Can My Cold Machine Be Saved ?

[Maduro]

My cold machine was left open to ambient air for a few days which contaminated the oil with moisture - I now know better after reading this forum.
My question is can this Danfoss compressor be saved, and if so, how can it be saved? PS. the unit is out of the boat so can take it to a professional if required.
My other question is: Has anybody designed an air filtration system - i.e. removable filter, to prevent having to remove the unit for cleaning?

Thanks

[sigmasailor]

If you're referring to a compressor, evaporator and condenser I do not see why not. Just have the whole system properly vacuumed by a good professional vacuum pump. Keep on the vacuum until any moisture in the oil and system has boiled off (vacuum should be low enough for this).

[iwsteel]

be a good time to put new oil in if possible.

[PAR]

Yes, you can save you system, but it has to be done right. You'll probably need to change the accumulator/drier. Tell your service tech what happened and he'll know what to do. If it's been open that long, you will have some oxidation, but I'm fairly sure they can run a deoxidizer through when they draw a vacuum. This is also dependant on the refrigerant used, as some are more corrosive then others when left exposed. I'll assume you have a R-22 system which will not present too many issues. Other refrigerants will be problematic.

As for air filters, it depends on the system we're talking about. Is this refrigeration or air conditioning? A/C should have a location for a filter, usually just before the evaporator coils. Refrigeration usually doesn't, but does offer access to the condenser coils, fan, compressor, etc. for routine cleaning and repair.

If you haven't done so, cap the tubing now. In fact, you might want to evacuate the air that's in there with an inert gas, like nitrogen, argon, even flammables such as MAPP, propane, etc. will work, just to get the air (moisture) forced out of the system. If this seems too much for you, then get it to a service technician quickly, the sooner the better.

[Maduro]

Thank you all for your replies.
PAR, my system uses R134 and I have capped both tubes. I will seek professional help tomorrow. The reason I was asking about a removable air filter is that I cannot access the unit for periodic cleaning of condenser coils, hence adding an air filter that could be easily removed for cleaning or replacing. I was thinking of fabricating an air filter box of light plywood to be placed in the intake vent to the unit that would hold a/or part of a filter element commonly used in HVAC system. Has anybody tried this before?
Thanks again for your help.

[PAR]

You shouldn't have to clean the coils very often, unless your boat is ridiculously dusty. Once a year would be more then enough. Yes, you could arrange a filtered intake area. A simple box with a pleated filter would help quite a bit.