Adler Barbour recharge after long shutdown?

[svnakia]

We're here in Bahia de Caraquez Ecuador and a fellow cruiser is getting ready to leave the boat for a few months to go back to the states. She says she's heard that Adler Barbour systems will need to be re-charged if shut down for an extended period.

Can anyone confirm this?

We have an AB and have had it shut down for a month or so at a time and have never had a problem, but I thought I'd ask the group in case anyone has infor confriming this requirement.

John
SV NAKIA
Web Log of Sailing Vessel NAKIA

[btrayfors]

I have a 20-year old AB system which for a period of 11 years in the Caribbean was shut down periodically for months at a time. No problems at all, and it's still running strong. It has never been recharged.

Bill

[Vasco]

Mine's shut down six months a year and so far (4 years) it's been fine.

[jaga]

How can you tell if it does need recharging, beyond the obvious if it's totally depleted and thus zero cooling?

[Vasco]

The best way is to test with guages but usually you'll find the compressor working hard and the fridge not getting as cold as it usually did.

[Pblais]

How can you tell if it does need recharging, beyond the obvious if it's totally depleted and thus zero cooling?

You should hear the compressor running. They often seize up and at some point it won't do any good to kick the dead horse. If they don't cool and the compressor runs it may mean a leak. Tiny leaks happen. Most are not fixable some are. Some slow ones might last a while on a recharge. Bigger ones won't. There is not usually a lot you can do with fridges.

If you look for threads with Richard Kollmann he is our king of fridges and notable INTERNET fridge wizard. Find his web site on Google as well. He has a magic way of showing up on fridge threads here too. Such are the ways of wizards. They come when they mean to. He does extensive tests we all would never be able to do on our boats. He works pretty hard at 12 volt fridges and has been doing so a long time. Very chilling stories indeed.

He often says things you don't want to hear but only because he is usually right. Lots of myths about fridges out there.

Leaking is not a function of being shut down a long time as far as I know. Of the two AB fridges that have died on me they both died after about 17 years and shortly after we purchased the boats. It may be reassuring but not if they die on your watch. One seized and the other leaked over the winter. I still think they are good fridges and actually the Danfoss compressor is by far the most used even many non AB products use it. I may be cursed but I still believe.

[allegedly]

I have an AB. After 2 to 4 days I have to shut it down, lots of ice in the freezer compartment. The frig compartment has 2 large vents into freezer for air flow. I have added star board to the bottom of the freezer lid so that the gasket makes better contact. I am located in the Tampa Bay area, planning on going to Belize, so ice would build up in one day. What I mean by lots of ice is that in 7 days so much ice has built up that I can not open the lid. Is it normal for the freezer to build up ice so quickly?

[Richard Kollmann]

Adler Barbour systems do not lose refrigerant when shut down for long periods of time. If frost does not form on 100% of evaporator after unit was off for a long time there is a leak. When leak occurs in normal continues operation leak could be any where in system. If leak occurs in storage and box is warm leak is in suction pressure side of system at service fitting cap or disconnect or corrosion on evaporator. I answered an Email Question yesterday from Ecuador with a similar complaint, on that system do to its age I suggested the evaporator was probably the problem, if so it will only get worse if refrigerant is added.

[Whimsical]

Originally Posted by allegedly

I have an AB. After 2 to 4 days I have to shut it down, lots of ice in the freezer compartment. The frig compartment has 2 large vents into freezer for air flow. I have added star board to the bottom of the freezer lid so that the gasket makes better contact. I am located in the Tampa Bay area, planning on going to Belize, so ice would build up in one day. What I mean by lots of ice is that in 7 days so much ice has built up that I can not open the lid. Is it normal for the freezer to build up ice so quickly?

The moisture may be comming from the spill over vents from the fridge. I read on another thread where someone had filled in the vents with a piece of stainless. This allows heat transfer but stops the moist air entering the freezer. Temperature control in the fridge was done with some polystyrene to change the effective size of the stainless plate.

Mike

[hellosailor]

John-
AC systems (mainly those in cars) that have rubber o-ring seals in them, must be run monthly to lubricate the seals or else they will dry out and the system will leak a bit. If you had similar o-ring seals in a frig system, it could have the same problem. IIRC there are/were some DIY marine frig systems sold in two parts, where the user just screwed together the fittings. Those would have o-ring seals. (Richard probably could shed some light on this.)

So there's probably some basis for your friend's concern, but some confusion about whether the systems are o-ring sealed, or solder sealed. Richard probably could shed some light on this.

[geneWj]

I have the A.B. inmy boat installed in 1998. Shut down from 2004 until last week, 7/08. Started up the system, no leaks evidently. Ice in 24 hours.

[Vasco]

I have an AB. After 2 to 4 days I have to shut it down, lots of ice in the freezer compartment. The frig compartment has 2 large vents into freezer for air flow. I have added star board to the bottom of the freezer lid so that the gasket makes better contact. I am located in the Tampa Bay area, planning on going to Belize, so ice would build up in one day. What I mean by lots of ice is that in 7 days so much ice has built up that I can not open the lid. Is it normal for the freezer to build up ice so quickly?

I take it your evaporator plate is frosting up very fast. This is due to moist air or any air for that matter getting into the freezer. Do the dollar test. Get a new dollar bill and shut the fridge door on it. If you can pull the bill out your door gasket is shot. We installed a larger size gasket to fix ours. Most of the air gets into the freezer from the fridge. You might also check the gaskets on the freezer lids. New gaskets or better door latches is what's required. This is a very common problem with the Beneteaus with the freezer/fridge combinations.