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Post by turbokinetic on Jun 13, 2018 14:07:50 GMT
Thanks again for posting the density charts. This info is very helpful! I wish I could obtain R124 easily; however I fear it may be cost prohibitive. I do have a refrigerant license, so that should not be an obstacle for obtaining it. It's just that there don't seem to be any online sellers. I'm offshore at the moment, but when this assignment ends, I will go to a local shop and see if they have or can order it. Second choice would be R134A, which has the side benefit of being completely immiscible in mineral oil. A local HVAC distributor will have it, though they may not know it! Until I walked in the door in January, ours hadn't sold any since 2008 and had a pallet and a half in stock. It was just over $300 for 30 lbs. I don't think it'll be banned until 2030 (there are specialist uses for it, some medical). My wife and I have enough DR machines that 30 lbs isn't quite enough, so it was a no brainer for us. If you can get it working on R134a, that sounds ideal to your situation. Otherwise, R124 would definitely work, but you'd almost be compelled to find enough of those things to fill your barn Good info again. I do still plan to see what it is going for in my area. Just interested now! It seems there is a gas R236FA which has been developed as a substitute, however again I didn't see much info on availability online. I couldn't find the HP of the hermetic, model is not listed in my tech manuals that I saw. It is rated for 4 amps full load and much taller than the ones form the 30's. A trip to Travis's for a belt drive is a much better choice though.
Interesting. If it's a Meter-Miser design, rated 4 amps - maybe things would scale up proportionally. The 1/8 HP units use about 2A at full load; so possibly that unit would be about twice the power - at 1/4 HP.
While I would love to put this to use, but really want to go belt-drive here. This fridge originally had one, and also I really want to have a working example.
Even if the unit Travis has is not currently working, it gives me a basis upon which to refurbish or fabricate what's needed. Now I have nothing.
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Post by Travis on Jun 13, 2018 16:54:16 GMT
The one I has is definitely not working. The cord is rotted off. I've never tested it. You can have the whole fridge or just parts. The rest will be going to become 10 smart cars after you leave.
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Post by turbokinetic on Jun 13, 2018 23:03:20 GMT
The one I has is definitely not working. The cord is rotted off. I've never tested it. You can have the whole fridge or just parts. The rest will be going to become 10 smart cars after you leave. Let me guess - it looked something like this:
I feel fairly certain that all the intelligence in an old fridge far outweighs that of all 10 smart cars which might contain the same amount of metal....
Again, I'm extremely grateful for anything that is mostly a complete compressor skid. The refurbishment of it is part of the fun as you know! If it were working already then it would be less educational for me and the rest of us here. I expect to have to overhaul every part of it, fabricate things etc. to make it usable. I could build a skid from nothing, but I like the idea of having an original (or similar to that) setup to recondition. That way, in the end, the project will be more like it would have been when new.
Sincerely, David
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Post by Travis on Jun 14, 2018 0:46:17 GMT
That cord is fine! Man up an plug it in.
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Post by turbokinetic on Jun 14, 2018 1:00:34 GMT
That cord is fine! Man up an plug it in.
That may be my next video!
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Post by coldspaces on Jun 14, 2018 1:09:01 GMT
I have plugged in a few that looked like that. Not long term though.
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Post by ckfan on Jun 14, 2018 2:02:13 GMT
That cord is fine! Man up an plug it in. I can’t tell you how many times he’s told me that.
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Post by birkie on Jun 14, 2018 3:30:47 GMT
I do still plan to see what it is going for in my area. Just interested now! It seems there is a gas R236FA which has been developed as a substitute, however again I didn't see much info on availability online. It looks like R236FA would have about a 50% capacity reduction compared to SO2; significantly lower pressures (it actually looks like a much closer fit for R114). But it's less than 1% different in liquid density than SO2. So that might be a good option if you get a compressor that is twice the original size! It's also used as a fire extinguisher, for when you plug in that cord
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Post by elec573 on Jun 14, 2018 4:41:49 GMT
Wow man up and plug it in lol ! Only Travis could get away with that but I like it.
