Help! Keezer is dying and I need advice about whether it's fix-able

[ExMachina]

My 18 year old Frigidaire keezer suddenly has hit hard times. Currently it can hold ~55F but no lower.

I noticed the problem about two weeks ago, when the freezer suddenly began frosting up heavily in just one small spot on the inside (about a 8" x 4" area sort of directly above the compressor). The rest of the cooling coils seem to not be working at all--seems almost like a clog(?).

I've searched online but cannot find a diagnosis that matches these symptoms.

Does this sound like a problem that can be remedied for $50-100?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[day_trippr]

Those are classic symptoms of a freezer that has almost totally bled out its refrigerant charge. If you can find a tech willing to add an access port, try to pull a vacuum, and if successful recharge the system for your price it might be worth a shot. The risk is there's a hole in the evaporator or condenser, both buried inside the chassis thus inaccessible...

Sorry...

 

[passedpawn]

I've been through this twice. The good news is that it is fixable for $100 - by buying another one on craigslist.

 

[mongoose33]

My keezer died on Monday. It's an older chest freezer, and it gave its life that I could have beer on tap.

I thought about fixing it, but it's old, it's not clear what's wrong (no cooling at all, but it is "running"), and there's no guarantee a fix would last very long.

A few trips to home and appliance stores and last night I bought a new chest freezer. A little more pricey than I wanted at $299, but I can get 7 kegs in it, which is a good thing.

Only problem was that I could not find a replacement with the same dimensions so I wouldn't have to rebuild the collar, but no luck.

The only upside is that I can re-imagine the keezer and rethink how it's arranged and built. For instance, I might put the secondary regulators on the outside and leave more room to move kegs around on the inside. Not sure on that yet, I'd need to pass 5 gas lines through the collar to the inside.

 

[ajdelange]

It's a pretty easy fix if you know what you are doing. First check that your refrigerator uses R134a refrigerant. Being 18 yrs old it probably does. If it does go to the auto parts strore and buy a can of R134a. These usually come with a pressure gauge. Now get a refrigerant saddle valve from an on line supplier. This is a saddle which you mount on the compressor's suction line. When tight it seals around the line. It contains a piercing pin which punctures the line and has a valve and port to which the refrigerant can is connected . Be sure to purge the hose gauge assembly that comes with the can before connecting to the valve. Start up the refrigerator, pierce the suction line and read the gauge. Note that there are temperatures on the gauge as well as temperatures. The needle will probably point to a very low temperature as you are, apparently, low on gas - at least that's the hypothesis I am operating on here. Open the valve on the can and let the compressor suck in refrigerant. As this happens the pressure (and temperature) reading will rise. When the pressure gets high enough (30 psig or so) that the indicated temperature is a little below freezing you have added enough gas. Close all the valves and remove the hose/gauge assembly, The unit should now be making cool.

If your leak is tiny such that it took years for your refrigerator to bleed down then you are potentially good for a couple of years more. If the leak is larger then all the refrigerant you just put in will leak out soon and you will be back where you started. Get rid of the unit. While R134a isn't an HFC it still isn't all that environmentally nice (pro's are required to recover it).

Also recognize that it could be something else such as the obstruction you mentioned.

There are videos on you tube that will walk you through this. Just be sure you are on the suction line and you purge the hose. You don't want to let any air in. You might also want to purge the piercing valve. After piercing the line open the valve just a crack to let a little refrigerant push all the air out.

 

[ExMachina]

Thank you all for your insight. The forum wins where google fails!

What would help me decide what to do is to understand how a leak (or a clog) could happen. Is it a random, spontaneous thing or is it also a product of age? I'm pretty sure there's been no physical damage as this thing hasn't been moved in over 8 YEARS. Are there seals that go bad?

I've got a fair amount of time invested in the keezer collar so I would be happy save this freezer if possible...but then I also don't like throwing away good money when everyone seems to say that ~20 years is a good run for any freezer

 

[ajdelange]

They certainly can. There are bits brazed to other bits in them and they are subject to vibration.

An additional caveat if you decide to repair: be sure that the port on the piercing valve you buy matches the connector on the gauge/hose. For example the one sold at https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00DM8J3MI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 has an SAE 3/8 flare. But a charging kit you buy at an auto parts store will probably have a "quick disconnect". A solution is to get a charging kit with the flare connector or a flare to quick disconnect adapter. One is shown on the linked page.

 

[ajdelange]

it just occurred to me this is a freezer - not a refrigerator so you will want to charge to a lower pressure in order to have evaporator temperature well lower than freezing. I'd guess around 10 - 15 psig for an evaporator temperature of 7 - 15 °F. Better, of course, to follow the manufacturer's recommendation if it is available.

I suppose it is also worth mentioning that if you have lost enough refrigerant the low side pressure can be less than an atmosphere (the gauge will read inches of mercury vacuum rather than psi pressure - this is before you add refrigerant). If your leak is on the low side that means the system will have drawn in air when running and this is not good. Air is not condensable, contains water vapor etc. Nevertheless having come this far it is probably worth adding enough refrigerant to get the suction pressure up to around where it should be. If there is not too much air in the system you might actually get some refrigeration action out of the machine. There are more heroic things you can do such as run sealant in, then evacuate the system (removes air but requires a vacuum pump) and then recharge with refrigerant.