Electrolux fridge problem.

forthpilot

forthpilot

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I have an older Electrolux fridge RM6401, I believe renamed Dometic RM7271, and the right hand control knob which controls fridge temperatur has become internally worn after 22 years. It works, but there is an increasing amount of play. I have spent hours online looking for a replacement. Does anyone know of a suitable substitute.
 
forthpilot said:
I have an older Electrolux fridge RM6401, I believe renamed Dometic RM7271, and the right hand control knob which controls fridge temperatur has become internally worn after 22 years. It works, but there is an increasing amount of play. I have spent hours online looking for a replacement. Does anyone know of a suitable substitute.
Click to expand...
3D printing is another option if struggling to source replacement.
 
forthpilot said:
I have an older Electrolux fridge RM6401, I believe renamed Dometic RM7271, and the right hand control knob which controls fridge temperatur has become internally worn after 22 years. It works, but there is an increasing amount of play. I have spent hours online looking for a replacement. Does anyone know of a suitable substitute.
Click to expand...
Quite a few of these push-on knobs have a problem where they go brittle due to age and either crack or snap, resulting it getting loose on the post. I replaced all of the knobs on my motorhome Spinflo cooker because of this - two were broken, the others on the way out.
I was lucky that replacements were available and not too pricey, but otherwise I think I would have tried either CA (superglue) adhesive or an epoxy like Araldite to try and rebond it. That might be worth give it a go?
 
Araldite has cured mine as it's a common problem, just mix it up put it into the knob, put some butter etc around where the knob fits push the knob on and leave it for a few days to get really hard.

Behave.

I have seen them on Ebay too.
 
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Thanks to all who have suggested solutions. It is the flat on the inside of the knob that has worn away over the years and no longer engages positively with the flat on the D-shaft. I am tempted to go down the araldite and butter route. I will report next week.
 
forthpilot said:
Thanks to all who have suggested solutions. It is the flat on the inside of the knob that has worn away over the years and no longer engages positively with the flat on the D-shaft. I am tempted to go down the araldite and butter route. I will report next week.
Click to expand...
not sure of the purpose of the butter? maybe a release agent? I think I would put some clingfilm on the shaft of the control to make sure I could then remove but have it as tight as could be.
 
forthpilot said:
Thanks to all who have suggested solutions. It is the flat on the inside of the knob that has worn away over the years and no longer engages positively with the flat on the D-shaft. I am tempted to go down the araldite and butter route. I will report next week.
Click to expand...
You only need a pea sized amount of Araldite, it'll help if first you use a marker pen to exactly mark where the flat side needs to be on your knob because you need to be able to push it onto the bar and leave it, if you wobble it about it won't work as you will widen it and it'll be sloppy in the hole.

Yes the butter is just so it can come off if needed later, a very tiny amount of anything oily will do.
 
wildebus said:
not sure of the purpose of the butter? maybe a release agent? I think I would put some clingfilm on the shaft of the control to make sure I could then remove but have it as tight as could be.
Click to expand...
I think that would just make your knob a sloppier fit and it's wear out again.
 
wildebus said:
I would not leave the clingfilm on. If you have tried the butter idea and it works, good stuff, but sounds odd to me.
Click to expand...
wildebus said:
I would not leave the clingfilm on. If you have tried the butter idea and it works, good stuff, but sounds odd to me.
Click to expand...
No of course, Sorry I didn't phrase it very well :rolleyes: the butter or margarine is just the handiest thing in most kitchens and smear is so thin it won't affect the fit, clingfilm is mega thin I think it might as it'd have to be wrapped around and just complicates the job.
 
Having read through this discussion, the Araldite solution is a good one, but I would find a piece of plastic (or wood) the same diameter as the shaft the knob goes onto ... then file a matching flat onto that. Using a substitute shaft allows you to be away from the fridge and somewhere that it is easier to work ... also stops making a mess of the fridge if it goes pear shaped. Anything slippy serves as a release agent, even wax polish.
You will not need much Araldite for the job ... so if you have anything else to fix, you will probably save wasting Araldite if you do both jobs at the same time. Good luck with it.

Here is a way to get some idea of how little Araldite you will need. cut a couple of strips of sellotape the width of the flat on the shaft and stick them on ... slide the knob on and see how many strips of tape you need to make it a good fit. Estimate the volume of tape and try to mix that little glue !
:)
 
Been a busy week with all that is happening but hope to have a solution this weekend. I do like the idea of the off fridge solution. So intend to use a clevis pin of the correct 8 mm dia. inserted into a shallow container of polyfilla. This will give
me a former which I can use to make a short shaft from Polymorph granules. I can then file the resultant plastic shaft to the correct size, and use as an insert for the araldite fix. If it all goes wrong I can drill out my mistake and start again.
 
Sounds like sledge hammer to crack a nut, you already have the perfect former, I doubt you can get that close unless you have a lathe, it isn't just a spindle I think it has another small shift within it to hold the gas on until the TC is hot enough.
 
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