So my fridge sprung a refrigerant leak and leaked out a bunch of its freon, I I thought I could Easily fix it by refilling it witth R134a with leak sealer. However it continue to leak and this eventually caused the compressor to grenade itself (presumably due to the oil absorbing water from the air). Now I know how to install a new compressor however, if I simply install a new compressor and recharge it all of the refrigerant will leak out, I also suspect that the compressor will die fairly quickly as the old compressor probably sent metal bits though the system.
My question is how I would go about Flushing the system and patching the leak?
Buying a new refrigerator would not be practical as the one we have is a bit of a special size.
Flush and seal refrigerator HVAC leak
hvacrefrigerator
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Best Answer
I would say this is not a DIY project for at least 3,4,5+ reasons the major ones opening a HVAC/R system requires a license, yes you can find R134 In less than 1 lb cans for cars or a duster or electronic troubleshooting freeze spray if you can find the adapters and it would work if you could install new parts and remove all the compressibles (air) and dehydrate the system (a vacuum pump to pull the system to at least 500um). A new filter dryer on the suction line would pickup any metal from the old compressor. I have seen techs "get away with" 1000um but this is risky because any moisture in the POE oil will become acidic and that eats the varnish off the motor windings in the new compressor and then it shorts out. Bringing me to the point is the oil already acidic? We know it is contaminated because of the leak stop being used (leak stop may work on high temp AC like automotive but will plug the capillary tube on most refers). UV dye and or leak stop will void the warranty on almost every compressor I have purchased. Now another non DIY reason you want to repair the leak, how and where did it start leaking? My bet would be in the evaporator, almost all refers have aluminum evaporators and sealing a contaminated aluminum line that has been punctured is almost impossible, I don't do service calls on fridges but have Tryed to help friends that have tried to solder the aluminum lines to watch the line melt (had to replace the evaporator) another friend had a vending machine he tried to use some special 2 part epoxy and thought it was working until he unplugged the system loaded it up and took it to a break room, that warm day caused the Freon pressure to go (calculated) to 275 or so and blew the plug out and sprayed oil and Freon inside the machine (did I mention it did not cool at that point). Now for the last point, did you know there are fines up to $25,000.00 for doing this kind of work without a license?