Cold Machine Warranty/Recharging

[Craig Cody]

Just about a year ago I replaced the Cold Machine that was in my 1985 Catalina 36 when I bought it. It was working well, but the chilling ability of it degraded due to pinholes in the freezer box. It used R-12 for refrigerant. I bought a new Adler Barbour to replace it and am quite satisfied with the unit. The R-134 refrigerant is not as efficient as the R-12 was, but the box has always stayed cold (albiet at a higher setting number on the dial). My old unit would freeze my beer if I set it above #4 on the dial, the new one has to be set at about #6 to maintain a 40 degree temp in the box. To make a long story short, I've had to run up the adjustment lately just to keep things cool and now I have it set on #7 (MAX) but the unit is running constantly. At first I thought it was just warmer weather that was causing this, but now the freezer box isn't forming frost, and I can hear a kind of gurgling sound in it. Does it sound like I am low on refrigerant? Should I have to recharge it after only a year? How long is the warranty and should it cover recharging? I'd appreciate it if anybody who knows these things could help out. Of course, I didn't notice the gurgling until this morning, and I leave town tomorrow at the crack of dawn. I live aboard and will have to throw out a bunch of food if I can't find somebody to service the unit today. I think that there is a nipple for coolant on the compressor unit, (there was on my old one) so it shouldn't be to difficult.

 

[John H.]

recharging

Typical. Mine had a leak since day one. Had it recharged 3 times before the leak was found and repaired. (less than 1 year old) I probably spent half what the unit cost me to begin with.

 

[tom]

leak

Sounds like you have a very small leak. I am a refridgeration mech. and a sailer ( catalina 34). There is not much refridgerant in a system this small so for the system to gradually degrade, the leak must be very small. Sound like you need to repair the leak and recharge the unit.

 

[Hayden Watson]

I have the same problem

I installed my system last fall about 1 month before winter lay-up. This year the compressor started running more and more. Now it runs almost continuously. I called A/B and the tech informed me that the directions for tightening the line set would quite often be loose enough to cause a small leak. He told me that I should tighten the couplers and get a recharge. I was very careful to tighten the connectors “exactly by the book” so hopefully they will pay for the recharge. Supposable a leak at the connection isn’t covered by warranty.

 

[Phil Williams]

Warranty/Recharge

From the description you have given the system has a very very small leak. This type of leak is normally found at the couplings. Tighten the couplings and then have the system recharged. The leak might not be found by the normal technician. When they are this small the best way to find them is to put nitrogen into the system to raise the pressure in the tubes and then use a very sensitive leak detector. This is all done with the system OFF. Once the leak is found and repaired the system must be evacuated and recharged.If the leak is found at one of the solder joints made by the WAECO A/B factory the repairs are covered by warranty. This repair must go through the approved dealer. Call 860-664-4911 and ask for the local repair technician in your area.Phil

 

[Craig Cody]

Thanks for the responses

Thanks, guys. We're fortunate here in Santa Barbara to have a company that is willing to come to a boat for service. They checked for leaks "electronically" (I have no idea how they do that) and when they didn't find any, the tech put dye into the system, recharged it and left. He will come back with a black light later on to see if he can find the leak. The coupling is most certainly the likely culprit. I followed the installation instructions to the letter, but maybe should go an extra flat on the coupling nuts. What do you think? Or should I wait until the tech comes back with the black light before I risk damaging them if they aren't the source of the problem.