Vitrifrigo issues

[Sailor L]

Hello all!

I have a Vitrifrigo ND50 ORV it has a Danfoss BD50F compressor. Using R134a refrigerant.

About 4 weeks ago we were at anchor and all of a sudden the fridge started drawing 10 amps and not cooling anymore. We didn’t have a lot of sun so I thought the batteries might be empty. We turned the fridge off, let the batteries fully charge. After 4/5 days we put the fridge back on at it drew 5/6 amps and started to cool again (setting 7, coldest one, anything warmer and it won’t cool..) so it worked and then we even got ice on the cooling plate. It was working so we thought what the heck (putting it warmer to get rid of the ice would not work, the fridge stopped working).. after about 2 weeks the same thing happend. Drawing 10 amps, hardly cooling and emptying our batteries… so we did the same. Empty the fridge, turn off, let the batteries charge. In the mean time see if we can find anything.. cleaned the fan and clear the dust etc.. turned it back on after 4 days and it was working again. Then 6 days ago it happend again, had to go into a marina anyway.. so into the marina, fridge working great on shore power.. for 5 days. Then yesterday all the ice was gone. Fridge drawing 10 amps and hardly cooling while on shore power. I have no clue what’s happening.. also there is a funky smell coming from the back of the fridge.. when the fridge is off the smell disappears..

I made a thread in the wrong section (going to delete it now) but someone said I might have low refrigeration gas? Any other ideas?

[Stingo]

If your fridge is low on gas, one side of the evaporator/cooling plate will ice up. The other side will look like it is sweating.
On the other hand, if your fridge is over gassed, this will cause the compressor to strain i.e. increased amps used, then the return tube from the evaporator plate to the compressor will be covered in ice.
If there is dirt/moisture in the system, this will cause inconsistent problems, which your post might indicate?
Best get a refrigeration engineer to take a look.

[Stingo]

p.s. the o-rings in the connectors have a useful life of about five years. Once they perish, moisture can get into the system.

[Sailor L]

So… the fridge is cooling, however not as cold as it should be. No Ice on the cooling plate. Still drawing 10ish amps.. still a little funky smell… the gas thing.. how can I check that?

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Sailor L

So… the fridge is cooling, however not as cold as it should be. No Ice on the cooling plate. Still drawing 10ish amps.. still a little funky smell… the gas thing.. how can I check that?

Simple, get someone that knows what they are doing to look at it.
Other than that I have no offerings, all the genuine refrigeration people that use to be here have been chased away, and the one that was responsible for the chasing has not been here in ages.

[cr180]

Have a Vitrifrigo with BD50 compressor also. Although don’t totally understand your situation with the 10 amp current draw, here are some observations based on our experience.
1. The Secop (Danfoss) compressors are very, very finicky about voltage. The efficiency drops noticeably with input voltage. Always works better on shore power or with freshly charged batteries. (Believe compressor speed set by a resistor in thermostat circuit, so as voltage drops, think compressor speed does as well, perhaps then resulting in the lower efficiency).
2. The BD50 has a low voltage trip. Yours must be set very low to the point of not being active (or control board is defective with faulty low voltage trip function). Normally my unit will trip on low voltage before the efficiency goes very low and current goes way up.
3. Your situation has the symptoms of low input voltage. Do not think your coolant is low, since works ok when have adequate voltage.
4. My solution to low dc input voltage was to run a dedicated circuit of #10 awg wire directly from battery bank to BD50. Fused of course.

Good luck in troubleshooting.

[Sailor L]

Originally Posted by cr180

Have a Vitrifrigo with BD50 compressor also. Although don’t totally understand your situation with the 10 amp current draw, here are some observations based on our experience.
1. The Secop (Danfoss) compressors are very, very finicky about voltage. The efficiency drops noticeably with input voltage. Always works better on shore power or with freshly charged batteries. (Believe compressor speed set by a resistor in thermostat circuit, so as voltage drops, think compressor speed does as well, perhaps then resulting in the lower efficiency).
2. The BD50 has a low voltage trip. Yours must be set very low to the point of not being active (or control board is defective with faulty low voltage trip function). Normally my unit will trip on low voltage before the efficiency goes very low and current goes way up.
3. Your situation has the symptoms of low input voltage. Do not think your coolant is low, since works ok when have adequate voltage.
4. My solution to low dc input voltage was to run a dedicated circuit of #10 awg wire directly from battery bank to BD50. Fused of course.

