Copper difficult to o weld?

Aug 18, 2017 12 Replies

Our refrigerator got compressor replaced in Feb. Now it's not working again. The technician now says there is Freiburg leak and because the original refrigerator had copper tubing, it's difficult to weld,. He suggested us to change to whole coil. What does it mean?


You don't "weld" copper - you braze it - and it is pretty simple. You can also solder copper - which is a lot easier - but is not recommended (or possibly even allowed) for refrigeration lines.

It probably means it's time to buy a new refrigerator, assuming it's just a typical fridge that's $1000 or so. Again, a lot of missing information, like how old, how much, etc. It sounds like he's saying that for some reason the brazing in of the new compressor is leaking because of the copper tubing. I don't understand that, I thought any parts of anything that needed to be brazed were always copper and still are. When an average fridge needs a new compressor, unless it's under warranty, it's probably time for a new fridge. If it's 20 years old, it's a no brainer.

You have to watch those leaks. Freiburg is very dangerous and will kill your pets.

Never heard of a Freiburg leak. What does it mean? It means you will pay a lot of money for a half ass repair by an incompetent tech.

Copper repairs are some of the easiest to do. Years ago i was the supervisor of a department that made heating and cooling coils of many types and we did thousands of joints a day, all copper as it is so simple to work with and does the job well.

Cut you losses and look for a new fridge.

Autocorrect, she meant Freon.

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If you don't mind my asking, how much did it cost to replace the compressor?

And how much will it cost to replace the coil?

How old is the refrigerator?

How much did the refrigerator cost new?

Jennifer posted for all of us...

We need more details as others have stated.

The tech could have caused this problem while replacing the compressor. Copper is easy to braze (weld) - even I can do it. I suspect the tech does not want to do the job. Query him why this happened. I am suspicious... Is this repair being done by a 'home warranty' co?

The choices you have revolve around how old the unit is, what is really the problem, how much is cost of repair vs a new refrigerator?

Brazing isn't welding. It is "hard soldering". You CAN brass weld coPper, but it is not commonly done."Brass welding" or "braze welding" involves melting the copper/brass base metal and adding filler rod like in welding steel. Brazing, or hard soldering, melts the spelter ONTO the joint - it does not melt it INTO the joint.

That one grand autocorrect -- the two words aren't even phonetically similar.

If you're good... Often the melting point of the filler and the base metal aren't that far apart; if you're not good you wind up with a messy little puddle.

snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca posted for all of us...

Thanks, I appreciate the education.

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