Guest rabgoat Posted April 20, 2008 Report Share Posted April 20, 2008 I cleared the freezer yesterday and scrapped the frost/ice out with a PAINT SCRAPPER,I came down this morning and the fridge has stopped working,there is a bad strong smell from the freezer,seems iv'e busted a small hole inside and some sort of gases are leaking,(brown stain on the ice that was left), ,Has any body any knowledge of what's going on,is the gases dangerous, can it be fixed or is it wrecked.....thanks for any help.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph5172 Posted April 20, 2008 Report Share Posted April 20, 2008 No the gasses arnt dangerous to you (only industrial units use pure ammonia now) to the enviroment probably!! But to me souns like it is broken. Fridges use either a series of pressure high/low pipes to work. or it pumps high pressure gas into a void to vaporise thus cooling, it is then sucked out out and the gas repressurised. If yours is the latter you may have broke the void. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taz24 Posted April 20, 2008 Report Share Posted April 20, 2008 The brown stain is likeley to be oil and yes it does sound as though you have holed the pipes. The refrigerant will not hurt you but it would be wise to keep it ventilated. If it is less the 3 or 4 years old the refrigerant could be propane based. Propane burns so do treat it with a little respect. Dependent on where the leak is it can be repaired but the success rate is low and the cost is high. Unless it is built in or for some reason it has sentimental value I would start looking for a new one. Cheers taz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berettaman1 Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 Fridges/freezers , can only be repaired on the pipework and such, on the outside of the cabinet such when the compresser has to be changed or the system regassed, The internal piping, and the evaporater plate. are made of alloy, and being soft can easily be pierced by being scraped by steel objects, I am afraid you will have to buy another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radio1ham Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 yep dont worrie your not the first to do it ive also done it and the funny thing was i put my finger over the hole to stop the gas coming out (silly me what was i thinking ) hence had to buy a new one so from now on i defrost the natural way switch off and let it thaw out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taz24 Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 The evaporator can be repaired but the system will now have moisture inside it. The gas stops coming out and then air / moisture starts going in. If you attempt to repair the fridge you will be looking at paying nearly much as you would pay for a new fridge the repair in this type of fault is always difficult. Cheers taz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob300w Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 The evaporator can be repaired but the systemwill now have moisture inside it. The gas stops coming out and then air / moisture starts going in. If you attempt to repair the fridge you will be looking at paying nearly much as you would pay for a new fridge the repair in this type of fault is always difficult. Cheers taz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rabgoat Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 Got home from work today and the wife has it all sorted,we are covered with are house contents insurance,so a new one will be here on wednesday...cheers lads.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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