Good luck in troubleshooting.

Could that all still be happening if we are connected to shore power?

[bensolomon]

Originally Posted by Sailor L

Could that all still be happening if we are connected to shore power?

Yes, it could because unless you have the relay that runs the fridge directly from AC, you are still running the fridge from DC, and your battery charger keeps your batteries "topped up". So, if you're having voltage drop, you'll still have that issue.

Another potential cause is loose or corroded wiring at one of the connections. It takes a surprisingly small amount of corrosion to increase resistance.

[Sailor L]

Alright. So I gave the fridge a dedicated circuit straight to the battery.. all new wires.

Still draws about 10 amps… still doesn’t cool all that well.. cooling plate looks to be “sweating”.. I did notice that the compressor gets incredibly hot (tbh I don’t know what is normal, but can’t hold the compressor)

And there is this little black tube that has a bit of brown/blackish stuff “leaking”, the bottom is wet.

[Sailor L]

A photo of the black tube.

[Stingo]

Originally Posted by Sailor L

...
Still draws about 10 amps… still doesn’t cool all that well.. cooling plate looks to be “sweating”.. I did notice that the compressor gets incredibly hot (tbh I don’t know what is normal, but can’t hold the compressor)

Sweating as in there are drops of water on the cooling plate? If so, you are low on gas.

And there is this little black tube that has a bit of brown/blackish stuff “leaking”, the bottom is wet.

You have a leak. Get a professional in to trace, then repair the leak.

[Sailor L]

Alright so a little update since I am once again puzzled by our marvelous fridge.

2,5 weeks ago had a specialist come in. He removed the little black tube at the back, welded a new one into place. Filled the fridge with gas (refrigerant). Turned the fridge on, it’s nice and quite drawing 4,5 amps. Cooling properly. We are happy chaps.

Then 2 weeks later, middle of the night. Fridge makes noise, draws 10/11 amps. Not cooling. Cooling plate is “sweating” again. Turn off the fridge. Call the mechanic. He says it could be something in the compressor, tells me to turn it off for 10 minutes and then turn it back on. Doesn’t work. So I tell him it doesn’t work and if he can come by again. He says he can’t, hurt his arm. (Should have asked for an invoice instead of paying cash.. I know..) anyway. The fridge has been off for about a week. Just for the sake of it I try to turn the fridge on see what happens. Mofo is drawing 4,5 amps, silent, cooling properly. Works for 1,5 day. Then starts drawing 7,5 amps and not properly cooling anymore.. who knows what to do?
I’m still trying to get into contact with the mechanic, but he is the only one in the area for now..

[Tin Tin]

Pull the fridge out and take it to a specialist, they can do a much better job in their workshop than on the boat because they can bench test it properly over many hours rather than in a tight spot on a floating platform which apparently makes it difficult to measure the gas precisely.

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by Sailor L

2,5 weeks ago had a specialist come in. He removed the little black tube at the back, welded a new one into place. Filled the fridge with gas (refrigerant). Turned the fridge on, it’s nice and quite drawing 4,5 amps. Cooling properly. We

After the tech put the new tube in, did he put a vacuum pump on the system for a goodly amount of time before adding the refrigerant?
Was the refrigerant measured in as by weight?

[Sailingallday]

Replace the thermostat

The symptoms you describe are very similar to what happened with mine. Intermittent working, sweating etc. had three different techs look at it over five months. Each one thought they had it and it would work fine for two weeks and then be a problem again. Final one said it was a thermostat issue, replaced it, been fine ever since