Refrigeration Sealants

[Dick]

See lastest Forum item at http://www.kollmann-marine.com

[ozskip]

I have used these sealants three times the first was in commerial drink fridge the evaperator was corroded and leaking on christmas eve 2 years ago,done as temp repair but is still going.The next was a fishing trawler it had corroded copper pipes in the fish hold i flew down to king island and done a temp repair so they could finish their fishing trip for the weather window.The last was a condenser it fix it till the boat comes out of the water to get to it. hope this answers your question Mr cord

[hellosailor]

Ozskip-
So, what brand name sealant, in what gas type, worked to seal pinholes for you? (As opposed to compressor seals, which are much harder to seal.)

[ozskip]

Chiplight is the sealant i have used.If you vacum down to -29 psi turn off the pump and can not hold within 1 psi of that pressure for 5minutes it will not work so thats a small pin hole.Greg

[Straban]

My two cents worth ... and I am definately not an expert, but I wouild think that you would have to weigh the cost of damage to your compressor ... most are Danfoss and live in an oil bath ... to replacing a condensor or other component.

BTW, I have upgraded my system, after a small leak developed, with a refrigerant that is not available to the general public. (Recommended by my reefer mechanic) It is about 20% more efficient than the common 34a used in newer systems. Very happy with the reduced electrical consumption as I "live off the grid" so to speak.

dave

[hellosailor]

"a refrigerant that is not available to the general public." Trust me, they are all available if they are legal for sale. But there are a lot of mixed gas "specials" being sold. They'll work fine as long as they never leak, but if the do leak, they can't be topped up, they need to be emptied out and refilled because the gasses have different vapor pressures and the mixture unbalances (changes) as it leaks. There's usually some trade-off to each of them, either in flammability or oil compatibility or something. But, if the mechanic will stand behind the work, that's what counts.
Which one did your mechanic use?

[ozskip]

Anyone found with any refrigerant no matter what type in canister for servicing or anyone working on any refrigeration systems without a license in anywhere in oz faces a fine of up $20,000Aud.Also any person or company who sells or gives refrigerant to an unlicensed person faces a fine of $240,000Aud.Greg

[Talbot]

ouch!

[hellosailor]

Oz totally regulates gasses? Interesting. Here in the US some are available to the general public without any restriction. The others are still ALL available to the general public--with minor regulation. Various EPA licenses are required to use/possess various gasses, or a resale ID (reseller's tax certificate) allows the purchase and possession of them, but not the "servicing" of equipment with them.

Traditional "Freon" R-12 requires an EPA-609 certification that can be obtained in a long afternoon of study & a short test, if you have any familiarity with the concepts. (Probably a single day if you walked in cold but knew which end of a hose the water came out of.<G>)

The others are lumped into one more complicated EPA-608 "group", depending on which ones and what capacity...could probably still be a long weekend course to take and pass most of the group, but they structure that from portable systems up to building-wide systems under one umbrella, so there's more to it. That includes traditional R-22 gas.

R-134a is unregulated, at least in the small cans. Would be covered by the EPA-609 for the large cans.

Even the EPA doesn't want to know what is in some of the "magic" brews.<G>