Wooow, Great videos on both Part 1 and Part 2. You know what you are doing guy. Most importantly you are sharing it here so to help people. I appreciate for taking your time and put theses videos together. The content is fundamental and makes sense. I am going to jump my compressor just the way you had showed. Keep up the great work!
I have watched tens of videos to get to this one. Nice and clear and thorough. Thanks. Now I can fix the SubZero on my boat without paying an arm and a leg.
Hello mate! HUGE thanks for the video, I have a LG 5 year- old fridge that the temperature stays at 10 celcius instead of the range 1-4 celcius and i am going o try adding some gas back in the system. I have a question though: does the servive line gives the same pressure as the suction line??? Most of the relevant videos i Have spotted use the suction line to pierce and purge. Thanks!
You want to refill on the low pressure side. The short line with a crimp at the end (process line) or the suction line (the line through which refrigerant returns to the compressor) are both fine.
All the links are in the video description. This is the link for the Supco piercing valve that I used: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DM8J3MI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Bravo! Very impressed. I don't have all those tools, but I will be looking to get those tools. Thanks for posting. Refrigerant...huh! I wonder if you ever found the leak, since it is very small?
The fridge is still working a year later so I haven't gone searching for the leak yet. Once it stops cooling again (just a matter of time) I will try to find the leak and show how to fix it.
Please don't take my comments as a complaint.I loved your video and thanks for a detailed video for such a bigger problem in refrigerators @8:30 minutes of your video you purged the blue and yellow pipes but again you opened yellow one for UV liquid pouring,so did you vaccum the compressor again or did you allow a small amount of air from the yellow pipe😮.
R134a is much heavier than air. Because of this, disconnecting the line for 10 seconds to put UV dye in is not going to cause the refrigerant to be displaced by air. It's totally insignificant. There was no need to purge the line again.
Should have left blue hose connected to open piercing valve, closed manifold before turning vacuum pump off, then purge yellow hose at manifold hose connection.
@TheEscondidoExperiment problem is that you didn't get rid of the air in the blue hose, you just ran refrigerant through it and then reconnected to system there by introducing air into the system, what am I missing here?
I ran refrigerant through the yellow hose into the manifold and then into the blue hose. This displaces the air. R134a is much heavier than air so it will mostly remain in the lines after closing the tap on the can. My gauge set doesn't have a purge valve on it. Were you assuming that it did and that I ran refrigerant through the yellow hose and out of the purge valve?
I have a service port on my low end and high end of the compressor in my LG refrigerator due to someone else changing the compressor at one time. Do I need the piercing valve? I am afraid that when I disconnect the hose from the service port, that it will depressurize the system. How do they remove the hose without that happening?
If you remove the piercing valve the refrigerant will definitely leak out. However, if the piercing valve is working correctly, then when you close it (turn it all of the way to the right) it should create a seal and allow you to remove the hose from the service port.
Oh yes, I understand if I used the piercing valve, it is permanent. Mine already has an installed service port on the pipe that will allow me to connect the hose directly to it. It doesn't have a valve on it like a piercing valve does. You can connect the low side hose just like on a piercing valve, because my port is at the end of that pipe you use the piercing valve on, instead of it being pinched off. My question is, can I safely remove that hose after charging using that port? I assume the person that installed that service port must have unscrewed it after he charged it?
@@paulmillar4774 Without seeing the port you're referring to I can't give you a good answer. Generally there is some type of valve that opens and closes the port
I've already addressed this in other comments. R134A is much heavier than air. Very briefly disconnecting the line to add dye is not going to displace a significant amount of R134A. If I were trying to fill the line with helium it would be more of a problem (since helium is much lighter than air and would be easily displaced). I don't like purging the line after adding the dye because you end up blowing a bunch of dye out of the line.
I have a less than 2 year old ge fridge that makes a lot of rattling sound, Several techs have worked on it and ge says this is just a normal sound, the coolant boiling thru the line causing a rattling noise. I think the tech that serviced it was a little goofy, Is there anything I can do, GE sucks and will not fix it.
R134A is much heavier than air. It did not get displaced by air in the 10 seconds that I took to add the UV dye. Had I left it disconnected for hours that would be a different story.
With all due respect, a trained technician would have used the proper procedures required to meet EPA refrigerant regulations. These procedures protect the technician and the environment.
In most cases, when refrigerators die they are thrown in a landfill and replaced with a new one. I would argue that this has a much greater environmental impact than venting a few ounces of R-134A to save an existing fridge. My goal is simply to help people with minimal resources fix their refrigerator.
@@TheEscondidoExperiment I agree yes epa certification helps to manage and work with refrigerants which can be toxic and harmful to health in certain conditions. R-134A can cause serious breathing and cardiac issues in certain conditions so appropriate PPE and ventilation is important as is recovery procedures. However that being said I fully agree putting a refrigerator this size into the landfill is more impactful.
