Where do you add freon in a refrigerator?
Question:Is freon added to the compressor, or is there a seperate storage area? Also, how can you tell if you even CAN add freon to the unit?
Answers:
This whole idea is something you should have a qualified refrigeration technician doing. There's a point in the piping from the compressor to the radiator fins, which can be located behind, underneath or inside behind a plastic panel, where the freon is both installed and removed. It requires special equipment to do both and if you get moisture in the system you can pretty much kiss it good bye. Let a pro do this.
Call a repair tech....
The only reason to add freon is if it has a leak.
The biggest problem of "no cooling" is dust/dirt build up on the condenser coil underneath or sometimes in back OR one of the fans (condenser or evaporator) have stopped running. If it's clean, fans are running and the compressor is running, one of the small copper lines coming out of the compressor should be warm/hot to the touch, if not, you may have lost some or all of the freon.
Older refrigerators use R-12, which is no longer manufactured, but there is some around left over, but highly regulated, newer models use R-134a, and can be purchased at most Auto parts stores.
If the refrigerator is worth fixing, it should be done by someone with the necessary tools to do a job that will last, if it's a garage unit, just for cold drinks and such, might be better to junk it and check the want ads, I see quite a few forsale on craigslist.org from time to time.
Just some of the tools I use to repair refrigerators/ice boxes are dry nitrogen, vacuum pump, charging cylinders, guages and hoses, special refrigeration wrench, etc and the years of experience to use them.
A fridg. is a self contained unit. It should not need to have Freon added unless it has a leak. In that case it you were able to add it it would just leak out again. I am not sure If you can buy the freon that a fridg. uses without a ref. license. It's not the same as you add to your car air conditioner witch is the only freon that I know that can be bought over the counter. How do you know this is the problem. Have you checked Thermostat? usually this is the problem.
you dont need to know
FYI, there is a definite difference between R-134A for automotive use and R-134A for refrigeration. The particular oils used to lubricate the compressors in the two different systems aren't very compatible. Really, though, you should probably get a pro on this problem. Good luck.
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