P.U. Proboscis Asks: Ammonia In My Reefer?

"Dear Low Tech RVing: When I open my RV refrigerator door, I about get knocked over by a strong ammonia odor. I only use 'Simple Green' to clean my fridge. Is there a problem here?"--P.U. Proboscis"

Ah, another sad story from someone like P.U. Odors and RV refrigerators aren't uncommon, happily most are related to failure to take last month's supply of forgotten leftovers out and pitch them. Sad to say, sometimes RVers returning from a trip have actually forgotten to remove food from the traveling fridge, and after a while, the memories of the happy meals shared on the road turn into a nightmare. A good cleaning out may not always cure the problem. Some have found that commercial "pet odor" removing concoctions (found at pet stores) applied liberally to the inside of the fridge will actually remove even those "unforgettable" rotten food odors.

But the strong smell of ammonia in the RV fridge, that's another story. RV reefers don't work like the ones back home. Instead of using a compressor motor (highly energy consumptive) a combination of ammonia, hydrogen, and water is heated by a burner (or small electric element) and through the magic of science and technology, remove heat from the refrigerator box. Sadly, if the cooling system which seals this trinity of chemicals in matrimony is breached, well, all sorts of refrigerator hell break loose. If you smell the strong odor of ammonia around your RV refrigerator, its cooling unit is most likely kaput.

Kaput cooling units can be conquered with replacements, and yes, if you are very handy with tools you may be able to do-it-yourself. If you feel hesitant, most RV repair firms can do it for you. However, the consensus among RV techie types is this: If your RV refer is older than 10 years, it's probably just better to replace the whole unit as after all, other things can go gunny bag too. New refrigerators come with warranties. Not that a 12 or 14 hundred dollar payout makes you feel good. If your RV isn't moving much, i.e. you spend all your time in an RV park with available electricity, you might consider replacing the confounded chiller with a small "apartment size" refrigerator unit. Sears has them for about $350.

Photo: JasonRogers on Flickr.com

Appliance Electronic Control Boards

Perhaps some of the most mysterious of RV technical issues surrounds electronically controlled appliances. 'Back in the old days,' as some of us recall, we didn't have fancy control boards on refrigerators, furnaces, and water heaters. Of course, 'back in the old days,' a lot of us had to go outside in the cold or heat to light off those selfsame appliances.

Nowadays, the trouble is, when things start getting "buggy," it can be difficult to track down the problem. Not long ago one of our 3-way refrigerators, which had been a straight-A student, suddenly went rebellious on us. Sitting on a hot parking lot just outside of Old Mexico, our refrigerator stopped being a chill box, and the threat of global warming parked itself right in the middle of our kitchen. Only by turning on the generator and resorting to "shore power," would we get any chill in the box. Gas didn't light, and DC simply knocked all the low voltage power out throughout the rig. We cut our time in the field short and headed back to base camp.

In a safe harbor with another working 'fridge available, we started down through the diagnostics process. The whole works pointed to a control board failure--or so it seemed. We contacted an RV refrigeration supplier who opined that it 'sounded like' a board too, but he couldn't really be sure without running tests on it. Too bad he was 1,500 miles away. Finally, we called the horse's mouth--or should we say, the Dinosaur's mouth.

Yep, when campfire talk comes around the appliance control board problems, the name that probably gets mentioned the most is Dinosaur. Built by a seemingly obscure company, in an equally obscure town (OK, maybe not real obscure, Lincoln City, Oregon), Dinosaur boards are the leading word in replacement control boards. The Dino-folks build replacement boards for just about every RV appliance (and generator) application there is. We called in and immediately tied into one of Dinosaur's tech fellows. After an initial discussion of the problem, the technician asked if we wouldn't mind checking a couple of things "in situ," right on the back of the refrigerator. Thanks to cell phone portability, the Dino-tech walked us through a series of tests with a digital multi-tester that soon assured us that in fact, our refrigerator control board was ready for the scrap pile.

To his credit in addition to making a suggestion for a given Dinosaur board, the technician did suggest we could try an OEM replacement board. Maybe there was a bit of tongue-in-cheek here, because the old "pudding covered" board out of the back of our 'fridge was "out of production" from the reefer maker. That's a common complaint among RVers: Seems like a lot of the control boards aren't "replaceable" with OEM boards--it's a case of "Well, we'd be happy to direct you to a dealer where you can by a new refrigerator, furnace, water heater, etc.

