Adler Barbour Refrigerator Evaporator Plate and Compressor Replacement

sawimp

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Aug 18, 2010
14
Hunter Legend 43 Londontowne
Hi all, aboard my Hunter Legend 43, the R12 Adler-Barbour DCM-12L compressor unit for the large refrigerator has gone out so I am looking for a drop-in replacement. The real problem is finding a replacement for the 40"L x 11 3/4" horseshoe shaped evaporator plate for the refrigerator.

Has anyone replaced their 40"L x 11 3/4" horseshoe shaped refrigerator evaporator plate and if so what was the non-R12 replacement solution?

Attached are pics of the evaporator place and compressor unit.

Thanks!
Mike
 

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Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
The last I checked, you could still get R-12 here in the US if you had a "green card" refrigeration certificate (available online), but the prices of R-12 were going up. I have not checked in a few years.

In automotive applications, I have had good luck replacing R-12 with R-134a. The cooling capacity was probably about 10-15% less after the change to R134a, but it still was good enough for use in the 120 degree Phoenix summertime.

Before changing the refrigerant, it was necessary to flush the system & remove all remnants of the old oil. R-134a is not chemically compatible with the R-12 lubricant. A lot of guys say that R-12 hoses are too permeable for use with the smaller molecule of R134a. While this seems to be true of new hoses, the old R-12 hoses, that have been in use for years, seem to be OK with it. I did not see a measurable loss of pressure 2 years after the change over. I used all the original hoses. The only parts I changed were the compressor, the receiver/drier, the connection ports & the O-rings.

I adjusted my charge by monitoring performance of the system & stopped adding refrigerant when my high side pressure increased with no improvement in cooling. My final charge weight was slightly less than the original specified R-12 charge.

I now find R134a for $5-$15 per 12oz can, depending on where I buy it. I just filled up the system in my (originally 134a) TDI with the cheap $5 stuff. My air blows at 38 degrees with the fan on full blast when it is 90 degrees ambient, here in humid Florida. I think that the cheap stuff is fine.

I see that your location is listed as Londontowne. If that is jolly old England, than you may have another option. I believe that in the UK, propane is commonly used as a refrigerant in automotive AC systems. Here in the US, that is not allowed.
 
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Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,132
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
Jim knows a lot more than I do about refrigeration. I would still counsel caution in using R134A. I was advised by Richard Kollmann (http://www.kollmann-marine.com/) that 134A is not compatible with AB compressors. A tech had swapped mine over. I called soon after and they changed it to 409A. However, the damage was done and the unit was toast. I replaced it with a SeaFrost unit (seafrost.com) and am very happy with it. The AB folks had changed hands and the customer service was atrocious. That may have changed. I think you could inquire with Sea Frost to see if they could make you up a custom evaporator or if thay had an alternative suggestion. My advice is worth what you paid for it...;)
 
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Likes: scottdube
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
In my case, the only reason I changed the compressor was because the old one had already failed. My original Sanden compressor would have been fine with R134a if it was still in good condition.

I do not have any experience with the AB compressor. I do not have experience with 409A.
 

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
Odd. My AB Super Cold manual states that it originally came from the factory with r134a.
Mine says the same. The compressor is a Danfoss. Adler-Barbour was bought out by Dometic a few years ago and the one time I called for support the fellow in Richmond was very knowledgable about the AB system. My understanding is that Dometic will sell you a flat evaporator plate that can be bent to fit, no direct knowledge of that.
 
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
... The real problem is finding a replacement for the 40"L x 11 3/4" horseshoe shaped evaporator plate for the refrigerator....
There are basically two families of evaporator. They are parallel & series. It is common practice to replace parallel evaps after a compressor pukes its guts & contaminates the whole system with sharp little pieces of itself, because it is very difficult to reliably clean out parallel flow components & any shrapnel left over in the system from the failure of the old compressor can ruin the new compressor or other downstream components. With series evaps, normally a good flush & blow out is enough to return it to service, provided that it does not have other obvious problems, like having a lot of visible corrosion or a case of the "black death" inside. If your horseshoe evap looks good, it may be worth saving.

If the evap has an oriface tube, receiver/dryer, or other filter device upstream & the oriface tube did not get clogged after the compressor failure, then the evap probably did not get contaminated with particles at all.

A series evap is one that has all the tubes in a single line. A parallel evap has 2 main tubes, with a number of little tubes in parallel between the main tubes. It is not impossible to clean out a parallel evap, but it is difficult to do. Confirming that it has been properly cleaned is almost impossible.

Flushing AC components properly requires the use of a nasty chemical cocktail that is simply call "AC Flush". Depending on which area you live in, it may be a regulated item. In some parts of the US, it is still an over the counter item, or at least it was the last time I bought it.
 
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Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,132
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
Ah yes. This could be a source for my confusion. Perhaps Mr. Kollmann or @Rick D could expound?
That's easy. My Danfoss was an R12 that was not compatible with 134A. Obviously, later models were.
 

Rob G

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Dec 12, 2017
16
Hunter 43 Legend 0000 Marina del Rey
Hi all, aboard my Hunter Legend 43, the R12 Adler-Barbour DCM-12L compressor unit for the large refrigerator has gone out so I am looking for a drop-in replacement. The real problem is finding a replacement for the 40"L x 11 3/4" horseshoe shaped evaporator plate for the refrigerator.

Has anyone replaced their 40"L x 11 3/4" horseshoe shaped refrigerator evaporator plate and if so what was the non-R12 replacement solution?

Attached are pics of the evaporator place and compressor unit.

Thanks!
Mike
850 bucks from defender...Isotherm Compact compressor and evap plate...you bend the plate to fit, wire it up, and turn it on. Replacing refrigeration was my very first project...easiest one so far!