Trailblazer fridge problem

Check out the service tab as well.

Cheers steve

Thanks Steve,

been to the web site and filled out the form for prices etc.

Lets hope they reply.

Pooley
www.bycompass.com

Steve,
They don't make a basket as of this time. I have an 80 litre Trailblaza and can't find a basket suitable as yet.
Do you or any other Trailblaza owner know where a suitable basket can be found.
Cheers
Bros.

Hi Bros, if you have a Fridge City outlet near you try them for a suitable basket. That's where I got mine for my 60 ltr. Trailblaza. Cheers.

Topcat,
Thanks for that bloke, but the only store hits i get are all in WA.
Cheers
Bros

G'Day Pooley,

Don't bother about the web form, ring them direct on Tuesday morning and you will get all the help you need.

Regards

Rolande

Hi Bros
The Trailblaza people use the mitre 10 rectangle mop buckets or if you can get a basket from the 40lt Waeco, they work a treat and you can store a bit on it too. You might feel that the two wire things on the side might have to be cut off but I just turn it around so it doesn't bother me to much then. We have the 70lt one.
Hope this helps?

Cya
Ms Doe
:)

G'day Ms Doe,
Thanks for your reply. That gives me something to work on as well.
Cheers
Bros

No coils are visible in my fridge as they are attached somehow to the outside of the alloy waterproof liner. I have asked for information about pressures and refrigerant quantities etc and hope I get an answer.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Pooley

No prob's Pooley - don't know the actual fridge, but would suggest that at 25 years old would still be running on R12 which is the banned CFC refrigerant that stuffs up the ozone layer. However, there are a few alternatives gases including R134a or even hydrocarbon (flammable) which could be used as a direct replacement.

To measure pressures you need a set of refrigeration type gauges, but using them without a licence is illegal. To work on any refrigeration system nowadays requires an Arctick licence and the licence is federal, not state, so it's the same everywhere.

You could check as follows to give you some idea of what is happening - for a working system, with the compressor running, the discharge pipe should be very hot (too hot to thang on to for more than a few seconds) and the suction pipe back to the compressor should be quite cold (perhaps close to frosting).

If both pipes are the same temperature, then chances are the compressor is stuffed (not pumping)

If the discharge is warm to hot and the suction is warm (but cooler than the discharge), then it's likely the system has lost some or all of the gas. If this is the case, then only a section of the cooling coil will be cold and the rest warm.

Look carefully for oil stains around the pipes - there shouldn't be any. If there is, then it's possibly from a gas leak in the system.

There could be other reasons such as blocked filter/drier within the refrigerant circuit (Older Engels often had this problem), but not something you can do yourself.

All fairly crude, but without proper equipment at hand, may help you work out what's happening.

Hope that helps mate. Good luck.

Cheers
Gerry

"suction pipe back to the compressor should be quite cold (perhaps close to frosting)"...???? cccccra...pardon me, but:

it is not an airconditioner where suction cooling is required?...its a fridge (or freezer if selected for this duty)

the suctionline of a fridge or freezer is not cold and certainly nowhere near freezing (or sweating) back to the compressor .....the only way to check if the system is undercharged (short of gas) is to stick gauges on it....one cannot do this by feeling the suction line for temperature

also R12 is not banned...its just that you cant pruchase it new... if you can get your hands on it, it is quite legal to use in a system which was using it

trailblazer use a copper tubing taped to the the outside of the inner liner .......while the condenser is a copper tubing taped to the inside of the outer cabinet...then filled with insulation

if part of the evaporator is freezing then its probably one of two things (but other fault/s could prevail)...short of gas or inefficient compressor.....a good refrigeration tech should be able to check this out for you

No sweat No 1 (no pun intended :)). I did say it was a fairly crude assessment of what could be wrong. As for suction pressures/temperatures, 25 year old fridges quite often sweat back to the compressor on R12 when temperatures in the evaporator come down below zero. I run my Engel at -2 degrees as I love my beer REALLY cold.

I also realise you can still use R12 if you have it, but it is banned from sale - therefore, as far as a customer is concerned, it is no longer available.

I really don't want to get into any arguments here as I know exactly where you are coming from and you obviously have a knowledge of refrigeration. I've also been in the game since the late 60's. However, as Pooley was trying to diagnose his situation and get some idea of what the problem might be, other than feeling the pipes, there's not much he can do. I admitted it was a crude assessment, but might serve to give him some idea of what might be happening in his system. I concur, there are a multitude of other less common possibilities, but without proper tools an accurate diagnosis can not be made.

Only trying to help mate...
Cheers
Gerry

"old gas was not compatible with the new control unit"...????
the control units (and or compressor for that matter) doesnt care which refrigerant (R12 or R134a) is used... eg they dont sense/record or control in way the refrigerant

I would suggest that the new control unit was not compatible with the old compressor......meaning they had to replace both items....& as as R12 is now un-available as a new refrigerant they had to carry out retrofit to R134a as part of the repairs

Member No 1

OT

I thought a wife was an appliance that one screwed on the bed and it did the housework. And some are in white.

Pooley