Dometic RKE 300, RKE 400 Instructions For Use Manual

822 70 69-02

RKE 400

RKE - 1D
RKE - 2D

English page 4
Português página 7
Norsk side 10
Svenska sida 13

RKE 300

A. Flue tube D. Burner G. Lever arm
B. Flue baffle E. Seal ring
C. Fuel gauge F. Thermostat

A. Chaminé D. Queimador G. Braço da alavanca
B. Deflector E. Anel vedante
C. Indicador de nível F. Termostato

A. Trekkanalrør D. Brenner G. Hevarm
B. Trekkanal-ledeplate E. Tetningsring
C. Drivstoffmåler F. Termostat

A. Skorsten D. Brännare G. Hävarm
B. Lågspridare E. Tätningsring
C. Nivåvisare F. Termostat

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

Installation

The cabinet must be installed on a firm floor and must
be in a horizontal position. Use a water lev el and check
both ways in the freezer compartment.
Avoid locating the refrigerator in a room subject to high
temperatures or strong draughts .
See that a space of at least 16 inches (400 mm) is left
free above the top of the cabinet to allow an unrestrict ed
circulation of air, which is essential for the efficient
operation of the refrigerator. The ventilation opening at
the top of the cabinet must not be cover ed in any way.
The refrigerator should not be placed in a small pantry
or similar location.
The flue baffle must be positioned as shown on the
illustration.

Filling the Tank

Always use the kerosene funnel when filling the tank,
and fill until the gauge pointer approaches the red mark.
Clean off any kerosene on the top of the tank. If kerosene
overflows, the tank should be remov ed from the refriger­ator and wiped clean.
Do not let the tank run dry while the refrigerator is in use
because refrigeration will be interrupted and a portion of
the wick will be burned off, reducing the life of the wick.

Always use best quality burning kerosene (Paraf­fin) and see that it is kept clean, dry and unadulter­ated. Under no circumstances must vapori zing
kerosene, petrol or spirit of any kind be used.

Li ghting the Burner

Remember that the kerosene lamp is an essential part
of the refrigerator and that care taken to maintain it in
good condition is well repaid.
Before lighting a n ew wick for the first time, allo w the wick
to become soaked with kerosene for at least two hours .

Important

When lighting the burner, remove the gallery , lamp glass
and seal ring as one unit after turning the gallery anti­clockwise to unlock (FIG. 1). Do not attempt t o light the
burner by turning up the wick as high as it will go, leaving
the gallery in place, as this will damage the wick and
result in unsatisfactory refrigeration.
Adjust the wick turner so that the wick height is about
1/8" (3 mm) above the top of the outer wick tube
(FIG. 1).
Light the wick. Allow the flame to travel round the wic k,
and replace the gallery complete with lamp glass and
seal ring. T urn the gallery clockwise until lock ed securely
in position. Should the flame be extinguished, relight
following the above procedure.
Push the tank into the tank holder underneath the cabi­net and at the rear of the refrigerator. Slide the tank
carefully forwards against the guide pin. Carefully lift the
tank by means of the lever arm and check that the guide
pin enters the hole in the bracket on the left side of the
burner (FIG. 2).

Make sure that the sealing ring on the top of the lamp
glass seals against the bottom of the flue tube, it should
not be any air gap between the flue tube and the sealing
ring. Lock the lev er arm in the position were the sealing
ring seals against the flue tube.
The burner should burn with a blue flame; a partly or
wholly yellow flame indicates an air gap and must be
adjusted.
When the burner is in position under the flue tube, adjust
the wick to produce a medium-high blue flame. Wait 30
minutes to allow the burner to warm up before making
any further wick adjustments. To obtain better cooling,
turn the wick up which raises the light-blue flame.
To make the refrigeration less cold, turn the wick down
to give a blue flame of reduced height. To maintain
steady cabinet temperatures the refrigerator should
operate continuously day and night.
NOTE: Never operate the burner with a flame having
yellow tips or streaks on or in the bright blue lower
portion, or with a wholly yellow flame. Such conditions
will result in rapid carbonization of the wick, smell, and
possible damage to the cooling unit.
Do not force wick turner if it will not turn readily, as this
may be an indication that the burner needs cleaning or
that the wick should be replaced.