Awlsome video. I was looking when you attached gauges there was no pressure when you opend the piercing valve prior to evacuation. Great job.@@TheEscondidoExperiment
@@mathman0101 Really? All 7.6 ozs of that R-134a refrigerant is gonna cause cardiac issues. Also there was no refrigerant to recover. Any trace amounts would have been captured in to oil of the vacuum pump.
Hardworkin I don't think you have worked a hard day ever in your life just based on how nieve you sound. Of course a Tech would do it a bit different, they should. If you do something for a profession you hopefully have a process that is a little better than an everyday person would be using. R-134 is way heaver than air, so it all just fell to the floor and gave the cats cancer. Everyone has to be a know it all-geez. Who cares what a HVAC tech and the EPA and you, have to say about my process. If you knew all the shit I do that some people would consider "bad" or "illegal" you would have a stroke if this got you that worked up.
Wooow, Great videos on both Part 1 and Part 2. You know what you are doing guy. Most importantly you are sharing it here so to help people. I appreciate for taking your time and put theses videos together. The content is fundamental and makes sense. I am going to jump my compressor just the way you had showed. Keep up the great work!
I have watched tens of videos to get to this one. Nice and clear and thorough. Thanks. Now I can fix the SubZero on my boat without paying an arm and a leg.
I just recharged a subzero wine cooler last month. I did it exactly like I showed here and saved 4k in the process
@@TheEscondidoExperiment Unfortunately, It does not seem to be a refrigerant level issue. No clue where to go from here. Doh!
Very well done. Clearest instructions for this i have yet to see.
Excellent video. I just saved this to my favorites list.
Hello mate!
HUGE thanks for the video, I have a LG 5 year- old fridge that the temperature stays at 10 celcius instead of the range 1-4 celcius and i am going o try adding some gas back in the system. I have a question though: does the servive line gives the same pressure as the suction line??? Most of the relevant videos i Have spotted use the suction line to pierce and purge. Thanks!
You want to refill on the low pressure side. The short line with a crimp at the end (process line) or the suction line (the line through which refrigerant returns to the compressor) are both fine.
Deeply appreciated your instant response! Your video is the best out there from the hundreds! Totally your channel won my subscription!
Take care!
Where is link for tools? I can’t find piercing valve for the r134a can. I bought one at harbor freight but the threads don’t fit on my hoses.
All the links are in the video description. This is the link for the Supco piercing valve that I used:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DM8J3MI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Hi thank you for the video. Have you ever encountered the suction line freezing up after recharging the refrigerant?
No I've never had this happen. Are you sure you added the correct amount of refrigerant? It sounds like you may have overcharged the system
Thank you for showing us
Bravo! Very impressed. I don't have all those tools, but I will be looking to get those tools. Thanks for posting. Refrigerant...huh! I wonder if you ever found the leak, since it is very small?
The fridge is still working a year later so I haven't gone searching for the leak yet. Once it stops cooling again (just a matter of time) I will try to find the leak and show how to fix it.
Please don't take my comments as a complaint.I loved your video and thanks for a detailed video for such a bigger problem in refrigerators
@8:30 minutes of your video you purged the blue and yellow pipes but again you opened yellow one for UV liquid pouring,so did you vaccum the compressor again or did you allow a small amount of air from the yellow pipe😮.
R134a is much heavier than air. Because of this, disconnecting the line for 10 seconds to put UV dye in is not going to cause the refrigerant to be displaced by air. It's totally insignificant. There was no need to purge the line again.
@@TheEscondidoExperiment thanks for your lovely explanation 👍
How did you seal the cooper tube that you Pierce ?
The piercing valve has a gasket. Once you tighten it down it seals the tube.
Wow! What a tutorial.
Should have left blue hose connected to open piercing valve, closed manifold before turning vacuum pump off, then purge yellow hose at manifold hose connection.
Doing it in this order would also work. It makes very little difference either way.
@TheEscondidoExperiment problem is that you didn't get rid of the air in the blue hose, you just ran refrigerant through it and then reconnected to system there by introducing air into the system, what am I missing here?
I ran refrigerant through the yellow hose into the manifold and then into the blue hose. This displaces the air. R134a is much heavier than air so it will mostly remain in the lines after closing the tap on the can.
My gauge set doesn't have a purge valve on it. Were you assuming that it did and that I ran refrigerant through the yellow hose and out of the purge valve?
Ok that all makes perfect sense, my mistake, I guess as long as the unit is cooling properly you're good to go.
No worries. It has been cooling perfectly for over six months now.
awesome video thank you
Is there anything that should be done differently if its a dual zone refrigerator?
If it only has a single compressor then the process for recharging will be the same.
Is it safe to say that the piercing valve stays on the copper process line?
