Fridge engineer - Plymouth

Unfortunately not much of a business opportunity, compared with commercial fridge work boat owners don't want to pay what is normal. Marine refrigeration systems are not very robust and not really designed to be serviced/ repaired, if they loose gas it's normally due to leaking o rings on the quick connectors, these are not really used elsewhere as they are nothing but trouble. Most refrigeration engineers would braze the pipe work for a long term install.

It may we worth calling a local commercial or domestic refrigeration company, marine or retail does not matter, don't try a garage auto guy as they are trained to use automatic gear that only is usable in a workshop.
 
Daverw said:
It may we worth calling a local commercial or domestic refrigeration company, marine or retail does not matter, don't try a garage auto guy as they are trained to use automatic gear that only is usable in a workshop.
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+1

What is so different about a fridge on a boat apart from the technician might get sea sick in the dingy getting out to the boat.
 
Unfortunately the marine fridge stuff I've had to help out with is not as well made as the price would suggest. Most are sold as diy install with horrible non gas loss pipe connectors. If these were not used you would have to have F Gas cert to install along with brazing gear, gauge set and vacuum pump etc. Not the stuff most people have lying about
 
You could do it yourself. Parts incl. vacuum pump and refrigerant worth several refills are about £140. Someone will shortly be along to tell you that repairing your own fridge is potentially illegal in the UK, so you might have to sail somewhere else first :encouragement:
 
Yngmar said:
You could do it yourself. Parts incl. vacuum pump and refrigerant worth several refills are about £140. Someone will shortly be along to tell you that repairing your own fridge is potentially illegal in the UK, so you might have to sail somewhere else first :encouragement:
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When I last looked Halfords were still flogging their aerosols with a mix of R134a and PAG oil for cars. The oil in most fridges is POE and I am not sure how well PAG and POE oils mix. I am not sure how Halfords get around the law on selling refrigerants in the way they do. Another issue for most boat systems is they will only need around 0.5 kg, whereas most commercial users start with at minimum 4 or 5 kg cylinders.

Regardless if the fridge needs regassing it also needs the leak fixed, otherwise it will be only a short term fix. Once a boat fridge is more than ~5 years old the cost to undertake a repair and regas properly will likely exceed the fridges residual value anyway.
 
superheat6k said:
When I last looked Halfords were still flogging their aerosols with a mix of R134a and PAG oil for cars. The oil in most fridges is POE and I am not sure how well PAG and POE oils mix. I am not sure how Halfords get around the law on selling refrigerants in the way they do. Another issue for most boat systems is they will only need around 0.5 kg, whereas most commercial users start with at minimum 4 or 5 kg cylinders.
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Apparently you're permitted to recharge your car air conditioning using those oil/refrigerant mixed cans. At least that's what I found when I researched the topic. The trick for refilling a boat fridge with them (which is indeed Polyolester filled [not Polyester]) is to let the bottle sit upright for a while and then use it with the valve on top, so you only get refrigerant (the oil sits on the bottom of the can and stays there).

However, none of this trickery is necessary since pure R134a cans (1kg) are readily available online, from catering suppliers who sometimes list on eBay (where the matching tap valve is also available).

Our boat fridge is 16 years old now and keeps the beer cold. A bit of DIY repair is quite likely to be more ecological than throwing a whole fridge kit in the dumpster and buying a new one every couple years. It's definitely more economical, and educational! :encouragement:
 
Whatever your thoughts are on legal or not, selling and using are not always legally the same thing, and if you are topping up you still really need to identify the leak and repair it or you will be in the same situation again. Just the difference between repair or bodge, I know which I prefer to do.
 
I was going to follow Vyv Cox’s instructions and I’ve bought the R134 refrigerant and a hose adapter but the fridge end fitting is wrong. It needs a Screw type Schrader valve adapter whereas the one I have is a bit like a smaller 32lb calor bottle push on fitting.
Has anyone topped up their own fridge and found the right fitting?
 
What you have is the fitting for using on automotive systems, you cannot get an adapter to make this fit a Schrader fitting as far as know. I have adapters for the other way so that I can work on car systems with my normal refrigeration gear
 
Daverw said:
What you have is the fitting for using on automotive systems, you cannot get an adapter to make this fit a Schrader fitting as far as know. I have adapters for the other way so that I can work on car systems with my normal refrigeration gear
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I could cut off the automotive fitting, do you know where I could get the schrader fitting?
 
You could buy a hose that would normally be used with the refrigeration manifold set, normally sold as red, blue and yellow set. You could cut one of these and then use a male/male barbed connector to join them. The hose will have female fitt8ng with depressor to fit the male one on your system. Other option is to get a copper adapter and braze a short hose tail on it. You would get this from any refrigeration trade counter, many may no sell it to you if you don’t sound like you know what your really looking for. You need to go from 1/4” female with depressor to anything you can braze a short tale onto.
 
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