trouville
regular
Reged: 10/06/2004
Posts: 2847
Loc: crusing with an Arpège
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I have a very small fridge about 2 cubic feet i suppose,its a portable unit.Its stopped cooling and clanks as if theres nothing left to compress.
I took the top off & it has a brass pipe with a brass screw cap.I havent taken the cap off but i suppose there will be a valve there?
As it has a recharge or charge pipe (i hope thats what it is) would it be possible to ask a garage or clima center to recharge it??Everywhere there are adverts offering car climatisation re charges.There arnt many or any for fridges unless i call & have someone come along in his van to the boat,that might be expensive
Since i found its not cooling needless to say i havent seen one van in any port that deals with cooling!!Before there was always one about,just now im not aboard my boat,ive headed north to recharge with local beverage.
The brass cap looks to be the same size as a car tyer valve could it be possible to use a pump to suck in cooling liquid then pump it into the system??
What sort of pressure are cooling systems recharged to??
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liveaboard
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yoda
regular
Reged: 12/12/2001
Posts: 771
Loc: Devon
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Sounds like you should be able to get a garage to do it but they will need to know how much gas the system holds and you are then assuming that all the oil has stayed in the system.
yoda
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Norman_E
regular
Reged: 15/03/2005
Posts: 4691
Loc: East Sussex (near Kent border)
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Find a caravan dealer. If its a portable fridge the caravan dealers can either service it themselves, or will know someone who can. If the gas has escaped they will need to find and seal the leak, otherwise it will just escape again. I once had a caravan fridge leak, and it gave off an ammonia like smell. The fridge was replaced under warranty and I was told that because it had leaked due to a fault in one of the pipes it could not have been repaired.
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Smile at us, pay us, pass us; but do not quite forget,
For we are the people of England, that never has spoken yet.
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trouville
regular
Reged: 10/06/2004
Posts: 2847
Loc: crusing with an Arpège
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Oil???
I had no idea there was any oil in the system??The fan turns as always under that is the compressor about the size of the bottom half of a bottle of fizzy wine
Should i oil the bearings??Often bearings are damaged by oil in not so old units??
Im not by the fridge just now but from what i remember it seemed to be a sealed unit with the recharge pipe comeing up and a couple of pipes to a radiator all sealed?
Dont remember any other filler caps??
I bought it second hand i think its about 5 years old?I was told less but.I think fridge gas just "escapes" in time not due to a leak just due to normal tolerances ???
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liveaboard
Edited by trouville (14/05/2008 18:44)
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No_Regrets
regular
Reged: 09/07/2007
Posts: 1052
Loc: Welwyn Garden City, Herts UK.
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They leak when not used, like Car A/C unites.
Try and use once a month...
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Birchwood Owners Association (BOA) forum now open here -> http://birchwoodboats.aceboard.com/ or
read about the weekly exploits of a Birchwood 25 here->
http://birchwoodboat.blogspot.com/
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Relax
regular
Reged: 18/04/2007
Posts: 119
Loc: ked out again!
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They have special oil which disolves in the gas to lubricate the compressor - if the gas escapes the oil can too. I have found that when the car units break it is often due to no oil having been rplaced.
An a/c engineer (or garage) can check the pressure and add gas if it is low. One of these engineers told me (no idea if its true) that they often leak from lack of use due to the compressor seals sticking to the shafts - you are supposed to use regularly - even in winter 
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All men dream, but not equally.
Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds,
wake in the day to find that it was vanity.
But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men,
for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.
- T.E. Lawrence -
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CLYDE_WANDERER
regular
Reged: 15/06/2006
Posts: 1089
Loc: Glasgow
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Try some tool hire companies, as they normally hire out and repair Dehumidifiers.
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PBooth
regular
Reged: 26/05/2004
Posts: 187
Loc: Lancashire, UK
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refrigeration and aircon units are charged by weight of refrigrant, not pressure, which changes according to operating conditions, so you need to know the charge weight and type of gas. I have seen a small Waeco unit that took 19 grammes of R123a, which is a commonly used gas in automotive a/c systems. If your fridge has lost its gas, you will need to find why, car a/c looses its gas through the rubber hoses in the system, but fridges dont have rubber hoses, so leaks must be from somewhere else.
hope this helps
Peter
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skipper_stu
regular
Reged: 24/02/2003
Posts: 2076
Loc: North Wales
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trou
all fridges have alittle bit of oil in the system, it actually migrates with the gas around the system, usually there is enough in the system even if you have a gas leak, take no notice of the amateurs. the compressor is a little piston thingie, usually 25 cc or there abouts and needs the oil to lube it. if it is a system with freon 134 in you can buy small cans of gas and a refill connection off ebay and do it yourself.
stu
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http://www.beneteau-owners-association.org.uk/toast/toast.asp
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No_Regrets
regular
Reged: 09/07/2007
Posts: 1052
Loc: Welwyn Garden City, Herts UK.
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You can lose gas via seals too.
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Birchwood Owners Association (BOA) forum now open here -> http://birchwoodboats.aceboard.com/ or
read about the weekly exploits of a Birchwood 25 here->
http://birchwoodboat.blogspot.com/
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