Question:
I just got my refrigerator's compressor replaced. The line coming off the compressor frosts up heavily.?
steve T
2008-11-13 21:34:49 UTC
It wasn't like that before with the original compressor. The condensers were clean. The repairman told me some stupid excuse. Did he make mistakes during the installation? Any experts out there could help me? Thank you in advance. Steve
Seven answers:
Thor
2008-11-14 01:25:50 UTC
The way refrigerant works is that you get cooling where the liquid, under pressure converts to gas at a lower pressure. So you have higher pressure on one side than the other.



Bottom line is you are right that you should not be getting frosting at the compressor, at all.



There are a number of reasons for getting frosting in different places on different lines.



If it is the high side line coming out of the freezer you likely are overcharged and the remaining liquid is evaporating after leaving the evaporator.



Most common it is the high side line leaving the compressor. Then you have a bad compresser (low pressure), a restriction at that point, or a leak or undercharge (gives same low pressure symptom). But if this is the case your compressor would be running 24/7 and it would be cooling poorly or hardly at all.



If it is at the dryer then you have a plugged dryer or he welded in a restriction at that point.



Without knowing exactly which line and where it is frosting it is hard to tell you exactly.



I would call the repair company, ask to talk to a supervisor, explain what you are seeing, and ask they send somebody different to check it out at no cost. If they refuse or blow smoke, I would say you are going to call another company and if they find he made a mistake you are going to want your money back for the second service.



That should at least get you a decent response.



One problem is that don't give the techs the time to do sealed syslem type calls if the are not expecting to do them. So techs do blow smoke at times if the problem doesn't look serious or they think they can put you off. Plus mistakes they have to do for free.



Good Luck.
mindy
2016-05-28 13:20:07 UTC
bikerbob is close, but in the wrong direction...you arent LOW on refrigerant, you have too much, assuming you had a sealed system repair done at some point, the tech who fixed put too much refrigerant in, which is why it is frosting up BEYOND the evaporator. If a refrigerator has the correct amount of R134A, or R12 on an older model, the suction line on the compressor, the thicker and colder of the two connected lines (a third is usually present as well, but has been closed permanently and it leads to nothing, this is how it is charged at the factory) Now the suction line also runs along a thin capillary tube, which is a tube that gets very hot as this is the high pressure side of the system. These two are attached along their lengths to keep frost building up on this section of the suction line, and sometimes this is also insulated with a foam tube insulation piece. If you have any sizable clump of ice, turn the unit off for a while to let the ice melt NATURALLY!!! If you can insulate the section of tubing well, it will prevent it from frosting up again because you are insulating the cold surface from the warm air, which causes the condensation, or frost, which melts slightly because of the warm air, and freezes as ice. or stick a small aluminum baking tray under the build up of ice.
tzweeb
2008-11-13 21:48:45 UTC
several possible problems.

the repairman overcharged the system and its allowing freon to flow too far towards the compressor.

he didnt evacuate all the air from the system and thats causing too high of pressure in the sealed system.

you have a defrost problem and didnt need a compressor to begin with.

call the company back and have a different person check it out. it wont be too bad until they can get another guy out to re-check it. and most units have a 5 year sealed system warranty so it shouldnt be costing you anything.
mountainriley
2008-11-14 03:25:48 UTC
You either have a restriction or an improper charge. Get the guy back. It will damage the new compressor.
Zach
2008-11-13 21:43:29 UTC
Were the lines originally insulated? It might just be the cold line causing the moist air around it to condensate and freeze.
donald_vanliew
2008-11-13 21:45:15 UTC
there is a hole in the line, he probably didn't seal it properly. call another local refrigaration (heating and cooling) and they will be able to tell you more.
poppajoe49
2008-11-13 21:38:35 UTC
There isn't enough Freon in the system.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...