Anyone fridge experts here?

dirtydog

dirtydog

dirtydog

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My fridge which is over five years old, has recently begun to sound different and I am concerned that it might possibly be leaking gas (which would be potentially injurious to health).

Normally the fridge would be silent except when it intermittently comes on in order to maintain the cold temperature.

Now however, it is making a noise all the time. It still 'comes on' and during that time it is louder, but when it 'goes off' there is still a noise which is hard to describe but it is sort of similar to hissing / gurgling I suppose.

It is still cold so apparently it is still functioning properly, at least for now. Obviously if it is leaking gas then it won't be for much longer though.

I googled and apparently the gas smells of ammonia, is that correct? So if I can't smell anything does that mean it isn't leaking and it is safe to leave it turned on?
 
Whats the make / model of the fridge?

Chances are it will use R600, R22 or R134a - the name plate will mention this.

Refrigerant gas does have a aroma, but nothing like Ammonia (obviously except Ammonia as a refrigerant)

As its still cold the chances its just the refrigerant migrating around the system when off.
 
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The amount of refrigerant in there if leaked would not course any hazards to health (not exploding) you can have a look around the pipe work with some soapy water to check that the pipe work has not fractured due to fatigue.

Does this have a freezer compartment which has been recently defrosted?
 
RJC said:
The amount of refrigerant in there if leaked would not course any hazards to health (not exploding) you can have a look around the pipe work with some soapy water to check that the pipe work has not fractured due to fatigue.

Does this have a freezer compartment which has been recently defrosted?
Click to expand...

As a matter of fact it does have a small freezer compartment which I recently defrosted a few weeks ago, maybe a month, yes. And I did not use anything sharp as that is probably what you are thinking - I just simply turned it off and let the warm weather melt the ice.
 
dirtydog said:
As a matter of fact it does have a small freezer compartment which I recently defrosted a few weeks ago, maybe a month, yes. And I did not use anything sharp as that is probably what you are thinking - I just simply turned it off and let the warm weather melt the ice.
Click to expand...

That's good to hear, some people use sharp objects which can puncture the evaporator and don't realise it at the time.

But have a look around the unit any way to make sure no leaks are about and monitor.

It could be the case the capillary tube has got some debris in there from when the system was built and also when the fridge is idle the external temperature can course the gas to move about the system.
 
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Just tried the soapy water, the pipework which I can see SEEMS fine.

Another bit of info, once you open the fridge door, the noise stops. As soon as you close it, it restarts.
 
Strange,

Its not the air pressure changing, does the unit have any drain holes leading to the top of the compressor, my fridge / freezer makes some strange noises at times!
 
Hmm some more googling suggests that some R600a fridges have exploded ;/

It said that newer fridges have supposedly been mandated to have safeguards which can prevent the sparks which can cause explosions but I don't know when that would have occurred. I bought mine in June 2006 IIRC.

Not sure about the drain holes, I'm not very technically minded TBH
 
Look on top of the compressor, does have a plastic lid is what can be best described!

Some of these have exploded in the past, my parents have the big American fridge and Samsung had to-do a update on this!
 
RJC said:
Look on top of the compressor, does have a plastic lid is what can be best described!
Click to expand...

I don't think so, assuming the big black thing is the compressor.

Here's some pics, please take a look :) (yeah it could do with a dust!)

6p45dy.jpg


2eullli.jpg
 
The white tray, remove this and there should be a hole were the silver tape is, you probably need a mirror to check.

If you have a some stiff wire just poke it up there to remove any dirt which could have got lodged.

Failing that I am out of ideas :(
 
If it was you, would you turn it off from fear of suffocating or being on the receiving end of an exploding fridge? :p That's what I'm concerned about really. I can live with the noise until I get a new one, unless you think it could be dangerous.
 
Amount of refrigerant in a fridge wont course any suffocating, in terms of explosion well that's in very extreme circumstances but cant be ruled out.

Its your self who lives with the fridge, its easy for me to say its all right and leave it!

If I wasn't a fridge engineer I probably would turn it off.

I highly doubt you got a leak as by now you would have non operating fridge and the compressor would be running a lot longer than normal if it had started to leak out.
 
Another thing, the 'noise' sometimes ceases for several seconds and the fridge becomes silent.

The compressor doesn't seem to be running any more frequently or for longer than it ever has done, and the fridge is still cold.

I think I will risk leaving it on, it will probably be fine, I get the impression that the risk of anything bad happening is very low.

Thanks for your help and advice, it is much appreciated.
 
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