I have been trying to get my Frigoboat ice box refrigeration with an air cooled compressor working again with not a lot of success. With some online help and troubleshooting, it looks like the problem is a blockage in the cap tube. From the symptoms, a likely culprit seemed to be a wax buildup and we removed the plate and applied a warm rag to the cap tube. Like a miracle, there was the happy gurgling of flowing refrigerant and the plate frosted over completely. It ran normally all day and it seemed like our problems were over. The next morning, the plate was cold but not frosted and the compressor was again running continuously. We jiggled the cap tube a bit and the refrigeration started to run, then stopped again. Is the problem more likely to be moisture? I am not sure if the system has been opened but it doesn't look like it and we have the classic situation of the system working really well, then just not working and the boat was left closed up in the heat without running. I am willing to be a bit more aggressive with the heat on the cap tube if that would help or am I completely off base? I don't have access to a technician so I am dearly hoping that I am not going to have to purge and dry the system. I will be stretching my technical ability and I don't have a vacuum pump and a tank of nitrogen handy. The system is on a Beneteau 323 if that helps.
Frigoboat woes
- Thread starter Phil Mac
- Start date
I had mine kind of do the same thing after a sail in rough water. I installed an inkbird digital controller so I can see the temp . I keep it between 35 and 38 in the fridge. After the sail with a fridge full of food ,I noticed the temp rising to 50 degrees and compressor on constant . Shut it off ,bought ice and after 2 days it was good to go , I put it down to oil splashing up with compressor on during sail and plugging tube. We now shut it down in rough waters .
Capillary tube. Common to refrigerators but I think the blockages are a pretty common problem with Frigoboat.
In 14 years, I've not had a problem the the fridge. Turning it too cold- all the way to 4- is worse than 3 or 2. Maybe yours is different. One thing that helped mine was to put air vents in the for and sft sides of the sink cabinet. Actually, I put one in the door, also, but it is just as good to leave the door open when you can, like overnight. You can lift the door off the hinge pins. I put shelves under the sink sized to hold the larger pots, one for a silverware tray, and on the bottom a wire shelf for the dish drying rack. This all may not solve your problem, but it can't hurt, either. Keep us posted, please.
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Thanks. I will let you know if we can get this solved. I am sure the fact we have had just blistering heat hasn't helped the venting either.
I took a hair dryer on low heat to the cap tube and when we left the boat Sunday, everything seemed to be working fine. I am going to order the pre-charged Frigoboat filter-drier and install it. If anyone has tips/experience to share, I would be happy to get the input. This has been quite a learning experience.
I don't know about cap tubes but I have found Kolllman marine to be a great source of info for marine refrigeration. Helped me diagnose my control module problems.