Charging a sailboat fridge

cymeyer

cymeyer

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Jul 8, 2005
512
Jeanneau 389 Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
Read the article in Sail Magazine on how to recharge the fridge. Can't find the hoses with a gauge. The supplier in the article (Great-Water.com) has the kit but without a gauge.
Any idea where I can get the hoses with a gauge? Have called a number of places.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,776
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Before you "invest", have you checked to see if your fridge has Schrader valves? IIRC, the older ones do, but once the EPA got involved, they removed them from the newer (circa mid-90s) units to avoid depleting the ozone layer.
 
cymeyer

cymeyer

.
Jul 8, 2005
512
Jeanneau 389 Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
Hey Stu, yes, it has a Schrader valve. Boat is a 2000 model.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

.
Feb 26, 2004
22,776
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Good news. In this case then, I suggest that Google is your friend. In all the years I've been on this excellent forum, there haven't been many, if any, questions about your subject. Good luck.
 
B

Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,131
CC 30 South Florida
The next question is what type of Freon does your system use? The right answer would be to confirm that it is R134a. This refrigerant is available in auto part stores as well as installation kit hoses with or without gauges. A set of professional gauges can be found rather inexpensively at Harbor Freight Stores. If the system has been opened then a vacuum pump might be necessary as well as Freon with lubricant but if it is just a recharge to improve performance then just adding the necessary amount of Freon will do it.
 
suttonski

suttonski

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Feb 26, 2007
102
Beneteau 361 Quebec
You need R134a pure, without anything in it otherwise it will block the capillary tube.
 
cymeyer

cymeyer

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Jul 8, 2005
512
Jeanneau 389 Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
Found the right hose on Great Water Inc site. Was $50 and it worked just fine. It took all of about 5 min. The hoses I found didn't have a gauge, but it was pretty easy to tell when there was enough freon in. Only took a small amount and the fridge got pretty cold.
 
stevemitchell

stevemitchell

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Jan 12, 2016
140
Beneteau 311 Seattle, WA
cymeyer said:
Found the right hose on Great Water Inc site. Was $50 and it worked just fine. It took all of about 5 min. The hoses I found didn't have a gauge, but it was pretty easy to tell when there was enough freon in. Only took a small amount and the fridge got pretty cold.
Click to expand
Just curious how old your system is? Mine is about 15 years old and still running strong, but you never know....
 
Syversens

Syversens

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Oct 29, 2006
388
Beneteau 381 Olympia, WA
I've been thinking about doing this as well... Our freezer frosts on one side but not the other, from what I read that means low on Freon. It sounds like we have the same compressor, so you just got the hose the can and followed instructions? Any "gotchas" or lesson learned? It says to open for 5-10 seconds and wait to see frost but doesn't that take a while?
I've seen someone wrote a book on this so I assumed it was more complicated but that procedure looks easy enough.
 
cymeyer

cymeyer

.
Jul 8, 2005
512
Jeanneau 389 Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
stevemitchell said:
Just curious how old your system is? Mine is about 15 years old and still running strong, but you never know....
Click to expand
Our boat is 17 years old and with the original fridge. I know I had it recharged about 12 years ago and that was it.
This was a simple fix.
 
cymeyer

cymeyer

.
Jul 8, 2005
512
Jeanneau 389 Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
Syversens said:
I've been thinking about doing this as well... Our freezer frosts on one side but not the other, from what I read that means low on Freon. It sounds like we have the same compressor, so you just got the hose the can and followed instructions? Any "gotchas" or lesson learned? It says to open for 5-10 seconds and wait to see frost but doesn't that take a while?
I've seen someone wrote a book on this so I assumed it was more complicated but that procedure looks easy enough.
Click to expand
There was an article in Sail Magazine which I found when googling "how to recharge a sailboat fridge". The only place I found to buy the hose with the right fittings was Great Water. From the reading I have done, you need to make sure you only use freon coolant, not the stuff that goes in cars. The auto freon has other additives which can't be good for this. The hose was $50 and a can of freon was $6.
The hose comes with very easy instructions.
 
G

gettinthere

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Nov 26, 2008
1,966
Endeavour 42 Cruisin
If the system is designed for R134 then R 134 is the choice.

There are some R134 cans with additives sold at auto parts stores that allegedly seal leaks. But I have found plain R134 at Napa and used it without issue.

You can find the guage sets at auto parts stores and harbor freight as well.

If your system is not R134 then you have a more complex issue.

A question that should be considered is how long did it take before needing extra refrigerant? It went somewhere for some reason. If the system performance dropped with in a few years, you have a decent leak. A slow drop over 10 or 15 years is probably pretty benign. A leak can be detected by an oily film at fittings. Leak detectors can be used but I watched a very competent refer tech have a very hard time detecting a leak with a very hi end detector.
 
Syversens

Syversens

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Oct 29, 2006
388
Beneteau 381 Olympia, WA
Curious, how do I identify what refrigerant is in there? I had a quick look at it yesterday and didn't see a label.

Our boat is a 99 and based on previous owners maintenance I'd say he didn't do it and I know I haven't last 10 years we owned it. The fridge is working "fine" as it keeps my beer cold but the element does have more frost on one side than the other but haven't plunged into specifics as it seems like alternator where some write books about it and others been just fine with hose and an auto part.
 
G

gettinthere

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Nov 26, 2008
1,966
Endeavour 42 Cruisin
You have a model, serial number and age...call the manufacturer of the unit? Might get a lot of good info there
 
Ragbaggers

Ragbaggers

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Sep 21, 2014
12
Beneteau 400 White lake
I found a hose with gage, and a assortment of adapters and the 134a, oil free gas my aldor- Barbour needs at Advanced Auto. The freezer/fridge in our 400 has two plates in the freezer also. I charged it to 18psi. Don't charge after running for 15 min. It should build to pressure in about 2 min, after restarting, if low add gas slowly. Good luck.
 
Syversens

Syversens

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Oct 29, 2006
388
Beneteau 381 Olympia, WA
I found all the parts at a local auto place and made sure it all fit. I don't know why this particular job makes me so nervous but most of the articles I found, including manual, say to hire a pro. Many others, including link below, seem to have different steps on same system but maybe I'm just over thinking it.

I found a procedure here that I'll give a try: Adding refrigerant to Danfoss compressor- according to Kollman-marine
 
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