Cleaning Wick and Burner

While the flame is burning, carbon forms on the top of
the wick, on the flange of the outer wick tube and on t he
surface of the flame spreader. For the best refrigerat io n
results and to prolong the life of the wick, this carbon
must be cleaned off every two or three days f or the first
two weeks and at least once a month thereafter, provi­ded a good grade of ker osene is used. When poor gr ade
kerosene is used, the burner should be cleaned at least
once a week.
To clean the wick and the burner, loosen the lever arm
and pull out the tank, remove the seal ring, lamp glass
and gallery by turning it anti-clockwise and lift off. Take
out the flame spreader . Insert the wick cleaner , (supplied
with the burner) in the burner tube and adjust the wick
by pressing the cleaner gent ly against the wic k surf ac e.
Turn the wick cleaner in a clock-wise direction, gently
cleaning and reshaping the burning surface (FIG. 3).
Be careful not to fray the wick.
The top surface of the properly cleaned wick should be
free from carbon and frayed fabric threads. It should
slope upwards to its inner top edge, which should be
fairly even.
Blow off all loose carbon from the wick and burner, and
remove any dirt or carbon, which has fallen into the
burner base.
Reassemble the burner .
When cleaning the burner, take out the b urner from th e
tank and inspect the tails of the wick. If they are dirty,
unsuitable kerosene has been used and the tank must
be cleaned. Empty the tank and put the dirty kerosene
aside for other uses. Rinse the tank twice with clean
kerosene and refill with filtered kerosene.

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Replacing the Wick

Remove burner from tank. Remove out er wick tube (see
Burner Parts) by turning it anti-clockwise to unlock (Alad­din 23E), by unscrewing the locking nuts on either side
(Aladdin 32) and lifting it off the burner.
T urn the wic k up as far as possible. Pull the wick and th e
wick carrier out from the top of the burner. Disengage
the wick from the wick carrier.
A new wick should be free from moister (water).
Before inserting the new wic k, m ak e s ure that the flam e
spreader is in position in the burner tube.
New wicks have adhesive papers at the tail ends to
afford ease of replacement, and these should first be
straightened out. Put one of the papers through the
opening around the wick tube, and pull in the paper unt il
the fabric end of the wick is t hrough the opening. Repeat
the procedure with the other end of the wick in the
opposite opening around the wick tube (FIG. 4). When
both wick tails are through the respective openings, pull
the wick through the burner until about 1" (25 mm ) of the
tails protrudes below the bottom of the burner.
Be careful not to fra y the top of the wick during replace­ment.
Install the wick carrier on the wick, ensuring that the rack
of the wick carrier is on the same s ide as the wick turner
(FIG. 5). Ease the wick and wick carrier downwards by
pulling gently on the bottom ends of the wick, and when
the rack of the wick carrier enters the annular opening,
guide it against the cog wheel on the wick turner.
Depress the wick carrier rack over the cog wheel of the
wick turner and move the wick down as far as it will go.
Be sure that the inside reinforcement tape of the wick
slips over the burner tube. If the wick gets stuck in the
burner, do not f orce the wick turner as this ma y damag e
the wick carrier.
Replace the outer wick tube on the burner, pressing it
down and turning it clockwise to lock in position (Aladdin
23E), tighten the locking nuts (Aladdin 32). Check that
the wick can be turned up and down readily.
T o prolong the lif e of the wick, it should be cleaned e very
two or three days for the first two weeks and once a
month thereafter, provided a good grade of keros ene is
used. W hen poor grade kerosene is used, the burner an d
wick should be cleaned at least once a week.
Only Aladdin wicks can be used in this burner.

Cleaning the Flue Sys tem

Cleaning of the flue at least once e very year is, however,
recommended. Poor grade kerosene may cause the
burner to smoke, and as s oot will then collec t in t he fl ue
it should be cleaned immediately. To clean the flue
remove the tank and burner, lift off the flue cap complet e
with wire and flue baffle, and place a sheet of paper
underneath the flue tube to catch the soot. Clean the flue
with the brush supplied with the refrigerator and, after
cleaning, ensure that the flue cap and baffle are

refitted in position.

NOTE: The refrigerator will not operate properly if
the flue baffle is not in place.

