guess I will have to pull it apart and clean out the gas pipes and jet to make sure there is no obstructions but I will try to light it to night

I would say your 240v element has gone.

You can get another one for about $120. There was a dealer that sold online through eBay (a caravan parts company or something) and they were the cheapest I could find and it is a genuine part.

You can then fit it yourself or get pay a sparky to do it. There are two wires that do not have a dedicated polarity so they can be screwed into either spot. The element then just slides into a ring on your exhaust tube (wrapped in the insulation housing.

Alternatively you take it to a service agent to fix for you.

LuckyMiles, Thank you for your advice. I know a place here in Bendigo that can possibly do this before Christmas (hopefully).

I would ring chescold, mine does not have smoke coming out of flue.

Sorry Andy I'm a girl, I just took it to an auto electrician to wire it up. I don't know about all the technical stuff. Cost me $200

Minimum 6mm squared, but I use larger. 16amp fuse required on positive wire

I only travel 5 hours at the most. I usually get it cold on 240 a day or two before I leave home. Then 12 volt while traveling then straight onto gas once we stop. In the current cold weather we are turning the gas off over night or our milk has icicles. In cooler months i have it on less than halfway, I also have wrapped mine with insulation.

With the gas turned on. spray all the gas fittings with soapy water ( be extra generous when mixing the detergent in the spray bottle) Any leaks will form soap bubbles pretty quickly.
You may have to remove the outer cover of the fridge to get to gas pipes inside if its not the bottle, regulator or hose fitting leaking.
Be careful not to get the electrical system wet.

Thank you. it was leaking near the regulator, all fixed now thanks to the Grey nomad next door.

A Chescold is meant to run on gas when camping. Buy another type of fridge.

The rc1180 will draw 10amps per hour continuously on 12v.

You will need to be able to supply 240amps per day doing it this way. If you only discharge your batteries by about half this will mean you would need 480amp hours of battery available.

Likewise you would need a solar setup that could feed in a guaranteed 240amps per day.

12v is fine when driving and stops for a few hours here and there but gas is the most efficient when camping and this is where these fridges excel.

I have driven my fridge for over 25,000 klms on trips from places like the Cape, the gulf, Birdsville and Tassie for the last 11 years and my stuff is still cold and frozen while on 12v travelling.

Sorry I can't help you there as I haven't any trouble with our Chescold 3 way.

Hello did you find your problem. Mine is doing the same. Heating up the element but not cooling the fridge compartment

Mine also anyone find out anything

Turn up the thermostat control knob and it will definitely become a freezer. The coldest side is the one on the left side looking into it with lid open.

Yes we pull the divider out and turn it up for all freezer or down for all fridge.

G'day mate you'll notice a flue on top you'll feel heat coming out of it, that's where the heat rises from, however it's not recommended to run it without ample ventilation