Gas refrigerators are designed to operate without electricity. For this reason, they are perfect for off grid living, therefore most of the propane refrigerators that we sell end up in remote locations. Within these remote off grid locations, surviving without the conveniences of the big city stores to acquire a replacement part 24/7 is not a possibility. The more experienced off grid survivalist will be prepared for failures. Even some of our customers that purchase a gas fridge just for vacation purposes will want to be prepared for something to go wrong.

“What spare parts do I need in case something goes wrong with my Gas Refrigerator?”

We get this question from some of our customers and the answer is surprising. Only one part is prone to wear or degrade over time. That is the thermocouple. Since Gas Refrigerators don’t have moving parts, there is very little to go wrong or wear out. Of course there are some interior parts that can be abused and break, but this is subject to the user, not normal operating usage.

The thermocouple is one part of the gas safety valve system within all gas refrigerators. The thermocouple probe engulfed by the flame and detects the heat from the flame when it is on. If the flame gets extinguished for any reason, the probe senses the loss of heat and will shut off the gas supply to the burner. This insures that no raw un-burned gas is expelled into the living space.

The gas refrigerator thermocouple will degrade over time due to the heating and cooling of the flame. This is a natural occurrence and is common with any device using a thermocouple such as heaters and stoves. 

Debris passing through the burner will accelerate this wear rate of the thermocouple. Debris will enter the air intake of the burner and pass through the burner head at which point it will incinerate and turn to carbon. This carbon will attach itself to the thermocouple. Over time, the carbon will build up and cause uneven heat stress on the thermocouple probe. This will eventually cause premature failure of the thermocouple. At this point the thermocouple will need to be replaced.

This is why we give the suggestion to keep the area around and under your gas fridge clean of debris. This not only prolongs the life of your gas fridge, but also keeps the unit operating at the highest efficiency.

Replacement of the thermocouple is fairly easy and most anybody that is handy with a wrench can handle the job. We supply a “Set-up, Service, and Maintenance DVD” with each EZ Freeze Gas Refrigerator we sell. This DVD explains the set by step process for thermocouple replacement.