Yes you need to leave it on. If you were to take it off all of the refrigerant would leak out.
I have a service port on my low end and high end of the compressor in my LG refrigerator due to someone else changing the compressor at one time. Do I need the piercing valve? I am afraid that when I disconnect the hose from the service port, that it will depressurize the system. How do they remove the hose without that happening?
If you remove the piercing valve the refrigerant will definitely leak out. However, if the piercing valve is working correctly, then when you close it (turn it all of the way to the right) it should create a seal and allow you to remove the hose from the service port.
Oh yes, I understand if I used the piercing valve, it is permanent. Mine already has an installed service port on the pipe that will allow me to connect the hose directly to it. It doesn't have a valve on it like a piercing valve does. You can connect the low side hose just like on a piercing valve, because my port is at the end of that pipe you use the piercing valve on, instead of it being pinched off. My question is, can I safely remove that hose after charging using that port? I assume the person that installed that service port must have unscrewed it after he charged it?
It would be nice to add a photo
@@paulmillar4774 Without seeing the port you're referring to I can't give you a good answer. Generally there is some type of valve that opens and closes the port
Is that Automotive R134a Refrigerant ?
There is no difference between R134a for cars and R134a for refrigerators. It's all the same chemical - tetrafluoroethane
@@TheEscondidoExperiment Thanks !
Once you disconnected the yellow line to put in the dye, you ended up putting air back into the line.You needed to purge it from the gauge manifold.
I've already addressed this in other comments. R134A is much heavier than air. Very briefly disconnecting the line to add dye is not going to displace a significant amount of R134A. If I were trying to fill the line with helium it would be more of a problem (since helium is much lighter than air and would be easily displaced).
I don't like purging the line after adding the dye because you end up blowing a bunch of dye out of the line.
Thanks
how did you pull out the refrigerator
It's on wheels. I opened both doors and pulled on them. It's that simple
A very helpful tip to extend the life of the compressor is to add 50ml of sulphuric acid to the compressor before regassing.
I have a less than 2 year old ge fridge that makes a lot of rattling sound, Several techs have worked on it and ge says this is just a normal sound, the coolant boiling thru the line causing a rattling noise. I think the tech that serviced it was a little goofy, Is there anything I can do, GE sucks and will not fix it.
thanks for the tip
Where did the original refrigerants leak point are?
Not sure yet. It's still working fine. Once it stops working I'll take it apart again and use my UV light to try to find the leak.
Clever man good
I’ll mortgage my house if you come fix my refrigerator … 😂
You let air back in the line after you purged the line. The lines must stay connected.
R134A is much heavier than air. It did not get displaced by air in the 10 seconds that I took to add the UV dye. Had I left it disconnected for hours that would be a different story.
So, where's Part 1??
th-cam.com/video/YAKi-Lw-FpA/w-d-xo.html
I would have added a leak sealer with uv dye so that might have sealed up any small leak. That suction line look suspicious
For small leaks on copper lines you can just use a map gas torch and some sil-fos. I'd prefer doing that than adding a leak sealer.
With all due respect, a trained technician would have used the proper procedures required to meet EPA refrigerant regulations. These procedures protect the technician and the environment.
In most cases, when refrigerators die they are thrown in a landfill and replaced with a new one. I would argue that this has a much greater environmental impact than venting a few ounces of R-134A to save an existing fridge.
My goal is simply to help people with minimal resources fix their refrigerator.
@@TheEscondidoExperiment I agree yes epa certification helps to manage and work with refrigerants which can be toxic and harmful to health in certain conditions. R-134A can cause serious breathing and cardiac issues in certain conditions so appropriate PPE and ventilation is important as is recovery procedures. However that being said I fully agree putting a refrigerator this size into the landfill is more impactful.
Awlsome video. I was looking when you attached gauges there was no pressure when you opend the piercing valve prior to evacuation. Great job.@@TheEscondidoExperiment
@@mathman0101 Really? All 7.6 ozs of that R-134a refrigerant is gonna cause cardiac issues. Also there was no refrigerant to recover. Any trace amounts would have been captured in to oil of the vacuum pump.
Hardworkin I don't think you have worked a hard day ever in your life just based on how nieve you sound. Of course a Tech would do it a bit different, they should. If you do something for a profession you hopefully have a process that is a little better than an everyday person would be using. R-134 is way heaver than air, so it all just fell to the floor and gave the cats cancer. Everyone has to be a know it all-geez. Who cares what a HVAC tech and the EPA and you, have to say about my process. If you knew all the shit I do that some people would consider "bad" or "illegal" you would have a stroke if this got you that worked up.
That is an expensive refrigerator you’re using as a DIY project. A refrigerator should never need recharged. If so there’s a bigger issue.
I would say that it's too expensive not to try to fix it!
I added the UV dye so that I can hopefully find the leak in future and fix it permanently.