Bottom line: We got a new refrigerator control board, and after it was installed, everything was as happy as could be. The new DINO board even had a function our OEM didn't have--the ability to fine-tune how "cold" or "warm" we wanted our refrig to run. Our advice? Got a board problem? Contact the Dinosaur folks without delay. Dinosaur Electronics can be reached by phone at 541-994-4344 8 am-5 pm Monday through Friday, Pacific time. They also maintain a web-based "customer help form," where you can enter and e-mail technical help requests.

"Folgers" P-Trap Solution May Help Tank Stink

For those whose RV is connected to a drain most of the time, you probably keep your gray water valve open. At times a smelly little problem arises: Sewer gases can come back up the sewer hose, into your gray tank, and slow migrate their way up the through the tank and out the roof vent. At times those same evil essences can somehow re-infiltrate your RV with a negative impact on your olfactory organs.

Worse still, if there are any "vague" connections in your gray water venting system, those nasty little essences can also make their creeping way out, carrying not just the odor of gray water (as bad as that is) but with a direct connection to the city sewer (or local septic system) that REALLY horrific scent of black water can invade your premises.

What to do? Enter the Folgers P-Trap solution: If you leave your sewer hose connected and the dump valve open, stick a P-trap between the sewer and you. Simply obtain a coffee can (or a large rock, and make a bend in your sewer hose, as illustrated in the photo here. Gray water will advance over the bend, but the water trapped in the hose on the "rig side" of the coffee can will prevent the odoriferous fumes from crossing over.

Mind you, when you dump your black water you'll want to temporarily remove the coffee can to allow a free-flow of black water, etal, to make the trip down the sewer unimpeded.

The Moral of the Vanishing Trailer

A Deming, New Mexico man's experience may lead to enhanced security views for some in the RV community. It seems his travel trailer "vanished" from New Mexico, and somehow reappeared over in Safford, Arizona.

Police got a call from the trailer's owner, telling them he'd located his missing trailer in an RV park in Safford. Local police turned out and questioned the trailer's occupants and pieced together a story--and an arrest. Apparently the suspect needed a 'nicer place for himself, girlfriend, and their baby' to live, so he paid a fellow he knew in Deming to steal a trailer for him. Interesting approach to housing, but police are working out the details of prosecution.

Inexpensive "hitch locks" that prevent a trailer's hitch from locking down on a tow vehicle ball can make a would-be theif think twice about running off with your trailer. Here's one from the Camping World site. For less than a $40 investment, it'll save a lot of worry. Security locks are available for your fifth wheel, too.

Photo courtesy Camping World

Ultra Low Sulfer Diesel Could Lead to Problems

ULSD (ultra-low-sulfer-diesel fuel) is thoroughly in the fuel pipeline across the nation. Early on there were complaints from some that the formulation caused fuel system leaks in some rigs, as lower levels of aromatics was blamed for shrinking some engine seals.

Another issue that you might run up against is raised by a chemist with Power Service Products, a fuel additive manufacturer. The chemist, David Forester, is quoted in the September 2007 issue of Light & Medium Truck magazine, speaking out on concerns about ULSD's water-carrying ability. Apparently the "old" higher sulfur containing diesel had a greater affinity for carrying water, while the new ULSD, does not.

"When fuels reduce their ability to carry water, they tend to shed it more quickly. [Water] builds up on the bottom more quickly. The separation of water leads to a variety of increased issues," says Forester. What kind of issues? During warm months, diesel fuel contaminated with microbes can serve as a great growth medium. Sulfur tends to act as a poison to microbes, but with less sulfur in diesel, the microbes can thrive.

As colder weather marches in, the inability of ULSD fuel to carry water may rear its head in iced up fuel filters. Forester adds, "Once they get below 30 degrees Fahrenheit, the solubility of water in fuel is almost nonexistent. So if there is any water present in the fuel at those temperatures, it will freeze. You'll see ice crystals build up on filters."

What to do? A couple of schools of thought exist: Both suggest the use of fuel additives; some say they won't allow water to remain in the fuel--and say the water is then pulled out of the system by the engine's fuel/water separator. The other school says their products encapsulate the water and let it run harmlessly through the engine. We've not seen solid evidence yet pointing to either one being superior. Some diesel additives also claim to be antimicrobial. Happy shopping!