HUNTER 430 REFRIGERATION PROBLEMS

[LOREN HALL]

I HAVE A I997 HUNTER 430 WITH MAJOR REFRIG. PROBLEM. TRIED TO START THE COMPRESSOR AFTER THE BOAT HAD BEEN ON THE HARD AT GREEN TURTLE CAY FOR 5 MONTHS. IT WAS FROZEN AND WOULD NOT START IN SPITE OF ALL ATEMPTS. GOT A NEW COMPRESSOR AND WHEN TAKING THE LINES OFF IT LOOKED LIKE THERE WAS A LOT OF WATER IN THE SYSTEM. WHERE DID THIS COME FROM ??I HAPPENED TO LOOK IN THE FREEZER COMPARTMENT AND THERE WAS THE ANSWER. ONE OF THE COLD PLATES LOOKED LIKE IT WAS ABOUT TO BURST.OBVIOUSLY THERE WAS A LEAK IN THE COIL IN THE COLD PLATE AND WHEN THE COMPRESSOR WAS RUNNING IT WOULD SUCK GLYCOL INTO THE SYSTEM AND WHEN IT WAS IDLE, THE R22 WOULD EXPAND INTO THE COLD PLATE AND BLOW IT UP. SO THE COLD PLATE AND THE COMPARESSOR NEED TO BE REPLACED FOR SURE AND I HAVE GLYCOL IN THE WHOLE SYSTEM.THIS IS THE GRUNERT SYSTEM THAT WAS SUPOSED TO BE A TOP LINE SYSTEM. I HAVE A MESS. ANY THOUGHTS!

 

[Dick McKee]

Loren..We just traded our 95' 430 in and in 8

years of operation only had 1 service call for low Freon. You are correct Grunert is a top of the line system and I can tell you I wish I had opted to upgrade on our 04' Catalina 470 when we ordered it. Our Alder Barbour went out on 2/21 and is still out. DICK MCKEES/V ONE9TEEN

 

[Richard Kollmann]

Balloon like holding plates.

Failures inside the holding plates causing major deformation of the plate is an uncommon failure, but failures do accrue. I have seen plates from most manufactures that have failed. There is nothing that a boat owner can do to prevent this type of failure as the problem is in the design, liquid solution used or manufacturing process. Those companies that use the customers boat to test their so-called true eutectic solutions seam to have the majority of the exploded plates. The failed plates that I have opened up containing Glycol solutions failed from bad joints in the internal tubing. Twice I found that the interior tubing failed do to the lack of tubing support and the half frozen solution could move the tubing like a clock pendulum. As to what you should do with your contaminated system, if you can do the work yourself and the system is less than ten years old you could recondition it yourself. The cost to do this would be around $800, to have someone do it $1500. I would want to know why the plate failed. If there are other plates they may fail too, if the problem is corrosion.If your DC power distribution and alternator is an upgraded system you may want to replace the complete system with two AB Cold Machines or their equivalent.I don’t sell refrigeration systems I only write books and give talks on the subject. If you decide to replace the system I have a slide show on my web site that will help you select the right equipment. http://wwwkollmann-marine.com

 

[Gary]

symptoms

Dick, can you give me some symptoms? Does the compressor run? Do you know how many amps it draws?Gary