Refrigerator problems

[jvoorhies]

Our refrigerator was not staying cool, so I added a few small blasts of refrigerant and the unit cooled right down as I would assume. I set thermostat to the coolest setting “7” and let the refrigerator run about a week. Came back, refrig was at 34 deg and freezer at 22. However, the exit side of the evaporator tube has at least 12in of frost on it past the insulation.
Should I just turn thermostat down or do I need to remove some refrigerant?

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

You guessed at how much to add and now want to guess how much to remove. My “guess” is you don’t have the correct pressure (too much or too little), have a leak or have air/water in the system. But fortunately, there is a way to find out.

 

[Hayden Watson]

These systems are volume dependent rather than pressure dependent. If it is frosting to far, you have too much coolant. When I have needed to charge, I do it in one second bursts and check the frost level after about 30 seconds of run time. when it is frosting to within an inch or so of the bottom, it is done. That said, you sould not have the stat set to the coldest setting.

 

[jvoorhies]

Thanks guys for the info.
I did two 5 sec bursts separated by 30 minutes
I tried just turning down the stat to 5 and let it settle in for a day and temp rose 3 deg and no frost on the capillary tube beyond the insulation just a bit of precipitation, so I might be okay. Will monitor for a few days.