Dometic Portable vs Installed Refrigeration

[Typhoon]

No sound is not good
If you have lost refrigerant , you will need to find the leak repair it , replace the filter drier evac the system properly , and refill to proper spec. If you have a refrigerant flow problem you will have to source the blockage , possibly at the captube pressure side and repair that , you may have to replace the evaporator plate with a new captube already attached , replace the filter drier evac the system properly and cross your fingers . All this is a lot of work and does take some skill and experience to make sure everything is very clean and proper soldering or brazing techniques are adhered to . You may also need nitrogen to purge the system as you are brazing . As you can see this is a lot . You may be batter served in the end to replace the system with a new one .

Regards John

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

No sound is not good
If you have lost refrigerant , you will need to find the leak repair it , replace the filter drier evac the system properly , and refill to proper spec. If you have a refrigerant flow problem you will have to source the blockage , possibly at the captube pressure side and repair that , you may have to replace the evaporator plate with a new captube already attached , replace the filter drier evac the system properly and cross your fingers . All this is a lot of work and does take some skill and experience to make sure everything is very clean and proper soldering or brazing techniques are adhered to . You may also need nitrogen to purge the system as you are brazing . As you can see this is a lot . You may be batter served in the end to replace the system with a new one .

Regards John

Thanks!
Thats kind of what I thought. I'm confident in everything but the nitro purge but will research more. For me at this point it's just as much about learning hands on about onboard refer system. The Dometic portable lets me relax as I figure out if the NovaKool is repairable or junk. I don't mind replacing evap plate and lines but if the compressor is shot , time to buy new.
Thanks for your help. It's great when someone in the trades is willing to share as you do.

[Typhoon]

Very very slim chance the compressor is buggered , these things are rated for 200000 hrs . I would proceed with the assumption that the compressor is just fine . So a plate change at the couplers and then evac and charge . Don't forget the filter drier . Very important , so you don't find yourself with the same problem . Still requires soldering or brazing .

I hope this helps.

Keep us posted

Regards John

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

Very very slim chance the compressor is buggered , these things are rated for 200000 hrs . I would proceed with the assumption that the compressor is just fine . So a plate change at the couplers and then evac and charge . Don't forget the filter drier . Very important , so you don't find yourself with the same problem . Still requires soldering or brazing .

I hope this helps.

Keep us posted

Regards John

Yes it does help. I had heard that these compressors are well built. Do you know if it's fact or fiction that the connectors on the lines of NovaKools are self sealing when disassembled? or will it vent the whole system when lines are disconnected?

[Typhoon]

Depends on how old your system is. I'm not sure what year they changed them over . You could email them and give them your serial number . Failing that post a picture of them , I'm sure I could tell by looking at them .
Regards John

[Typhoon]

Do they look like these ?

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

Do they look like these ?

Yes, exact match.

[Typhoon]

The ones in the picture are self sealing .

Regards John

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

The ones in the picture are self sealing .

Regards John

OK, thanks for the info, much appreciated.

[valhalla360]

Whats the long term picture and how valuable is the boat?

Most 30' plus boats built in the last 20-30yrs already have a fridge. Ice boxes suggest a very old boat (nothing wrong with that) but does it make sense to dump $2500 into a system on a boat worth $3000 (just throwing numbers out).

[uncle stinkybob]

Finally got around to buying a vacuum pump and manifold. Applied 25in vacuum to system and it held, no leaks. applied for another 2 hours to remove moisture in system. I filled system with r134, I had to guess on amount. It froze the lines coming out of box for about 3 feet. I reduced the amount of r134 till the lines only had an inch or two of frost after the insulation coming from box. The condenser box is running -6, bottom of compartment is +10,first shelf is +19, 2nd is 29, very top of the compartment is 31. I'm happy!
Thanks for the help.

[Typhoon]

Excellent! Glad to hear you got it sorted.

Just one note, if you find the plate not getting cold enough any time in the future , you may have left some moisture in the system . We usually evacuate our systems for 12 hrs on the vacuum pump to below 500 Microns .

This is a good read , just in case .

http://alltemp.ca/wp-content/uploads...Presention.pdf

Regards John.

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

Excellent! Glad to hear you got it sorted.

Just one note, if you find the plate not getting cold enough any time in the future , you may have left some moisture in the system . We usually evacuate our systems for 12 hrs on the vacuum pump to below 500 Microns .

This is a good read , just in case .

http://alltemp.ca/wp-content/uploads...Presention.pdf

Regards John.

12 hrs, ok! Thank you for that tip. You have been so helpful with this repair, it's very much appreciated!