I'm an idiot. Broke my Waeco fridge

[ThereAndBack]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizons

A good way to speed up defreezing process is to use a fan.

A really good way I've found is to boil a pot of water, leave it in the kettle, put it in the fridge and close the fridge. The heat will equalize and melt a lot of the ice. Repeat if needed.

[Richard Kollmann]

Originally Posted by qazvick

Well this is the dumbest thing I've ever done. Long story short, I was letting the frozen over fridge/freezer melt out and got impatient. I started chipping away with a flathead and small hammer. Wasn't really that difficult and I wasn't really banging away that hard. But, alas, I have learned the hard way how fragile the tubes holding freon in the cold plates are.

I punctured one.

I was going to try to fix the leak. JB weld? Can it actually be legitimately welded?

Also, even if this is the case, I've come to notice that this danfoss bd35f has ZERO ports available to recharge the system. Nothing for me to screw on an attachment ANYwhere. Is this typical? Everything I find online shows my exact compressor but with attachments.

This is an old Weaco Coolmatic 80. Model RD-80B.

Any guidance much appreciated.

I'm going to go drink about it now.

Aluminum evaporator coil punctures normally result from using a scraping tool for quick defrosting. The evaporator plates today used in mobile refrigeration are formed by a process of pressing two thin aluminum sheets together defined as roll bond fusion. The refrigerant evaporator tubing is formed by a series of continuous areas where bonding of metal sheets is prevented from sticking together. By pressurizing the areas not bonded a serpentine passageway for refrigerant is formed. Unfortunately expansion of the roll bond metal creating the refrigerant passage way stretches the base metal even thinner making it easy to fracture.

There are at least one dozen typical repairs for holes poked into aluminum roll bond evaporators but none I have pound are a permanent repair. The problems I have had with at least five of these hole or crack kits is cleaning the area around and in opening then creating enough structure in repair to retain refrigerant in warm weather when unit is not in use and low pressure evaporator exceeds 80 psi.

I have attached a link showing a current site of leak repair solutions. I tested and sold the heat stick, the two part epoxy, the metal foil and epoxy kit, even the Eutectic solder they demonstrate sealing a hole in a beer can.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Patc...iw=977&bih=541

Normally when asked what to do with a hole in a roll bond evaporator the answer is replace evaporator and dehydrate complete system to under 200 micron. Unfortunately replacing evaporators on cabinet or portable refrigerators is around 60% of the cost or a new refrigerator.

[OzePete]

Yes you can patch over the damaged area, have a service valve fitted, replace the filter dryer, evacuate as suggested then recharge with R134a and away it goes again, but only as good as the patch and as others indicate, not always successful!

So if I were the OP I would firstly make an insurance claim, (if insured) and buy a new fridge. The most (only!) valuable part of these mass produced fridges is the compressor, so if you remove the damaged fridges BD35 (or 50) and seal off the two pipes, you may be able to recover a few dollars from that and perhaps end up breaking even and with a new fridge!
See, you wasn't such an idiot after all!

Cheers OzePete

[keithw88]

Am surprised there has been no mention of the different forms of refridgerant. Won't an old system likely have a now-banned gas? And is it not true that a system once filled with one gas cannot be re-gassed wirh a different gas, even if complete replacement is attempted?
Or is it only EU and Aus/NZ who are strict on this issue?

[OzePete]

Spot on Keith, R12 began being phased out at various times since 1994 depending on country. As a result R134a generally become the R12 replacement but now sadly there are dozens of refrigerants confusing and costing the industry and consumers.

The Coolmatic 80. Model RD-80B appears to have only been made as an R134a system so easily re-gassed in most parts of the world, albeit except the EU, Oz and NZ unless via a licensed person!

Systems originally operating on R12, can be converted to use R134a but the filter dryer and oil at least must be changed. We did thousands of these conversions in the late 90's as R12 was strictly controlled in OZ!
I posted a simple method of changing oil in these small hermetic compressors in a post here earlier this year.

Cheers OzePete

[appick]

I've as a DIY both soldered in ports and used the clamp on ones. The one I did for a friend who's fridge had stopped working. It was a very old R-12 system on an 1982 Catalina 36. I used a clamp on port and found it still had some pressure but was low. I simply topped it up with R-134a from an automotive style can from a car parts store. Didn't change out the oil didn't evacuate it either. I didn't have a vacuum pump and the owner was going to replace it anyways so nothing to loose. That was 4 years ago and it's still running fine holding temp in the fridge and he can make ice in the little freezer section.

