<![CDATA[OK RV REPAIR LLC - Blog]]>Thu, 02 May 2024 18:16:43 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[Now there's something you don't see everyday!]]>Fri, 26 Oct 2018 17:04:37 GMThttps://okrvrepair.com/blog/now-theres-something-you-dont-see-everydayHad a customer that had a refrigerator that wouldn't come on.  I checked it out and found ants in the cabinet.  LOT'S OF ANTS!  
I checked the power board and found the ants had gotten behind it and shorted the board.  The customer sprayed and killed what she taught was all of the ants, but they just kept showing up.  I was not getting any power to the optical board in the front of the refrigerator and couldn't figure out why.  I removed the refrigerator and discovered the answer.  The ants had built their colony inside the refrigerator.  Not only had they eaten away the styrofoam insulation, but they also ate the insulation around the wires going to the optical board.  
A new refrigerator was installed!  The following photos tell a better story, Enjoy!  By the way, all of the little brown spots are ants.
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<![CDATA[August 05th, 2016]]>Fri, 05 Aug 2016 05:00:00 GMThttps://okrvrepair.com/blog/i-dont-always-get-it-right<![CDATA[Why won't my refrigerator work?]]>Fri, 15 Jan 2016 09:14:38 GMThttps://okrvrepair.com/blog/why-wont-my-refrigerator-workPicture
There are many reasons that cause RV refrigerators not to work properly.  Cooling units fail, Heating elements fail, boards fail...Sometimes it's because the customer just has too much inside the refrigerator and it can't get enough air circulating around the food to cool. The baffle in the flue tube can become burned and disformed and cause the heat going through the flue not to circulate properly.  I have even had one customer that placed a plastic bag over the roof vent which would not allow the heat to escape from the back of the refrigerator (no heat escaping, no cooling, refrigerator stops working!)  Sometimes it's because of an installation issue.  Then there are those cases like the photo above, Mud Daubers.....They love to build nests where there is propane.  I don't know why, but they prefer to find their way into water heaters, furnaces and yes, even your refrigerator.  In this instance, the customer had a failed power board that would not allow the refrigerator to operate correctly on either LPG or electric.  But as you can see, the mud daubers had completely blocked off the burner area with mud.  So, check for these pesky little critters regularly, it may save you hundreds of dollars in repairs.

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<![CDATA[SO, YOUR FURNACE DOES'NT WORK?]]>Wed, 13 Jan 2016 15:21:39 GMThttps://okrvrepair.com/blog/so-your-furnace-doesnt-work
During the summer months it's a good idea to put a screen over your furnace vents to keep those mud daubers out of your heat exchanger, burner and blower wheels.  In this furnace the orifice was completely plugged with dirt.  
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<![CDATA[My refrigerator is leaking into the drawer below!!]]>Fri, 07 Jun 2013 01:08:10 GMThttps://okrvrepair.com/blog/my-refrigerator-is-leaking-into-the-drawer-belowThe Dometic 1350 has a tendency to melt the water line going to the ice maker.  When this happens, the water runs through the plastic sheath and drains down into the drawer or area below the refrigerator.  The cure is to remove the refrigerator and replace the heater assembly kit for the ice maker.  I usually install a shutoff valve on the ice maker supply line so you can turn the water off when this happens.

Enjoy yourself...Go RVing!
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<![CDATA[June 06th, 2013]]>Thu, 06 Jun 2013 05:00:00 GMThttps://okrvrepair.com/blog/its-just-about-ac-time-again-watch-out-for-price-gouging<![CDATA[This heat is murder on those aur conditioners!]]>Sun, 19 Aug 2012 04:36:47 GMThttps://okrvrepair.com/blog/this-heat-is-murder-on-those-aur-conditioners_I've been looking at a lot of air conditioners.  Just a couple of tips that could save you some money.  If your ac is freezing up, make sure the fan is on high auto this will allow the air conditioner to control the fan and make it run as efficiently as possible. 
Check inside the return grill.  First make sure the foam filter is clean.  if the filter is dirty the air conditioner won't be able to breath and will start freezing or overheating and shut down. 
Check the coils inside the evaporator (the return air side), make sure there is not a layer of lint and dust over the coils.  This will certainly cause the ac to overwork and if it can't breath it will freeze.  Once a layer of ice starts, it will continue to build until you only get warm air out the unit.  Then when the ice melts it will melt into the inside of the coach.
If you are getting a 20 degree drop from the return side to the discharge side of the air conditioner it is doing all it can.  So on a 100 degree day is you achieve 80 degrees or lower the air conditioner is operating as it was designed. 

Keep them clean and they will work for you, If it isn't keeping you cool, call and I'll see if I can help. ]]>
<![CDATA[Refrigerators and cooling]]>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:31:29 GMThttps://okrvrepair.com/blog/refrigerators-and-cooling_Did you know: as a rule for every minute you have your RV refrigerator door open it takes approximately 1 hour for the inside to recover? Make sure you knwo where everything is so you reduce the amount of time opening and closing the door. Also try not to overload the refrigerator. The air inside the box needs to be able to circulate in order to provide proper cooling.

Posted by Carl Zink, 12:32 PM, ]]>
<![CDATA[Furnaces don't like mud daubers.]]>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:30:04 GMThttps://okrvrepair.com/blog/furnaces-dont-like-mud-daubers_I have been cleaning furnaces since it turned cold. I have found that mud daubers were especially bad this past spring and summer. Two of the furnace I found were completely packed in the burner area with mud nests. One so bad it had packed the intake blower and the burner to such a point that the blower wheels could not turn. I removed a total of 8 nests just from the intake and burner area.
It will save you some money if you keep a mud dauber screen over the furnace vent during the off season. It's a small investment to save a service call and more importantly, keep you warm during the early morning hours of winter!
Enjoy yourself! Go RVing...

Posted by Carl Zink, 8:17 AM ]]>
<![CDATA[Mice and furnaces]]>Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:00:00 GMThttps://okrvrepair.com/blog/first-postI got a call recently when a furnace wouldn't work. I pulled it out and during my inspection I found the shredded remains of a mouse. I also found the fried carcass of another mouse on the heat exchanger. The end result was a new motor and a good cleaning. If you're having mouse issues and smell a foul odor when using your furnace...well it may just be a very warm mouse...
Enjoy yourself! Go RVing...

Posted by Carl Zink, 8:21 AM ]]>