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Post by turbokinetic on Jun 14, 2018 10:53:33 GMT
I do still plan to see what it is going for in my area. Just interested now! It seems there is a gas R236FA which has been developed as a substitute, however again I didn't see much info on availability online. It looks like R236FA would have about a 50% capacity reduction compared to SO2; significantly lower pressures (it actually looks like a much closer fit for R114). But it's less than 1% different in liquid density than SO2. So that might be a good option if you get a compressor that is twice the original size! It's also used as a fire extinguisher, for when you plug in that cord Very good point about the capacity being so much lower. It would be possible to effectively increase the size of a belt-driven compressor, by simply changing the pulley ratios. That would assume the mechanical parts of the compressor and the oiling system of the bearings etc. would work at those speeds.
Wow man up and plug it in lol ! Only Travis could get away with that but I like it.
That did give me a good laugh! It was timely cause I needed a good laugh yesterday.
As for the R236FA extinguishing agent - I've definitely seen some cords that needed a large canister of that on standby! Most of them in use by non-electrical tradesmen on construction sites. And they wonder why they can't keep a GFCI turned on.....
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Post by turbokinetic on Jun 16, 2018 2:13:23 GMT
Ok, I have finished chasing dollars for a while so now I can really do some work on this project!
Today I got home and tore down the evaporator. It is definitely a work of art. It's obvious that engineering was still in a learning curve about best design practices and refrigeration in general. This thing is so amazingly overcomplicated!
First the end cap came off the evaporator. It is a little cruddy in there but nothing really scary.
The mangled ring is a lead gasket which I will have to repalace. Probably going with Teflon since it's going to be easier to get.
The float assembly came out easily.
So many moving parts! It's no wonder that a capillary tube ended up being so much more popular!
That was a "witch's hat" screen that came out of the needle valve inlet. It was corroded and stuck. Unfortunately, I had to mangle it out in pieces. Will arrange another screen of some sort.
(continued)
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Post by turbokinetic on Jun 16, 2018 2:19:43 GMT
The needle valve is in pristine condition. There is no visible wear at all on either part. To clean the needle, I chucked in in the lathe and ran red Scotch-Brite against the tip.
Better view of the seat. That tiny hole has a smooth tapered seat where the needle closes it off. I did glass bead blast the parts where they needed it. I'm one who doesn't like to blast things that are going to be visible unpainted. They look better with some sort of directional marks, such as turning or buffing marks. In this case, I was careful not to blast away the grey plating on the exterior of the head. Also I covered the needle tip and the seat hole during the blasting so that those maintained a polished surface.
The assembly back together. The suction line fitting is a flare fitting. It will need to have its flare seat area refinished because of the blasting. It was already damaged so I didn't worry about it. That whole fitting may just get replaced.
So that's my accomplishment for today! Hope to get the compressor skid soon and start refurbishing it. Definitely an interesting project!
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Post by coldspaces on Jun 16, 2018 3:54:37 GMT
Extremely interesting project!! Great pics, I have never seen the inside of one of these like this. Thanks for posting!
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Post by turbokinetic on Jun 16, 2018 13:13:38 GMT
Extremely interesting project!! Great pics, I have never seen the inside of one of these like this. Thanks for posting! You're welcome! It is interesting for sure.
I hope to get the interior of the evaporator cleaned up today. Not sure exactly how I'm going to clean down inside the tubes, but I'm sure it will somehow involve the pressure washer. LOL
You may have noticed, I edited the thread title. I hope it doesn't make things confusing. It should make this thread more useful in the future if people decide to search about one of these fridges.
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Post by icebox on Jun 16, 2018 20:01:53 GMT
So interesting to see inside one for real, after all these years! Echo coldspaces - thanks for posting. I guess the small hole on the suction line is to allow the oil floating on the surface to drain back to the compressor. Fascinating.
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