Anyone recharged an older Adler Barbour fridge, or converted to R134?

[heliraf]

I'm trying to get an idea of costs to see if it might be worth trying it.  I haven't owned my Cat 34 for too long, it's an '86 model, hull 65.  Changed the thermostat, changed the fan, the compressor runs all the time, cools the fridge a bit, I get a bit of frost on the plate, indications are that it's low on freon.  I've tried to locate a leak with soapy water, but no luck.  A friend said that I should maybe recharge it as it may stay good for a year or two even with a slow leak.  So, my question is, can you still get these recharged with R12?  And how much is it likely to cost?  Or can these be converted and any ideas on how much that costs and what's involved?  I've gone through other posts here on fridges, and it seems that if one is over 10 years old a lot of folks say scrap it, and mine might be original, 20 yrs old! But a new one is what, about $1000, oouch!  I guess that's why they say BOAT, Break Out Another Thousand!

Also, does anyone know where the best deals are when buying a new marine fridge and which brands have a good reputation?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[Ken Heyman]

I have had mine recharged with R12. I also evidently have a leak albeit a slow one. It cost 180.00.
There is quite a bit on our site regarding this subject. Try searching with the term "fridge". I recall reading that one of our sailors went on line and took a refrigeration course and test that then allowed him to buy R12. I'm going to take a look at this since I know I will have to  recharge. After observing the process, I realized that it is very very simple to do it yourself. The trick is getting the gas.Of course checking connections and tightening makes sense but getting at them can be tough.

Good luck,

Ken

[Ron Hill]

hel : I'm by no means a refrigeration expert, but frost on the plates only tell me that there is some moisture in the box that froze on the plates!!! 
If you unit cools and holds at 40 degrees, I don't think you have a problem.   A thought   

[Phil Yates]

hel,

I  ALSO HAVE A 86 , HULL #22, I JUST REPLACED MY AB ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO AFTER ABOUT 13 YRS, I ALSO  HAVE REPLACE THE THERMOSTAT,MODEUAL AND EVAPORATOR,WHICH WAS MY FAUL... ANYWAY I ORDERED IT FROM DEFENDER FOR  LESS THAN 900 AND THAT INCL. THE LARGE EVAPORATOR #152 ,  14 LBS.....I JUST GOT TIRED OF FOOLING WITH IT AND AM LEAVING THIS WEEK END FOR 4 WEEKS AND JUST WANTED TO GET IT WORKING AGAIN... IT'S INSTALLED AND  AM HAPPY WITH IT, BUT THE EVAPORATOR DOES TAKE UP ALOT MORE ROOM THAN THE SMALLER ONE....
GOOD LUCK
PHIL

[willie]

http://www.pc-land.com/simplelife/simple_life_dbase/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=53
Here is my post and pictures. I will post my story here as well. Have fun.

OK, well let me start by saying that this post is a reflection of my experience and what I learned over a period of a few days studying and getting expert advise from a local refrigeration expert. (specialized in alder Barbour cold-machines)

The weather started getting rough the tiny ship was tossed... wait wait that's another story.

The weather started getting colder up here in the northwest and my little cold-machine sitting way aft out in the cold seemed like it started running all the time. I also started noticing that my evaporator (the ice box) in my fridge started make a somewhat loud creaking gurgling noise. I also noticed that as it got colder my fridge started getting warmer.

So I started doing research on how the little machines work. Turns out just like every other fridge or air conditioning unit. 

My first thought after finding out when these machines start warming up is that they may have a freon leak. So I inspected the whole system for any kind of oily residue and found nothing. All the fitting where tight and the evaporator looked brand new(it is) and it did not have any knife holes in it. Like from the girl friend defrosting.

The other thing I noted is as it got colder outside less and less of the evaporator had any frost on it, it got to the point none of it was frosted and the temperature had raised to 42 f.

When a cold-machine is properly charged the whole evaporator will frost, not just the back or half, the whole thing.

No leak? hum... maybe its to small to notice... maybe it is a porous aluminum evaporator. Here is what Gary Buttler said at Alder Barbour

"Willie,
No such thing as "porous" aluminum. All of our evaporators are pressure tested before they are shipped. Make sure the couplings that connect the evaporator to the condenser are tight..."

Well I am a mechanical engineer and I problem solve porous aluminum frequently. Hum...

Older Alder Barbour machine use R12 but newer ones use 134A. Mine is a newer one (2005). One of the differences between r12 and 134A is that 134A expands under heat more than R12 so if your switching your system over to 134A you will use less grams.

These machine measure their freon in grams and they hold about 252 grams. or about 9 lbs or so. A 12 ounce can of 134A is = to 336 grams.
It only takes the loss of a few grams to start having problems with your cold-machine not getting cold and making noise.

OK, so our local fridge repairman says he charges $150.00 to come out and top it off and said likely he would not be able to find a leak. (to small if any)

So here is where I start theorizing. I started to remember back to when i bought my boat a year ago brand new and realized that the evaporator never frosted up all the way around, only in the back. So I started to wonder if it ever had the right amount of freon in it. I also started to take in to consideration that, the amount of freon I had in the system was more condensed now because the cold-machine basically sitting out side was freezing to death. I also took in to consideration that these units come pre-charged from the factory and the evaporator has to be connected when installed. The evaporator uses quick connect to connect to the cold-machine and I believe a loss could be had when connecting. So may be there is no leak?? Only time will tell.

Oh one more thing those 12 ounce cans don't have much more than 9 lbs of pressure.

So, I went down to NAPA and purchased 409534 (valve) and 409454 (hose) , then I went to a local refrigeration supply and purchased an old style r12 adapter. It just so happens that Alder Barbour switched over to 134A and did not update their values to the new style 134A type colored blue on my machine. You will find a tag on your machine that says what kind of freon is in it. Do not mix R12 with 134A it will just leak out. You will have to boil your system out with air pressure and add more oil and then fill with freon.

So... no gauges? Am I crazy? NO! however you need to be careful not to shake or tip you can upside down when filling. It may also take a few time to get enough freon it you machine. Here is what I did.

I turned the machine off. I attached the tank to the low side on the condenser and filled for about 1 minute. Then I ran the machine for a half hour and repeated. Then about a hour later when I noticed only half of the evaporator was frosting with the machine running gave it 1 more minute. I still don't quite have the whole evaporator frosty but it works better than ever, it even keeps ice cream. I could use just 1 more gram or so but I would need gauges and a higher pressure tank. I am very happy with it currant performance.

[sedelange]

Willie:
You don't need a higher pressure tank.  The pressure in the tank is a function of temperature not volume.  Placing the can in a container of warm water will increase the pressure and allow you to extract more freon from the can. 

Definitely borrow, rent, or buy a set of guages.  The high pressure on a R134 system can get dangerously high in a hurry and correct freon levels in R134 systems are more critical than in R12 systems.

Steve DeLAnge

[willie]

Steve, you are correct. I don't no why I did not think of that. Its right there in my post about hot / cold pressures. I am with you on that, I do not want to put more in my system with out gauges but this got me going.

Thanks