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Post by Travis on Nov 7, 2018 6:42:40 GMT
Paul,
I wanted to respond to your question about control compatibility, but didn't want to further sidetrack Garrett's rebuild thread.
The differences between the DR2 and DR3 type C control are in the starting arm near the top and that the DR3 doesn't have a starting resistor, but just a bar. Another difference might be the overload heater.
I suspect you need the bakelite on/off parts and not the metal parts. It's possible that I might have some parts, but you need to check your motor the verify it's viable.
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Post by csulaguy on Nov 8, 2018 21:50:19 GMT
I'll have to check resistance when I get home. I'm pretty sure it is just the bakelite parts, but as mentioned before, I'll need to take some pictures, possibly making use of my awesome macro lens!
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Post by csulaguy on Mar 22, 2019 23:33:17 GMT
It works. Part of the controls are gone, but we did get it to run without ANY problems, and both evaps eventually froze. I need another thread for my DR2, but that worked as well and is unseized. So I'm officially no longer in the market for any more fridges unless it's a deal I can't pass up (especially a DR).
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Post by birkie on Mar 23, 2019 14:18:25 GMT
Cool, glad to hear it works, except for the control. From it's incidental appearance in the edges and background of David's other pics, it looks like it might be an attractive machine!
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Post by csulaguy on Mar 24, 2019 6:24:18 GMT
Apparently, it has a decent paint job on it, but the same person who painted it was also a dip$#it and decided to get paint overspray on both sides of the controls. Why the covers were off when they painted is beyond me. I just need the bi-metallic strip part of the controls and I should be good to go.
I'm still debating on a 2 door cabinet for him. The price is right, but I'm just not wild about another 840 miles of driving just to go get it.
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Post by csulaguy on Mar 28, 2019 3:58:56 GMT
Lucky me - I now know what SO2 smells like. Oddly, it smelled like super strong vinegar and rotting pickles at first; I only detected sulfur about 4 hours later as a mild taste in my mouth, though I can still smell it in my nostrils. It's not fun stuff.
With that said, I apparently have a small leak, but enough that I'm losing SO2. So now I get to find time to evacuate the unit and repair the break with some replacement tubing, along with finding someone who knows what the hell they're doing to solder it (that person is not me).
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Post by birkie on Mar 28, 2019 13:03:51 GMT
Lucky me - I now know what SO2 smells like. Oddly, it smelled like super strong vinegar and rotting pickles at first; I only detected sulfur about 4 hours later as a mild taste in my mouth, though I can still smell it in my nostrils. It's not fun stuff. With that said, I apparently have a small leak, but enough that I'm losing SO2. So now I get to find time to evacuate the unit and repair the break with some replacement tubing, along with finding someone who knows what the hell they're doing to solder it (that person is not me). Oh no! If it doesn't knock you back a few feet when you approach the machine, it's got to be a small leak. The tiniest bit of S02 goes a long way. If that DR3 was full, it has 13 lbs in it - about 76 cubic feet on gaseous form. Probably best to keep it in a well ventilated space away from animals in the meantime. Depending on just how small the leak is, it could take a while until it empties. That could be a good thing in this case, as the machine is safe as long as it's under positive pressure. Whatever you do, don't run it, as that could cause the evaporators to go into vacuum and draw in moist air (== corrosion). If you can get close enough to attempt to pinpoint the leak, that would be ideal. The area where the suction lines attach to the evaporator (on the top of each evaporator, toward the front) is usually a trouble spot, but any joint should be suspect. Out of curiosity, where is it at the moment, and what was it doing when it started leaking? |
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Post by csulaguy on Mar 28, 2019 14:09:48 GMT
It was a small leak, because unless I got within 3 feet of it, I could handle it. My friend got a headache and naseous, whereas I just had dreams about it last night and couldn't really taste the sulfur until hours later.
