I have two
Isotherm SP
refrigeration systems on board -- one
freezer, and one fridge. I love them. But the first year I had the
boat (four years ago), the fridge stopped
cooling well, and I had a local
refrigeration guy look at it. He said no problem -- just a little low on gas. He topped it off and it worked perfectly for four years.
I'm now cruising in the
Baltic, and have sailed a few hundred miles to get here, often on a significant heel. At some point the fridge stopped
cooling well (would cool just a little bit, or if on a starboard tack, would suddenly start cooling full blast again). Meanwhile it was running hot and making strange noises. Not good, I thought.
I had a guy in
Sweden look at it, and he said -- no problem, low on gas. And boy, is that
compressor hot. He topped it off. It seemed to
work fine. But this morning it wasn't cooling right for a while; now cooling fine again (we're on
passage so maybe the liquid freon got stirred up again).
So what do you guys think? My understanding of practical issues of refrigeration is very weak. Maybe I killed the
compressor letting it run low on gas and getting too hot? Or should I put
oil in it or something?
The system uses Danfoss BD35F compressors, which I don't think are too expensive, so yanking it out and replacing might not be the end of the world. On the other hand, would be nice to revive the old one if there's any hope. It's only 12 years old or so and has not given any trouble other than the apparently pinhole leak (not worth chasing -- both the previous tech, and this one, said).