SO 43DS Refrigerator replacement

[ales]

SO 43DS refrigerator replacement
A little how to for fellow sailors..

Refrigerator (Model Frigoboat Frigomatic AH35F) "died" after 21 years. A long run...

Local craftsman gave the diagnose: the evaporator is leaking gas.
So he found the replacement and took the whole unit (compressor) to his workshop and made new connections, replaced some parts.
The total cost 295 eur.

The old evaporator:


When a new evaporator was placed, I sealed that hole for the installation. Originally it was not done like that. Just a plastic cover.


Although the compressor is easily accessible you have to move the oven to reach for the installation. It is an easy job.
First you remove one sliding wheel of the stove cover (only one, no need to do both). Than you take that cover out.



Next step is to remove both wooden guides for that cover.
Do mind that the right side (looking toward the oven) has shorter screws so when you are going to reassemble it back remember that on the other side there is an aft cabin. So longer screws could find the way through and you don't want that.
There is not such a problem on the left side since you are screwing into the refrigerator insulation trough the wood.


When reassembling, screw the guide exactly next to the sliding wheel otherwise the cover won't close nicely. First I screwed the wooden slides next to a back plate...



Then you remove the back wooden plate (four screws) and voila the installation is easy to access and pulling new lines trough is an easy job.



Depends but the most time consuming for me was the cleaning of all that stuff after so many years...
The line in silver tape is allready a new one (there is an insulation with a special tape).


The back of the refrigerator where the lines go from evaporator to compressor. Reachable by hand.


When the evaporator was out I took advantage of the space and removed the silicone around the "wall" between the two refrigerator spaces. It was dirty, mouldy and it took a lot of time to clean. Specially scraping that old silicone.
I have also changed the screws and plastic washers for spring hatch holder and replaced one spring (19eur).
Picture before (when I pushed the plate a little right to unveil the dirt):


After


The blue wire is just a guide, the other is connected to thermostat.

This is how it looks now:


He changed this part. I believe it is a sort of a filter for moisture inside the line... Please, write it here, if you know exactly what it is.


And the work is finished




As said it had worked for a long time and I feel lucky that it broke at the end of summer season in my home marina. Fixing that in Greece would be a nightmare...

Now I am studying new project: freezer.

[ales]

Are photos displayed?

[dslittle]

Unfortunately no. Thanks for taking the time.

[rxc]

Wow. I am impressed that you found someone who was willing to work on it, fix it for a decent price, and you got it out and back in with no problems. I could not find anyone here in S. FLorida who was willing to even look at mine - they said that if it had a leak, the compressor was compromised, and not worth repairing.

Can't see the photos yet, but will be very interested. Great news.

[rxc]

Oh, and reading your post, that part he replaced is actually a dryer. You are right that it does scavange any residual moisture in the system.

[ales]

dslittle
Hope I fixed pictures. I posted it now via Tapatalk...
If i post them trough Google Photos, there are visible only a short time...

rxc
The first service I called they told me it could be electronic unit... (almost 200eur), then another one told me it is the compressor.
They even said I should run the engine because there is probably not enough power (despite I told them I have 600W of solar panels...).

So this guy fixed it and what I found most important- he took the whole unit to his workshop, renewed, changed what was necessary or could go wrong.
Dismounting the oven and everything else was mine work. So he also did not charge those hours.
Installation on board (fill the gas...) was a quick job.

Hope you'll find someone that will do the job.

[rxc]

Thanks for the encouraging words, but I have already replaced mine. I had to go to a water cooled unit, because when I needed a new one in December, there were none to be had, anywhere in the USA. Only water cooled. So I bit the bullet and installed a water cooled unit. It is very quiet, but now I have another strainer to keep clean.

[Don Reaves]

As rxc, I also replaced mine because the original wasn't available, though I have the keel cooled version that requires very little maintenance. I actually had a refrigeration "expert" come out and check the system. He told me the compressor was bad. When I called Frigoboat, they said that the compressors are almost never the problem.

The keel cooled version is very quiet and uses about 1/2 the amps. Unfortunately, it cost over $4000 US. I was shocked when I got the bill, though I probably could have figured it out based on the parts prices alone.

[ales]

I have seen the water cooled option. A friend of mine has it on his sy. But as said it is necessary to clean it regularly. He raised a small shell inside the filter:)


Anyone built a freezer?
I am thinking to place it below the saloon seating, next to a mast support where there is enough space. It is gonna be a DIY project so any advice would be nice.

[rxc]

I would have preferred the Keel cooled version, as well. But that would have required hauling the boat and sitting it somewhere for at least a week. That would have meant doing a number of other things while on the hard, and the total cost would have required a marital discussion, so I just settled for water cooled. It also got me out of the house for a while.

[dslittle]

Sept 19, 2023 14:04:13 GMT ales said:

Are photos displayed?

Photos are now showing and help a lot. Thanks once again.