I DID SOMETHING REALLY, REALLY, STUPID

[sailingchiro]

I am assuming it is aluminium. Take it to a TIG welder to patch it and have HVAC guy recharge it. Most likely won't cost more than $50 to patch hole.
Alot of HVAC guys know how to braze copper and maybe some aluminum but a great TIG welder will be better.

[a64pilot]

It will take a great tig welder, they type that can weld a beer can.
I’ve heard of those, but never met one. Aluminum is tough, real tough, you think your doing great, then suddenly literally without warning a great hole appears.

[NorthCoastJoe]

JB Weld will work if you do a good prep on the original material, sandpaper and acetone for prep. Then evacuate the air and recharge. I once repaired a main oil galley plug on a engine with JB Weld it held forever with 80 psi of pressure and heat / cooling cycles. Or just get an new evaporator. I use hot water for defrosting nothing else.

[sailingchiro]

give the welder a beer can as job interview, I like it!
GIve him another to drink when he patches it.

[er9]

Originally Posted by SV Sailfish

Pete7,

Maybe Zengirl is a Sharon Stone fan?

or a part time assassin. think about it. sailing out to sea under cover of fog and dark. perfect getaway. who's gonna look out there and bloodhounds are no use. I'm thinking she tried to hide the icepick in the freezer after taking care of that mob boss and slipped.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by sailingchiro

I am assuming it is aluminium. Take it to a TIG welder to patch it and have HVAC guy recharge it. Most likely won't cost more than $50 to patch hole.
Alot of HVAC guys know how to braze copper and maybe some aluminum but a great TIG welder will be better.

I kinda doubt if this will fly. TIGing an evaporator tube with an icepick hole through it would require skill beyond belief. brazing with low temp filler would be hard enough, welding approaching impossibility. I've used a special fridge epoxy for such repairs with success, but it was on the supply tube, not the evaporator itself and I had 360 degree access to the corroded area.

Jim

[Coolerking]

Remember, it's a captube system, a grain of sand will clog it up.

[sailingchiro]

I TIG weld, not great at all. Actually horrible. But, I fixed a crack in a evap coil on my truck. Still sealed after several years. Looks ugly but sealed. Pressurized with nitrogen for 2 days, held. Then vacuumed for 2 days, held vacuum. Put back in truck, recharged it and stayin cool. Give a guy that knows how to use a foot pedal, argon, and a stick of AL the benefit of doubt.

I basically build a blob then slowly seal that blob to the tube by slowly building the blob with circles. If nitrogen causes bubbles on check, then vacuum the system and seal blob by letting vacuum suck the weld in.
I am not a great welder but do know several that can accomplish this task. Look for a radiator repair shop or TIG welder that repairs evap coils. But, what do I know?
Welding beer can? the evap coil is much thicker than a beer can.
Of course there is much more experience on this forum than me.

[Sofa King Fishy]

Originally Posted by zengirl

I don't know what made me do it. I took an ice pick to the top of my frigoboat freezer just to get a little piece of ice off. You guessed it! Put a hole right in it. The coolant or whatever gas is in it came pouring out. Now I'm posting to see if anyone knows of someone in the Norfolk, Va area that works on this kind of refrigeration. Thanks.

Man! I feel so much better! Although I used a screwdriver.

[Sailergirlsue]

Don’t stress sister. I’ve done it too. Mind you, not on the catamaran but in my house. I thought I was going to die from inhaling it or my face would melt off. Lol I was in my 20’s.

[capn_billl]

I microwave a glass of water, then set it inside.

If I'm really impatient, I sprinkle the boiling water around the ice.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by zengirl

I don't know what made me do it. I took an ice pick to the top of my frigoboat freezer just to get a little piece of ice off. You guessed it! Put a hole right in it. The coolant or whatever gas is in it came pouring out. Now I'm posting to see if anyone knows of someone in the Norfolk, Va area that works on this kind of refrigeration. Thanks.

Boat show in Annapolis. Check their listing of vendors. Ask for boat show pricing.

[foxfire]

Originally Posted by zengirl

I don't know what made me do it. I took an ice pick to the top of my frigoboat freezer just to get a little piece of ice off. You guessed it! Put a hole right in it. The coolant or whatever gas is in it came pouring out. Now I'm posting to see if anyone knows of someone in the Norfolk, Va area that works on this kind of refrigeration. Thanks.

You may have an option. A guy in rio dulce fixed a leak in the aluminum evaporator of the fridge in my sisters boat with some kind of what looked like a green crayon and a propane torch. It sealed the hole, he then recharged the system and it’s still working. The guy was quite secretive about this magic crayon, I’d love to know what it was.

[OkiMike]

I used a heat gun and plastic spatula/scraper. It still took 45 minutes and think the heat gun hardens the ice rather than melt it (the same effect when you still see lumps of frozen snow still sticking around in May). Will try hot water next time.

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by OkiMike

I used a heat gun and plastic spatula/scraper. It still took 45 minutes and think the heat gun hardens the ice rather than melt it (the same effect when you still see lumps of frozen snow still sticking around in May). Will try hot water next time.

Nah. Just start at the bottom and get part of the plate bare.

That will allow it to conduct the heat UNDER the ice, and it will slide off. A spatula under it will accelerate it leaving, so you may have to move up the plate as this happens.

When you're done, heat the plate so it no longer has condensation; that will warm the back enough for THAT to fall off.

I also take a bullet fan (AC unfortunately, but not a large draw, along with not a lot of air movement, also unfortunately) and point it down into the box; the air circulation does the same thing as the heat gun, at a longer pace, and gentler.

But there is never a metal tool in my freezer, despite my having, now, SS clad tubing (which looks about like a cold plate, but it's an evaporator) in a box for my plates. Aluminum is far less forgiving - but a plastic spatula should be fine...