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12V Waeco compressor fridge problem.


rusty69

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Speaking to a friend about a problem with their Waeco fridge.. Its been taken out of a camper van. They think the compressor has lost its gas (or whatever they contain).

 

Question is, can they be regassed or is it not cost effective to do so, or can a new compressor be fitted. If it is possible, can anyone recommend a company that does such a thing. Sorry, I don't have the model number.

 

Thank you

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Check the type and quantity of refrigerant first.  They should be on the fridge data plate.  Any refrigeration engineer will want to know what and how much he needs to put in, after finding the leak, assuming it is a repairable one.  The older varieties of refrigerant can be hard to get  and very pricey. 

 

It is usually more cost effective to buy new, and you get fridge to modern standards.

 

N

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I bet it wasn't cheap when new... I purchased one last year it was nearly £600!!!! Any idea how old it is?

 

Edit.

If its anything like mine, it'll need good quality wiring of a decent gauge to run properly!

Edited by Quattrodave
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4 minutes ago, Quattrodave said:

I bet it wasn't cheap when new... I purchased one last year it was nearly £600!!!! Any idea how old it is?

Not really no. I think the camper it came out of is less than 10 years old though. Not that that is anything to go by.

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1 hour ago, rusty69 said:

Question is, can they be regassed or is it not cost effective to do so, or can a new compressor be fitted. If it is possible, can anyone recommend a company that does such a thing. Sorry, I don't have the model number.

 

 

Although I'm no expert on fridges I'm sure it can be done, technically. I also can't imagine it costing less than about £300 to have a refrigeration bod turn up in his van full of gear for evacuation and re-charging, and initial leak searching. So is it worth spending that much and possibly a lot more, on a 10 year old fridge? Probably not...

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3 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

Although I'm no expert on fridges I'm sure it can be done, technically. I also can't imagine it costing less than about £300 to have a refrigeration bod turn up in his van full of gear for evacuation and re-charging, and initial leak searching. So is it worth spending that much and possibly a lot more, on a 10 year old fridge? Probably not...

No. For 300 quid, it can go to the skip.

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4 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

How you know?

 

No need to ask, I was going to tell you anyway! 

 

The skip company, unprompted, said "no fridges" when I ordered one the other day.

 

 

Also 'no plasterboard' (unless bagged and labelled, and placed on top of everything else), which puzzles me somewhat.

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1 hour ago, MtB said:

 

Also 'no plasterboard' (unless bagged and labelled, and placed on top of everything else), which puzzles me somewhat.

Since 2009 it hasn't been permitted to dispose of plasterboard with other waste. Apparently if it gets wet the gypsum can break down and produce hydrogen sulphide.

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Why do you/they suspect it’s lost gas? What is it doing/not doing? Depending on the age there might be an led fitted to show diagnostics or it’s easy to fit. If you Google “BD35 fault diagnosis” it might help point you in right direction. 

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56 minutes ago, frangar said:

Why do you/they suspect it’s lost gas? What is it doing/not doing? Depending on the age there might be an led fitted to show diagnostics or it’s easy to fit. If you Google “BD35 fault diagnosis” it might help point you in right direction. 

It is a fair question, and the same one I asked. The answer given was that everything else appeared to be working, the thermostat, the fan, the electronics, and even the compressor would run and get warm, but the fridge would not cool. I am not sure it is conclusive evidence that it has lost gas though. 

 

It probably isn't worth the expense to find out to be honest.

 

Will look for the LED codes. Thanks

Edited by rusty69
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19 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

It is a fair question, and the same one I asked. The answer given was that everything else appeared to be working, the thermostat, the fan, the electronics, and even the compressor would run and get warm, but the fridge would not cool. I am not sure it is conclusive evidence that it has lost gas though. 

 

It probably isn't worth the expense to find out to be honest.

 

Will look for the LED codes. Thanks

I’d check the door alignment and the door seal condition too. The door is adjustable on most models. Is the inside of rear of the fridge or the ice box getting cold to touch? 
 

I’ve had some trials and tribulations with my Waeco/Dometic fridge so have got to know their faults and fixes! The build quality isn’t what it should be for the price!…sadly there isn’t much else that fits the space efficiently on my boat…and when they are working they are ok….

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2 minutes ago, frangar said:

I’d check the door alignment and the door seal condition too. The door is adjustable on most models. Is the inside of rear of the fridge or the ice box getting cold to touch? 
 

I’ve had some trials and tribulations with my Waeco/Dometic fridge so have got to know their faults and fixes! The build quality isn’t what it should be for the price!…sadly there isn’t much else that fits the space efficiently on my boat…and when they are working they are ok….

I don't know to be honest. I will ask the question next time I speak to them, and mention the door seal.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just to finish this one off for completeness. I had the fridge re-gassed. Unfortunately no obvious leak could be found. It did however still contain a small amount of gas, and refilling it has made it work again, though I suspect only temporarily.


So my advice for anyone else with a similar problem is unless you can see an obvious potential location for a leak, don't bother having it fixed unless you can do so for little cost.

Edited by rusty69
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2 minutes ago, BEngo said:

Would you mind telling us which business did the re-gas please?

 

Always worth knowing who is out there and willing to work on camper/boat stuff.

 

N

 

It wasn't a company. I have a friend who can mend, who also happens to be a refrigeration engineer.

 

I wasn't going to ask him when I posted the original request for info, but he had the correct gas, tools and ability to do it, and was happy to help.

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2 hours ago, rusty69 said:

So my advice for anyone else with a similar problem is unless you can see an obvious potential location for a leak, don't bother having it fixed unless you can do so for little cost.

I'd have thought they'd use a dye to identify the leak like they do in car Aircon. Not much chance of seeing a gas leak without I'd have thought. In order to identify the where the bar is regarding little cost, what did it cost?

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1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

I'd have thought they'd use a dye to identify the leak like they do in car Aircon. Not much chance of seeing a gas leak without I'd have thought. In order to identify the where the bar is regarding little cost, what did it cost?

See last post. 

 

We checked all the obvious external  pipework before deciding it was not worth the extra effort to dismantle the freezer compartment to further try and locate the source of the leak. 

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2 hours ago, rusty69 said:

See last post. 

 

We checked all the obvious external  pipework before deciding it was not worth the extra effort to dismantle the freezer compartment to further try and locate the source of the leak. 

Beautifully explained! Even I get it now... :D

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3 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Beautifully explained! Even I get it now... :D

Hey. Happy to help you ole sea dawg. 

 

Anyway. He did fill the system with nitrogen, and we did monitor the pressure gauge for a while. I'm not sure a dye would have been much use if it was leaking somewhere non visible. 

 

He did use some gas leak detector spray. 

 

At this stage we decided it wasn't worth much more of our time so retired somewhere cool to drink semi warm beer. 

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