Defrosting

Remove all food from the refrigerator; extinguish the
flame and leave the door and frozen storage compart­ment door open. The frost will melt rapidly and run down
into a receptacle at the rear of the refrigerator where it
evaporates. Defrost water in the freezer compartment
should be mopped up with a cloth.
It is advisable to clean the refriger ator in conjunction with
defrosting. Use lukewarm water and a non-perfumed
detergent. Never use scouring powder, steel wool and
the like.
Before starting the refrigerat or again, dry out the froze n
storage compartment and refrigeration spac e. Wash t he
ice-tray s and fill them with fresh water.

Turning off

If the refrigerator is to remain out of use, extinguish the
burner flame. Empty the cabinet, defrost it and clean it
thoroughly. Leave the door ajar .

Electric operation

Check that the voltage stated on the data plate is the
same as the main voltage in use.
Plug the refrigerator power cord into an easily accessible
earthed wall socket.
If no earthed wall socket is available consult an electri­cian before using the refrigerator .
Refrigerator temperature is kept at a constant level by
mean s of th e the rmost at. S elec t the t emp era tur e required
by turning the thermostat knob to a suitable figure.
This knob is graduated from 0 (marked by a spot) to
figure 7 and MAX. At the MAX position the cabinet is set
for continual operation, i.e. the thermostat is b y-passed.
The thermostat controls refrigerator temperature only
when on electric operation. When running on kerosene,
the temperature is controlled by means of the knob on
the kerosene tank.
To render the refrigerator completely electrically inert,
pull the plug out of the wall socket.

Changing from kerosene operation to
electric operation or vice versa

1. Extinguish the kerosene flame.

2. Plug the power cord into the wall socket.

3. Set the thermostat.
Switching from electric to kerosene operation:

1. Pull the power cord out of the wall socket.

2. Start the refrigerator on kerosene.
NOTE: Do not run the refrigerator on electricity and

kerosene simultaneously. Refrigerating efficiency will
thereby be somewhat impaired but abo ve all the unit may
overheat and ruin the refrigerating system.

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Changing the heating element

The heater, which is fitted inside the boiler casing B of
the refrigerator unit, can be changed as f ollows: (FIG. 6)

1. Pull the power cord out of the wall socket.

2. Remove the cover C.

3. Remove some insulatio n wool so that the heater A is
accessible.

4. Open the cover to the terminal block and disconnect
the heater leads.

5. Turn and lift the heater out of its pocket.

6. Fit the new heater into th e pock et.

7. Connect the leads and close the terminal block cover.

8. Carefully put the insu lation wool back into position
and close the cover of the boiler casing.

Lighting

The refrigerator is provided wit h a battery power int erior
light.
The battery box is at the rear of the refrigerator.
Four batteries, type LR20 1,5 volts are to be used.

Fault Tracing Chart

Cause and Remedy
Refrigerator not cold enou gh

1. Air circulation restricted rounds the unit.
See that a space of at least 16 inches (400 mm) is
left free above the top of the cabine t. (See "Ins talla ­tion").

2. Refrigerator is not lev el.
Level cabinet so that the sides and the front are
vertical. (Use a water level).

3. Yellow flame

a) Incorrectly lit.

Relight correctly. (See FIG. 1 ).

b) Improper chimney seal.

(See FIG. 2).

c) Wick requires cleaning.

Clean wick and burner. (See FIG. 4).

d) Needs new wick.

Replace the wick. (See FIG. 5 and 6 ).

e) Inferior grade of kerosene-paraffin.

Drain and refill the tank. Fit a new wick.

f) Flue requires cleaning.

(See "Cleaning the flue system").

4. Flame too low or too high.

5. Evaporator heavily frosted.
Turn out the flame to defrost.

6. Refrigerator overloa ded.
Spread foodstuffs on shelves to permit free air circu­lation in the cabinet.

7. Flickering flame ( water in kerose ne -paraffin ).
Keep storage drum or container in dry place with lid
on to prevents condensed water to enter the contai­ner.

Refrigerator too cold

1. Yellow flame.
Burner incorrectly lit. Religh t corr ectly. (S ee FIG. 1 ).

2. Flame too high.
Turn down the flame.

Points to remember

• Keep the refrigerator level.

• Defrost weekly or fortnightly .

• Keep the burner clean.

• Never use fo rce to turn up the wick mover.

• Do not overload the ref rigerator so that the air cannot

circulate freely inside the cabinet.

• Use only good grade of kerosene-paraffin.

• Do not let the fuel tank run dry.

• Inspect the flame regularly.

• Always have a blue flame.

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