Right now, it's in my driveway. It stopped hissing/leaking, so now I need to open up the service port and evacuate the rest out. I spoke with David at length yesterday and he advised I should clean up the leak area with a wire wheel, cut it off carefully, get the same size tubing, and find someone competent to solder it (not me). Then run a vacuum for 2-3 hours, and proceed to put in some R152A. No clue how much, but we're guestimating about 4 cans worth. I tried to read a little last night on R152A and ended up passing out from exhaustion.
I first noticed the leak when I got to Harbor Freight yesterday, but I thought it was some kind of residual small from a 55 gallon drum I bought for storing diesel (previous contents were hexane (brake cleaner)). My best guess is it developed a leak due to San Antonio's shitty section of I-10 coming in from Houston.
It stopped hissing this morning, but I don't want to do anything further, because it's a little foggy and was misting. Plus, I needed to relocate my puppies last night (4 weeks old and no longer suitable for indoors), so I had to finish building that enclosure.
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Post by birkie on Mar 28, 2019 15:56:42 GMT
Right now, it's in my driveway. It stopped hissing/leaking, so now I need to open up the service port and evacuate the rest out. I spoke with David at length yesterday and he advised I should clean up the leak area with a wire wheel, cut it off carefully, get the same size tubing, and find someone competent to solder it (not me). Then run a vacuum for 2-3 hours, and proceed to put in some R152A. No clue how much, but we're guestimating about 4 cans worth. I tried to read a little last night on R152A and ended up passing out from exhaustion. If it was hissing, that's a decently sized leak. If it stopped, that likely means that the evaporators are empty of liquid, but there is probably still some (most?) in the sump, which is slowly leaking through the float or check valve as gas. If the leak happens to be in the steel fittings that connect to the evaporator, you may need to get creative. It has over a gallon of SO2 in it at its normal charge. You'd need the same volume of R152a. Weight-wise, it's on the order of 140oz of R152a. So probably more like a case of the stuff, if it comes in small cans. R152a has a somewhat marginal track record in DRs (particularly in cooler ambient conditions), but it may be fine down in Texas. More data points about its success or failure in the DR3 could be helpful. |
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Post by turbokinetic on Mar 28, 2019 22:41:43 GMT
Right now, it's in my driveway. It stopped hissing/leaking, so now I need to open up the service port and evacuate the rest out. I spoke with David at length yesterday and he advised I should clean up the leak area with a wire wheel, cut it off carefully, get the same size tubing, and find someone competent to solder it (not me). Then run a vacuum for 2-3 hours, and proceed to put in some R152A. No clue how much, but we're guestimating about 4 cans worth. I tried to read a little last night on R152A and ended up passing out from exhaustion. If it was hissing, that's a decently sized leak. If it stopped, that likely means that the evaporators are empty of liquid, but there is probably still some (most?) in the sump, which is slowly leaking through the float or check valve as gas. If the leak happens to be in the steel fittings that connect to the evaporator, you may need to get creative. It has over a gallon of SO2 in it at its normal charge. You'd need the same volume of R152a. Weight-wise, it's on the order of 140oz of R152a. So probably more like a case of the stuff, if it comes in small cans. R152a has a somewhat marginal track record in DRs (particularly in cooler ambient conditions), but it may be fine down in Texas. More data points about its success or failure in the DR3 could be helpful. It's a shame this had to break on his way home and not on the way TO my place! 
It seems there is a crack in the tube from the bottom of the float valve to the first tee going into the first evaporator. Probably a fatigue point due to the relative motion between the deck and the evaporators, when the rough roads were encountered. The configuration of that tube is bad, from a robustness standpoint. There is little flexibility and mainly a "straight line connection" between the two points. Both the evaporator, and the deck are heavy and not rigidly connected together. That will cause forceful relative motion between them when the unit encounters vibration.
I think it woul be a good idea to install a coil of at least one loop in the tube between the float and first evaporator. That would provide the necessary flexibility.
Hopefully it will be shipped or carried back to my place so it can be fixed soon.
