[Shop-talk] Any of you guys fool around with HVAC/refrigeration?

[John Innis]

Biggest challenge is getting the correct refrigerant and charging the
system with the correct amount.  A lot of times appliance like this do not
have easily accessible charging ports like an automotive A/C system.  You
you have to attach a compression fitting to a tube that got soldered shut
at the factory after they charged it.  If you can get past that bit, the
actual repairs are usually pretty simple.  BUT be sure to inspect the
system really well when you have it apart.  Often times the TEV or orifice
tube will be clogged with metal shavings, letting you know the compressor
is on it's way out.  If you find that is the case, no sense in putting in a
new part unless you are going to replace the compressor too.  If you
replace the compressor, you need to know if the new unit already has the
oil charge in it, or if you need to add that with the refrigerant (usually
they are shipped WITHOUT oil, because different systems use different types
of oil.  ) Getting the correct type and amount here is important.  These
things can get out of hand.

On Fri, May 7, 2021 at 2:03 PM Scott Hall <scott.hall.personal at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I just spent the morning calling maybe twenty different results under
> "Appliance Repair" on Google to fix a Sub Zero refrigerator that came with
> the new house.
>
> Literally every one Just Doesn't Want to be Bothered. The Sub Zero dealer
> WILL take my money--$700 for the part--and another $800 for the labor. This
> is an undercounter fridge that I can just toss, and Google tells me the
> part is $150 online. I don't like it $1500, especially when it looks like
> their labor rate is $400/hour (including drive time) and the part has a
> 400% markup.
>
> Separately, I have two 1950s-era Coca Cola bottle vending machines. They
> have sentimental value so I don't want to toss them, but a while back I
> tried calling around to have them repaired because they don't cool. That
> was worse than trying to have a refrigerator fixed.
>
> These are all just compressors attached to evaporators, etc. The vending
> machines are stone ax-simple and the cool thing about the Sub Zero is that
> it is, too--all the parts are designed to be easily replaced and are either
> out in the open or behind easily-removed panels. I actually like this
> thing; it's like the opposite of our Mazda on which even an oil change made
> me want to trade in the car (seriously, Mazda, why locate the oil filter
> *under* the exhaust manifold and make only accessible from the top of the
> car? I know you guys are in Hiroshima, but that was a LONG time ago. Let's
> move on.)
>
> And watching the Sub-Zero guy do his thing, he used a Harbor Freight
> vacuum to pull vacuum on the system, and the gauges looked like HF stuff
> too. And I feel like if I can rebuild a car engine, I can probably handle
> this.
>
> Anybody get involved with this stuff? At this point I feel like I'd be
> less frustrated in learning to fix these myself than I am trying to get
> someone to come out and fix them.
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