FRIDGE COOLANT

[gottafixmyfridge]

hIYA I TOOK MY FRIDGE IN BECAUSE IT WASNT COOLING AND APPARENTLY A LOT OF REFRIDGERANT HAS LEAKED OUT OF THE FRIDGE AND THAT IS WHY. BUT THE PRICE HE WAS WANTING TO CHARGE IS SO EXPENSIVE AND HE SAID HE DOESNT STOCK THE REFRIGERANT I NEED (r 11)... SO HOW DO I PUT SOME NEW REFRIGERANT IN AND WHERE DO I GET IT FROM?

 

[TexMex]

I'm not totally up to date with the legislation around R11. but:

Regassing refrigerators is a specialised business. It needs a host of specialised equipment and, of course, the gas. Manufacturers are no longer making refrigerators with R11 (it's banned in new machines). Furthermore, any R11 that escapes, during repair, has to be captured. Allowing it into the atmosphere is a criminal offence. I beleive it is now illegal to sell even a second hand refrigerator containing R11. and I wouldn't be surprised if the regassing of them has also now been criminalised.

The regassing process itself, is inherantly, very expensive, but R11 issue will make it even more so. (I would expect a bill in excess of £200).

Looking at the price of refrigerators now, I'd say it's a write off.

All this assumes, however, that your engineer has been honest. The only way you can loose refrigerant is through a leek. This can be caused by defrosting using sharp implements, or damage to the cooling vanes at the back. Even if you do have a leak, if your machine is quite new, it is unlikely to have R11 gas.

If your frige is quite old and the motor still runs when turned on, chances are he's right.

 

[PTH]

TexMex is right, R11 CFC is banned even for servicing, although I think selling a second hand unit privately wouln't cause a problem. I don't think that your engineer can regas your system legally, hence the high price.

Your fridge must have been made at least 12 years ago, go on, treat yourself - buy a shiny new one.

 

[gottafixmyfridge]

ok fine... despite my current finances i was actually hoping for an excuse to get rid of this old thing.

tommorow i will buy a nice new one. are there any reccomended models?

but how do i dispose of it? i heard that you need to pay to get rid of fridges, but who does the getting rid of it? i assume the council does it... are there any stores thatll take your old fridge when you buy a new one from em?

 

[TexMex]

Just take it down to your local tip. They do the rest. They may charge, they may not. (ours doesn't )

Our current Fridge/Freezer is totally unbadged. I got it, cheep as chips (about half the price of any of the brand names), from a small shop in Ilford a couple of years ago. So far it has been 100 percent reliable and super efficient. Sometimes you get more than you pay for

 

[gottafixmyfridge]

ok thankyou i had my new fridge for a few days now it is much quieter than the old one and is 'running' less often. about a quater as much as t he old one. it is a 'b' for energy and it probably shows how crap my old fridge was, hopefully itll cost me a bit less in the long run... the coolant is cfc and hfc??? free just for infos.

or the question what are hfcs, i take it they are banned as well

the tip took old fridge no probs apparently they used to charge at my tip but dont now because when they did people just threw them in fields