Advice on refurbishing freezer

[autumnbreeze27]

We've got a Technautics compressor with freezer plate that was connected to a spillover fridge.

The whole cabinet has water intrusion so I am demoing the insulation from the inside and plan on re-insulating the freezer, possibly making it slightly larger, and install a stand-alone refer in the old refer cavity.

I have two questions:
1) I have the instructions for recharging the technautics system from their website, but it doesn't really mention how to take it apart. Do I have to worry about venting gas first, or about bleeding air later? I'd like to remove the cold plate from the freezer so I can rebuild the box with better insulation and make it water proof.
2) Our holding plate is installed on the hull side of the box (and takes up the whole wall). We are considering moving it to the fridge side, as that would recess it somewhat from the opening giving us more access to the space. Assuming we have insulation on the hull side, would it be bad to relocate the plate? If we relocate the plate do we need knew tubing?

[accomplice]

Originally Posted by autumnbreeze27

We've got a Technautics compressor with freezer plate that was connected to a spillover fridge.

The whole cabinet has water intrusion so I am demoing the insulation from the inside and plan on re-insulating the freezer, possibly making it slightly larger, and install a stand-alone refer in the old refer cavity.

I have two questions:
1) I have the instructions for recharging the technautics system from their website, but it doesn't really mention how to take it apart. Do I have to worry about venting gas first, or about bleeding air later? I'd like to remove the cold plate from the freezer so I can rebuild the box with better insulation and make it water proof.

You shouldn't vent the refrigerant to the atmosphere. Depending on what kind of refrigerant it has, it could have significant ozone depleting potential and contributes a lot of "greenhouse gas". Newer HFCs are better, but still should not be vented. (Not to mention that it is against the law -- section 608 of the clean air act)

You will want to vacuum out all the air before you reload with refrigerant. I suggest replacing your filter-drier while you're at it.

2) Our holding plate is installed on the hull side of the box (and takes up the whole wall). We are considering moving it to the fridge side, as that would recess it somewhat from the opening giving us more access to the space. Assuming we have insulation on the hull side, would it be bad to relocate the plate? If we relocate the plate do we need knew tubing?

If your existing tubing reaches and can be bent without kinking then you won't need new tubing. Otherwise, you'll need to make new tubing. It isn't difficult to put on flare connectors with a decent flaring tool.

[autumnbreeze27]

Recovering R-134a Refrigerant from the A/C on the cheap... - Maxima Forums

Is this good instructions on how to capture the old r134a??