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Post by Travis on Mar 29, 2019 1:24:36 GMT
I’m sorry to hear about the leak. These units are old and can only handle so much movement.
I’m certainly not against experimenting, but 152a has been problematic in DR’s. It’s because of this that Birkie suggested that R124 was a closer substitute for so2 and I bought some for Coldspaces to use with three varieties of DR’s. The results are good and the wattage and noise is very close to the unit with so2. These positive results were why we stopped experimenting with 152a. In my opinion, once you’ve found a good substitute you should stop and enjoy that success.
By all means experiment as you see fit.
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Post by birkie on Mar 29, 2019 13:17:15 GMT
It's a shame this had to break on his way home and not on the way TO my place!
It seems there is a crack in the tube from the bottom of the float valve to the first tee going into the first evaporator. Probably a fatigue point due to the relative motion between the deck and the evaporators, when the rough roads were encountered. The configuration of that tube is bad, from a robustness standpoint. There is little flexibility and mainly a "straight line connection" between the two points. Both the evaporator, and the deck are heavy and not rigidly connected together. That will cause forceful relative motion between them when the unit encounters vibration Yes, it is unfortunate that it didn't fail on its way down! (not that you need any more SO2 in your life  ). Come to think of it, John Higdon used to mention the importance of supporting the evaporators during transport (supporting the deck and the evaporators equally), maybe this is what he was referring to. I admit I have been lax at doing that in the past. |
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Post by csulaguy on Mar 29, 2019 13:58:37 GMT
If it was hissing, that's a decently sized leak. If it stopped, that likely means that the evaporators are empty of liquid, but there is probably still some (most?) in the sump, which is slowly leaking through the float or check valve as gas. If the leak happens to be in the steel fittings that connect to the evaporator, you may need to get creative. It has over a gallon of SO2 in it at its normal charge. You'd need the same volume of R152a. Weight-wise, it's on the order of 140oz of R152a. So probably more like a case of the stuff, if it comes in small cans. R152a has a somewhat marginal track record in DRs (particularly in cooler ambient conditions), but it may be fine down in Texas. More data points about its success or failure in the DR3 could be helpful. It's a shame this had to break on his way home and not on the way TO my place!
It seems there is a crack in the tube from the bottom of the float valve to the first tee going into the first evaporator. Probably a fatigue point due to the relative motion between the deck and the evaporators, when the rough roads were encountered. The configuration of that tube is bad, from a robustness standpoint. There is little flexibility and mainly a "straight line connection" between the two points. Both the evaporator, and the deck are heavy and not rigidly connected together. That will cause forceful relative motion between them when the unit encounters vibration.
I think it woul be a good idea to install a coil of at least one loop in the tube between the float and first evaporator. That would provide the necessary flexibility.
Hopefully it will be shipped or carried back to my place so it can be fixed soon.
Well, David can otherwise attest to the robustness of my cradles I use for transport. They do the job, and this is the first such failure, considering all, including my two "junk" CA tops I gave to David, all worked. Lucky for you David, on my next trip, I also have 2 DR1s and the Frigidaire that also need some assistance! I'm just eager to get the DR3 going so I can pair it with my 2 door DR cabinet! |
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Post by birkie on Mar 30, 2019 0:52:37 GMT
Lucky for you David, on my next trip, I also have 2 DR1s and the Frigidaire that also need some assistance! I'm just eager to get the DR3 going so I can pair it with my 2 door DR cabinet! Nice! I was wondering when that Frigidaire would make it down there |
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Post by elec573 on Mar 30, 2019 4:20:11 GMT
Turbos posts are nicely done and informative.
I just wish he was closer so I could learn first hand . He makes it look easy but if you don’t have the experience or haven’t been exsposed to it . It can be imitating!
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). Come to think of it, John Higdon used to mention the importance of supporting the evaporators during transport (supporting the deck and the evaporators equally), maybe this is what he was referring to. I admit I have been lax at doing that in the past.
