TeamSpirit
Well-Known Member
Has anyone re-gassed their fridge and can recommend a mobile engineer in the Chichester area who can do the job?
Boat Fridge Re-gas - Chichester
- Thread starter TeamSpirit
- Start date
Adethefridge
Well-Known Member
A few questions :
Why do you think it needs recharging ? If it is short of refrigerant there must be a leak on the system which should be located and repaired before recharging the system.
Do you know what type of refrigerant is in the system ? There should be a spec plate identifying the refrigerant and quantity, depending on the age of the fridge.
As a refrigeration engineer I wouldn't think you would have any trouble finding a local engineer willing and capable of testing and repairing your fridge.
unless it is an absorption system which uses ammonia as a refrigerant then it's a different story completely.
Why do you think it needs recharging ? If it is short of refrigerant there must be a leak on the system which should be located and repaired before recharging the system.
Do you know what type of refrigerant is in the system ? There should be a spec plate identifying the refrigerant and quantity, depending on the age of the fridge.
As a refrigeration engineer I wouldn't think you would have any trouble finding a local engineer willing and capable of testing and repairing your fridge.
unless it is an absorption system which uses ammonia as a refrigerant then it's a different story completely.
superheat6k
Well-Known Member
What gas ? Have you found and fixed the leak ? Often too complicated to repair unless on a simple brazed joint. Just gassing up won't fix the problem for too long, and incidentally is illegal unless the reason for gas loss is found and resolved.
Could try DCI in Portsmouth, or Coastal Refrigeration in Chichester, be a bit cheeky and ask if they have an engineer in your area wanting a 'private'. I doubt a commercial firm will take the job on - their dayrate will likely be at least 3/4 the cost of a new fridge, and dealing with a small job like this is nightmarish because it would be assumed they will give some form of guarantee over such a repair - I wouldn't.
I wouldn't just gas up a system, no point unless the job is done properly, and decent fridge engineers do not come cheap. The guy down the pub who knows a bit about 'fridge' will happily accept your beer tokens, but when the fridge is not working again a few weeks later its time for your round (again !).
Sorry to be so blunt, but small fridges on boats are just not commercially viable for most firms to take on. After all how often is a boat fridge serviced or repaired. Not much work to support a viable business.
Could try DCI in Portsmouth, or Coastal Refrigeration in Chichester, be a bit cheeky and ask if they have an engineer in your area wanting a 'private'. I doubt a commercial firm will take the job on - their dayrate will likely be at least 3/4 the cost of a new fridge, and dealing with a small job like this is nightmarish because it would be assumed they will give some form of guarantee over such a repair - I wouldn't.
I wouldn't just gas up a system, no point unless the job is done properly, and decent fridge engineers do not come cheap. The guy down the pub who knows a bit about 'fridge' will happily accept your beer tokens, but when the fridge is not working again a few weeks later its time for your round (again !).
Sorry to be so blunt, but small fridges on boats are just not commercially viable for most firms to take on. After all how often is a boat fridge serviced or repaired. Not much work to support a viable business.
Paul_G
Well-Known Member
Try 023 9298 7262. They deal with appliance repairs but they have a guy that does boats, in fact he's doing mine on Monday.
P
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markleuty
Well-Known Member
Heckler
Well-Known Member
If your boat is a Legend, pretty sure it will be 134a gas. Used to be able to buy cans of gas on ebay. A simple connector and away you go. BUT as others have said, where has the gas gone? Need to get some gas in, and then some soapy water on the joints to find the leak. Might be as simple as a loose connector. Might be a girly defrost with a carving knife has punctured the evaporator!
Scan ebay for some gas in a small container plus you need a connector. Have a look on the compressor, it will tell you what gas it is and how many grams to put in. The compressor is probably a danfoss, if so the connectors are the things that have shrink wrap over the knurled sealing things.
The EU is to blame for stopping shade tree mechanics from popping some gas in, our tree huggers were convinced it was the gas that was fecking the ozone layer so stoped us buying it. To ssers, they forget about the billions in China and India using R12 and releasing it!
Stu
onesea
Well-Known Member
Have you tried the age old simple fix, turning the fridge upside down for 24 hours?
Some times the gas (or liquid) just is not where it should be...
Rescued afew old gas fridges like this always worth a try....
Some times the gas (or liquid) just is not where it should be...
Rescued afew old gas fridges like this always worth a try....
TeamSpirit
Well-Known Member
An assumption that their is no gas or its broken, its not. I noticed last year and more recently that the temperature setting has to be on max to keep fridge temp, so thought a service and re-gas may rejuvenate the system to avoid the significant costs of a new fridge. Bit extreme to capsize to fix it but might be fun trying.
Heckler
Well-Known Member
That trick is for ammonia absorption fridges. Freon ones dont have a liquid in them until the compressor is running.
S
