Refilling refrigerators with freons with their own hands is not the safest occupation.
This process is not only harmful, but also dangerous, it does not belong to the refrigerator repair, it is more difficult and difficult work, which, after all, it is better to entrust to professionals.
If you are confident in your abilities and think that you can handle your own hands, we advise you to carefully read our article, perhaps you will find a lot of useful information for yourself.
Let's first try to understand what Freon is.
Freon refers to the category of colorless gases that do not have a smell.
As the gas does not smell and it is difficult to determine, some believe that the oily stains that sometimes appear around the refrigerator are freon. Of course this is not so.
As a rule, this is the oil, but not the refrigerant. Freon does not have a expiration date per se, but it is still necessary to refill the cooling unit periodically with refrigerant.
If the leak of freon from the refrigerator still occurred, then you can refuel with gas, but the problem will not disappear.
And after a while the refrigerator will stop frosting again, which will mean that the gas has come out again( which is extremely undesirable, even though it does not have a smell, it is still harmful and dangerous for human health).
It will be correct, to begin with, to try to establish the causes of gas leakage, to fix the malfunction, and only after that, to fill the refrigerant.
Unfortunately, modern manufacturers produce refrigerators, working mainly on brands of explosive gases.
For example, gas P600 is extremely dangerous and its refueling requires not only a lot of experience in this area, but also careful compliance with all security measures.
Therefore, before filling the system, it is necessary to check which refrigerant is filled in your refrigerator model. Perhaps, it is extremely dangerous to carry out gas filling with your own hands in your case.
The video shows the types of gases whose replacement is not desirable without the supervision of professionals.
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Also, it should not be forgotten that the gas used in the refrigerator can not be changed to another type of gas.
Replacement of the same substance is carried out according to the standard scheme: first evacuation is carried out in the evaporative system, it is completely cleaned of the remnants of the previous gas, and only then is the injection of a new Freon.
- Safety of works
- Safety signs
- Solving system problems
- Refilling with freon
- Useful advices
Safety of works
If you decide to do all the work yourself, you should understand that replacing( directly injecting gas) is quite a dangerous occupation.
Therefore, it is necessary to adhere to certain rules:
- Replacement of freon is made only with the refrigerator turned off;
- The equipment must be earthed at operation( if grounding and protective shutdown is not possible, all work should be done on a special site with insulation);
- When injecting or releasing refrigerant, it is necessary to ventilate the room at least every 15 minutes( despite the fact that the gas does not smell, this does not mean that it does not affect human health);
- You can not smoke and turn on heating devices;
- When testing the integrity of the system, read the special safety instructions for refrigeration systems operating on freon;
- Solder the joints solely for all fire safety rules.
Using these rules will make the process of working with freon as safe as possible for a person. The video clearly demonstrates the process of compliance with safety standards when working with gas.
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Symptoms of leakage
If the refrigerator has stopped cooling, these are the first signs of a leak of freon. This is a fairly common point of failure, when the motor-compressor works, but there is no cooling.
The structure of a standard household refrigerator is quite complicated, in its system there are refrigerants with different composition. And due to the fact that they have different pressure, and there is a generation of cold.
The search for the problem mainly leads to the detection of violations in the sealing of the system responsible for pumping the refrigerant.
The reasons can be very diverse, you can find them by external system inspection.
This search will usually detect damage to the pipes( they may occur during transportation or rearrangement of the refrigerator), manufacturing defects in the system( may be caused by poor quality assembly or poor materials used in the unit), wear of the unit with a long service life.
The video clearly demonstrates the problems that cause Freon leakage.
If the cracks are large and easily detectable visually, there is no need for any smell, and it is clear that freon has emerged.
But what if there are no visible signs, because this gas does not smell and it is impossible to detect its leakage by smell?
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In this case, you should check if there is frost on the outside of the tubes( the presence of frost is one of the signs of leakage).
If frost does not exist, then it is necessary to check the system with a special device, which has a characteristic name - leak detector( you can find such a device in a specialized store).
It happens that breaks and the compressor itself, in this case the replacement of freon is also necessary.
Troubleshoot the
system As mentioned earlier, refueling will be useless unless the cause of the leak is eliminated. Let's try to repair the leak yourself.
First, using a leak detector, you need to check where exactly the freon has emptied( but this device will help only if at least some gas is still contained in the system, albeit in small amounts).
If the gas flows completely, then the Schrader valve can not be dispensed with. With its help cracks are revealed, and after that they are soldered.
After soldering, it is necessary to create pressure in the pipe to check if the seam breaks.
Pressure can be created by pumping air into the air through a compressor connected to the pipe( for aluminum pipes, the pressure should be about 15 atmospheres, for copper or steel around 25 atmospheres).
Pressure is adjusted to the required value, then bleed the air out.
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If moisture remains inside the system, it must be removed using a nitrogen purge.
At the end, the system is evacuated using a vacuum pump or a vacuum filling station.
The repair process is not so complicated, but it is still necessary to be extremely cautious and attentive while performing work.
The video below details the entire process of sealing cracks.
Refilling freon
If the problem was only to remove the crack, and the compressor itself is working, then you can start pouring gas.
We take the filling station and connect its left branch pipe to the Schroeder valve, connect the middle branch pipe to the refrigerant cylinder and right attach it to the vacuum pump( all valves in the station and on the tank must be blocked in advance).Now it is possible to carry out air evacuation.
We open the cranes at the filling station and turn on the pump so that the pressure can fall to the minimum mark( this process lasts from 15 to 30 minutes).
After conducting the overlapping of the right valve, we open the valve on the refueling tank and fill the refrigerant with such volume, as required for this model of the refrigerator. Then close the valve.
Now you need to turn on the refrigerator to check the system pressure. If everything is in order, we squeeze the nozzle of the compressor and conduct the sealing of its ends.
After once again we perform a system check with the help of a leak detector.
Useful advices
Application of useful tips will help you to replace CFC refrigerant without errors:
It is important to accurately determine the required volume of injected gas.
If the volume is more than required, condensate will form on the coil( its outer part).
It is not necessary to buy equipment, it is better to hire it( the purchase will cost more than the call of specialists and the implementation of the entire range of works).
Specify when purchasing whether the selected refrigerant is neutral for metals and alloys used in the refrigerator.
Buy Freon only from trusted manufacturers who give a certain warranty for the product.
Since gas is quite harmful, it is better not only to carry out work in a room with ventilation( or periodically ventilate the room), but also wear a special protective mask.
We hope that our instructions and useful tips will help you to fill the freon properly and without any problems.
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Remember that replacing refrigerant is extremely dangerous, especially for those who are faced with this for the first time.
Therefore, it should be carried out only after a detailed study of all available information, as well as with the observance of precautionary measures and fire safety rules.
