How to Recharge a Refrigerator Compressor

Рет қаралды 13,717

Күн бұрын

This is part 2 of a 2 part series illustrating how to diagnose and repair a refrigerator that is not cooling. In this video, I show how to tap into the refrigerant lines to add refrigerant. Low refrigerant is one of the most common reasons why a fridge stops cooling.
See part 1 to learn how to determine if your refrigerator's compressor is working properly:
• How to Troubleshoot a ...
**** Timestamps ****
00:00 - Intro
01:58 - Tools/Supplies Needed
03:12 - Suction vs. Discharge vs. Process Lines
03:47 - Piercing Valve Overview
04:13 - Install Piercing Valve
05:04 - Attach Vacuum Pump and Evacuate System
07:01 - Check for Signs of Leak
07:30 - Close System and Disconnect Manifold Gauges
07:46 - Install Can Tap
08:17 - Purge Air
08:39 - Reconnect Manifold Gauges
08:50 - Add UV Dye
09:19 - Zero Scale
09:30 - Reopen System and Add Refrigerant
11:02 - Conclusion
**** Product links (I do not make any money from the purchase of these products) ****
Manifold Gauges: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
Vacuum Pump: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...
Scale:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
Piercing Valve: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
Can tap:
www.amazon.com/OrionMotorTech...
UV Dye:
www.amazon.com/Interdynamics-...
Fluke 117 Multimeter: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
Electrician’s Pliers and Diagonal Cutters:
www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-80... Automatic
Wire Stripper:
www.amazon.com/Stripper-Elect...

Пікірлер: 39

@TesfayeLeta Ай бұрын

Wooow, Great videos on both Part 1 and Part 2. You know what you are doing guy. Most importantly you are sharing it here so to help people. I appreciate for taking your time and put theses videos together. The content is fundamental and makes sense. I am going to jump my compressor just the way you had showed. Keep up the great work!

@doug_8662 2 ай бұрын

Excellent video. I just saved this to my favorites list.

@yeraniaibarra2396 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for showing us

@blaze2051 2 ай бұрын

awesome video thank you

@julianmauricio6226 2 ай бұрын

thanks for the tip

@Don-zq4ps 6 ай бұрын

Clever man good

@TheITMechanic 20 күн бұрын

Please don't take my comments as a complaint.I loved your video and thanks for a detailed video for such a bigger problem in refrigerators @8:30 minutes of your video you purged the blue and yellow pipes but again you opened yellow one for UV liquid pouring,so did you vaccum the compressor again or did you allow a small amount of air from the yellow pipe😮.

@TheEscondidoExperiment 20 күн бұрын

R134a is much heavier than air. Because of this, disconnecting the line for 10 seconds to put UV dye in is not going to cause the refrigerant to be displaced by air. It's totally insignificant. There was no need to purge the line again.

@TheITMechanic 20 күн бұрын

@@TheEscondidoExperiment thanks for your lovely explanation 👍

@tbone6354 5 ай бұрын

A very helpful tip to extend the life of the compressor is to add 50ml of sulphuric acid to the compressor before regassing.

@phoenixhvac-r828 6 ай бұрын

Should have left blue hose connected to open piercing valve, closed manifold before turning vacuum pump off, then purge yellow hose at manifold hose connection.

@TheEscondidoExperiment 6 ай бұрын

Doing it in this order would also work. It makes very little difference either way.

@phoenixhvac-r828 6 ай бұрын

@TheEscondidoExperiment problem is that you didn't get rid of the air in the blue hose, you just ran refrigerant through it and then reconnected to system there by introducing air into the system, what am I missing here?

@TheEscondidoExperiment 6 ай бұрын

I ran refrigerant through the yellow hose into the manifold and then into the blue hose. This displaces the air. R134a is much heavier than air so it will mostly remain in the lines after closing the tap on the can. My gauge set doesn't have a purge valve on it. Were you assuming that it did and that I ran refrigerant through the yellow hose and out of the purge valve?

@phoenixhvac-r828 6 ай бұрын

Ok that all makes perfect sense, my mistake, I guess as long as the unit is cooling properly you're good to go.

@TheEscondidoExperiment 6 ай бұрын

No worries. It has been cooling perfectly for over six months now.

@user-oj2gx8hr8j Ай бұрын

Is it safe to say that the piercing valve stays on the copper process line?

@TheEscondidoExperiment Ай бұрын

Yes you need to leave it on. If you were to take it off all of the refrigerant would leak out.

@randymann4387 2 ай бұрын

Is there anything that should be done differently if its a dual zone refrigerator?

@TheEscondidoExperiment 2 ай бұрын

If it only has a single compressor then the process for recharging will be the same.

@flightklub7740 2 ай бұрын

how did you pull out the refrigerator

@TheEscondidoExperiment 2 ай бұрын

It's on wheels. I opened both doors and pulled on them. It's that simple

@seanluk8149 5 ай бұрын

Where did the original refrigerants leak point are?

@TheEscondidoExperiment 5 ай бұрын

Not sure yet. It's still working fine. Once it stops working I'll take it apart again and use my UV light to try to find the leak.

@MrDmotor Ай бұрын

Is that Automotive R134a Refrigerant ?

@TheEscondidoExperiment Ай бұрын

There is no difference between R134a for cars and R134a for refrigerators. It's all the same chemical - tetrafluoroethane

@MrDmotor Ай бұрын

@@TheEscondidoExperiment Thanks !

@kingfish524 Ай бұрын

You let air back in the line after you purged the line. The lines must stay connected.

@TheEscondidoExperiment Ай бұрын

R134A is much heavier than air. It did not get displaced by air in the 10 seconds that I took to add the UV dye. Had I left it disconnected for hours that would be a different story.

@richlikeg3722 6 ай бұрын

I would have added a leak sealer with uv dye so that might have sealed up any small leak. That suction line look suspicious

@TheEscondidoExperiment 6 ай бұрын

For small leaks on copper lines you can just use a map gas torch and some sil-fos. I'd prefer doing that than adding a leak sealer.

@hrdworkin7633 7 ай бұрын

With all due respect, a trained technician would have used the proper procedures required to meet EPA refrigerant regulations. These procedures protect the technician and the environment.

@TheEscondidoExperiment 7 ай бұрын

In most cases, when refrigerators die they are thrown in a landfill and replaced with a new one. I would argue that this has a much greater environmental impact than venting a few ounces of R-134A to save an existing fridge. My goal is simply to help people with minimal resources fix their refrigerator.

@mathman0101 7 ай бұрын

⁠@@TheEscondidoExperiment I agree yes epa certification helps to manage and work with refrigerants which can be toxic and harmful to health in certain conditions. R-134A can cause serious breathing and cardiac issues in certain conditions so appropriate PPE and ventilation is important as is recovery procedures. However that being said I fully agree putting a refrigerator this size into the landfill is more impactful.

@mbreigh 6 ай бұрын

Awlsome video. I was looking when you attached gauges there was no pressure when you opend the piercing valve prior to evacuation. Great job.@@TheEscondidoExperiment

@KenMagee Ай бұрын

@@mathman0101 Really? All 7.6 ozs of that R-134a refrigerant is gonna cause cardiac issues. Also there was no refrigerant to recover. Any trace amounts would have been captured in to oil of the vacuum pump.