Refrigeration Question

Does the oil leak out all the time, or just when the unit is running?

Does the oil smell like anything? For example, cherry pits, licorice, or asphalt driveway sealer?

This will help us identify the problem.

Have you had anyone who knows about commercial refrigeration look at your refrigerator? There are several products used to clean out a system after a burnout and acid neutralizing filters should also be used on both the liquid and suction lines. GEEZ! Get someone other than Leroy The Fridge Repair Man to fix your box.

TDD

Sorry, almost forgot, here's a link to a product I use

Thanks!

Methinks I smelleth a trolle!

thou smelleth thyself

I would replace the refrigeration guy.

The lines have to be as clean as possible.

I think that acetone and compressed air should do the trick as far as cleaning is concerned. Prior to charging the system, they need to do a complete leak check and then pump down to works to remove all water that might be left in the system.

If a hermetic compressor shorts out (electrical windings) and burns up, it can decompose the refrigerant to other chemicals. As to dark oil, not likely. But in any case, the chemicals are still within the sealed system. They used to make acid absorbing filter driers, but those are also part of the sealed system.

Ah, well. You'll get it by and by.

One customer of mine, fixing his walk in cooler. Anyhow, the AC didn't work on his big pickup truck, and the garage wanted several hundred dollars to fix it. I found two places where the wires were unhooked at junctions. Connect them back up, and the AC came back to life.

I unplugged the clutch relay on a friend's SUV, banged it against a metal bracket and plugged it back in. It's been working ever since.

TDD

Christopher,

It appears from the original post that the system has been unsealed several times, so the original integrity of the system is suspect IMO. If the capacity of the acid absorbent in the dryer was less than the amount of acid that remained in the system after the several times the compressor had been changed, I would suspect that this might be the cause of the black oil.

In the times that the unit had been serviced, someone may have also used the wrong oil or refrigerant, or perhaps recharged the system with contaminated refrigerant.

Now that the system is open, it seems to me that all of the crud that may in fact be in the lines should be cleaned out so the unit can be returned to reliable service.

Or you could be correct and the whole thing is a hoax.

Percussive maintenance. You da man!

Most kinds of winding insulation have some carbon in them, and produce black soot if they burn. Black carbon in the oil means black oil, so black oil doesn't seem that unlikely if there's been a burnout.

Dave

Where do you get this sealed trash? Look at a system and you will see it has lots of disconnects. It is NOT sealed. Quit your ignorant trolling!

Sealed, as in vapor tight. That's where I get that.

So because it is vapor tight one can't disconnect a flare connection and run something through it? You are a troll.

Very few store owners disconnect flare lines, and look for black tar substance within.

You're responding to an old thread.

What does store owners have to do with anything? How does being a store owner relate to being a "sealed system?" Why are you so scatter-brained?

The original post was written by a store owner, if you hadn't noticed. I'm so glad that you hurl insults and look foolish. Please, sir, may I have one more?