I too had heard the recommended procedures for converting systems however if it's already broke what do you have to loose? You can buy a decent vacuum pump on Amazon for around $100. A decent set of gauges is close to that again. Cheap gauges are much less. If you've ever sweated copper pipes in a house you can fix this. All it takes is a torch and the right solder or an epoxy repair.

I've recharged a few mini split systems a friend got used with a cheap vacuum pump and gauges. They worked fine with only a little messing around. I guess what I'm saying is if it's broke it's a good time to play with it and learn. Youll make lots of friends at many anchorages and docks. I know I have. I started stocking the clamp on ports and cans of freon on board. Also a great suggestion on scavenging an old compressor for a vacuum pump!

[RaymondR]

You could get rid of the alloy plates and replace them with a DIY copper tube coil.

[qazvick]

Thanks to everyone who replied. Been a great help. I think the plan moving forward is gettingan HVAC tech to install the saddle valve and charge it. The other problem is patching the freon tube in the cold plate though.

JB Weld? Epoxy? Weld? I have no idea.

[hellosailor]

Bear in mind you should pick/pull out anything that is bent in and might restrict the flow.

Welding is problematic, the metal is tissue-thin and easily burned through. Someone with a light touch can deal with that, but in oil pipeline welding, they won't even talk to a new hire unless the welder has over ten years of experience--because pinhole leaks are so common. So if you do weld it, you might also want to make sure it is pressure tested and vacuum tested for 24 hours before attempting to fill it. And perhaps, apply Loctite "Green", there's a special pinhole sealer they make that can't hurt even if you think the weld is perfect.

All the rest are really just epoxies. JBWeld certainly is a good one. I'd be generous with it, use reinforcing fiber, and even then cross my fingers.

Find out the cost of having a tech add that valve, evacuate and purge the system, and refill it. Bear in mind with a patched pipe they may say "no warranty". Sometimes, there is no economical way to make the repair. Depends what alleged AC repairmen charge down there. (And R-12 is, globally, widely counterfeited and not always cleaned when it is supposedly recycled. You need a tech you are sure you can trust.)

On the bright side, you might just luck out.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by qazvick

Thanks to everyone who replied. Been a great help. I think the plan moving forward is gettingan HVAC tech to install the saddle valve and charge it. The other problem is patching the freon tube in the cold plate though.

JB Weld? Epoxy? Weld? I have no idea.

I would guess a good HVAC guy would sweat it. Not seeing it that like everything else is a SWAG.

[SV Elizabeth]

There is a specific epoxy for these repairs that the refrigeration techs use. Our evaporator developed a hole and it was fixed with a dab of this stuff. Then recharged/recalibrated - while you might succeed in getting the hole patched yourself, that second part is not for amateurs like me.

[Limpet]

I owned my own Refrigeration and air condition company in my previous life.
I saw this sort of damage all the time.
The coils are aluminum and can be welded. A good refrigeration company can do this.
Any water that has entered the system will need to be evacuated. Again, a good refrigeration company will not have an issue doing this

[Knobee]

Originally Posted by qazvick

I started chipping away with a flathead and small hammer.

I'm lucky that when I did this, it was in a rental apartment... "hey, landlord, this fridge seems to have quit working".

Good luck with the repair.

[SV Xpensive Care]

Time for a new Nova Kool.
It'll work EXACTLY as advertised, on 12VDC or 110VAC, uses currently available refrigerant, has a solid warranty, and it's serviceable by local techs.
Mine is four years old in a warm & humid climate, makes and keeps ice, keeps ice cream and easy to clean & defrost. Possibly the best marine appliance investment I've made yet.

[OS2Dude]

Just caulk it up o an expensive lesson and buy a new one. When I did the same thing (DOH!) I looked into 'fixing' it, but I could not find anyone willing to try. If it is an older unit, you may not even be able to find the refrigerant, and you can not use the newer gasses in a unit made for the older gas. These units are typically 'pre-charged' by the factory and are not designed to be refilled.