Fridge Too Cold

[tallyho8]

That model has a sealed system, ie: no service valves installed. He either installed a service valve or someone else did before you got the refrigerator. I hope it was not a defective one that was returned to the store and then you bought it as a new one.

According to your description, the evaporator is not iced up and with just the beginning of the evaporator having ice on it does indicate a loss of refrigerant or a stopped up filter drier being a less common problem. Vacuuming out the system and filling it with refrigerant by weight is the recommended way to do it but as you do not have the equipment to do so, adding some may solve your problem. If you have the right kind of gauges, they will have a temperature mark on them by the type of refrigerant you are using and the refrigerant should be added until you reach the 0 degree mark.

If the unit is stopped up this method would allow you to add too much refrigerant and burn out the compressor so be sure to stop after you have added a few ounces regardless of what the gauge says.

 

[Diggin It]

Thread reboot ....

Still working reasonably well. Freezer box gets to 0 or below ... fridge 30-40. Defrost cycle kicks in (Kill-A-Watt shows up to 400 watts while running/cooling watts are around 80) for a few minutes every few hours and the thermometer reads as high as 50 degrees before it kicks back to cooling.

But I still have the icing issue in the coil end/sensor area. I close the door with a 50w halogen light a few inches away from that point an it clears the ice in an hour or so. I don't remember the last time I did that, probably a couple of months.

I looked again and there IS a tap added to one of the coolant lines .... done by the last tech.

So, I still have to wonder about trying to charge it again.

 

[Diggin It]

Has anybody recharged their own?

As far as post 23 goes, I remembered later that the tech DID install a tap ... one of those two piece piercing type taps so he could connect the lines.

 

[jyoutz]

Back to about 5 below zero. Opened the freezer, moved some stuff around, opened the view port I had cut in the back panel years ago and found too much icing blocking stuff. It's been 90 plus with high humidity, so I'm not really surprised it hasn't been able to defrost properly.

Moved the stuff that needs to stay frozen over to the deep freezer. Going to try and let it defrost for an hour or two, then crank it back up and see what happens. Last service guy that was here to confirm the service warranty write off gassed it up one last time. Said he though the icing bit in that area indicated a slow freon leak. That top off has lasted 4 years or more, so it must be a very slow leak.

Any of you ever gas your own boxes? Some reading on the web seems to imply it really isn't difficult. The manifold set looks to be $100 or less and R134 is fairly cheap. I can post the model number and some pictures if it will help identify which ports to hook up to. LAST thing I want is a can popping open in my hand.

I have a small bar refrigerator that does this every few years. It’s always iced up internally. I empty it out and unplug it and let it sit in the garage for a couple of days to de-ice. The first time I was surprised how long it took to de-ice in summer temperatures. Once they ice up internally, the insulation keeps the ice a long time. After it eventually melts out and drys up, I plug it in and it works fine for a couple more years.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

That drain tube for the evaporator tray is where I would start. We had a 27 cf french door refer that suddenly did the same.... just stopped cooling.

Had to dismantle the lower drawer and all the inside 'covering'. Solid block of ice. Spent 2 hours with a heat gun melting it. Cut the "crimped" end of the tube off, which allows mostly all of the condensation immediately drain. That was over 5 years ago.... the refer has been running great ever since.