Refrigeration Experts, Please Chime In

maltbarley · Post by **maltbarley** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:23 am

So my recently purchased True GDM-10 decided that it no longer wanted to get cold. After making sure the condenser and evaporator were clean, I found some ice forming on the capillary tube. From what I've read, this is due to a low charge.

My question is: Can I just add a piercing port (see below) on the suction side and use a can of appropriate charge or do I need to evacuate the system and start fresh?

spkrtoy · Post by **spkrtoy** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:47 pm

Tim,

On the label the mfg. will state how much refrigerant charge is in the unit. Most of the commercial freezers are weighed in ounces so it's really critical.

That Maytag fridge that's in my garage had the same problem and I weighed in a little and it did not work. I had my service buddy Mike over from work and we vacuumed the system and weighed in the exact amount of R134a and it lasted a couple of months before it froze again.

I'd say it'll be better to call around to some service places to see what they charge for a diagnostic and what their prices are for the refrigerant and have them take on the warranty issue as opposed to ruining it and having to really bite the bullet if it get's screwed up. You don't want to unnecessarly kill the compressor!

maltbarley · Post by **maltbarley** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:07 pm

spkrtoy wrote:That Maytag fridge that's in my garage had the same problem and I weighed in a little and it did not work. I had my service buddy Mike over from work and we vacuumed the system and weighed in the exact amount of R134a and it lasted a couple of months before it froze again.

You had told me previously that the freezer worked but the fridge wasn't cooling. Does it have two problems now?

Calling a service person will cost me more than the fridge. Lyn, do you have a manifold set for loan?

spkrtoy · Post by **spkrtoy** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:19 pm

The freezer has the evap coil and there's a fan that blows the cold air into the reefer section. My problem was that the evap coil would freeze up and the fan could not blow thru the ice.

I have a manifold set for R12 & others that I used to try to fix mine as well as a vacuum pump.

maltbarley · Post by **maltbarley** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:57 pm

spkrtoy wrote:The freezer has the evap coil and there's a fan that blows the cold air into the reefer section. My problem was that the evap coil would freeze up and the fan could not blow thru the ice.

Right, my evaporator doesn't even get cold. The evaporation is taking place in the capillary tube which is why I think it's undercharged.

I still think your fridge suffers from a bad damper solenoid.

backyard brewer · Post by **backyard brewer** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:18 pm

What refrigerant does it take?

Yes, that access port should work to get you access to the loop, but you should add one to both the high and the low side to see what's happening. If the cap tube is frosting over, it would seem the refrigerant is all evaporating in the tube. Since these are completely sealed systems, it's a good idea to try and figure out why the refrigerant went low in the first place.

I have a set of guages, but Lyn has the good evac pump.

spkrtoy · Post by **spkrtoy** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:24 pm

I also have an H10, a freon leak detector but I'm not sure it'll work on R134A as it does not contain chlorine and I'm not sure how they work but I think it's the high pressure sound waves that escaping refrigerant makes thru a pinhole.

maltbarley · Post by **maltbarley** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:54 am

This fridge has officially been declared dead by me. I tried adding refrigerant on the suction side and the frost never moved into the evaporator. After talking with someone who works on these, hementioned that the capillary tube can get clogged when the compressor is failing.

So, I now own another fridge and hope to finnaly brew that RIS on Monday.