How to fill the refrigerator with freon at home

Freon is an odorless and colorless gaseous substance, which, due to its properties (absorb thermal energy during evaporation), is used as a refrigerant in refrigeration equipment. It is harmless to humans when used correctly, has a long service life while maintaining all characteristics.

If the cooling in the freezer chamber has sharply decreased or is completely absent, this may indicate a leak of freon. In this case, the compressor operates in standard mode.

Attention! Leakage of freon can disable the equipment. As a result, it is important for a short period to identify the cause, eliminate and fill the refrigerator with freon in the required amount.

You can identify the location of the leak during a visual inspection or use a specialized leak detector tool. As a rule, this is in places affected by corrosion of the evaporator or factory soldering.

A mechanical malfunction of some parts can cause a leak, therefore, to begin with, it is necessary to eliminate it, to repair the failed parts.

All procedures can be carried out independently at home, but be sure to observe all safety precautions and technology to eliminate subsequent leaks.

Preparatory work, tools

Important! Before purchasing freon, we determine its brand, these data can be found on the compressor housing. There we find information on the amount of refrigerant needed for refueling.

To carry out a full repair, you must have the following tools that are better prepared in advance:

• electronic view leak detector;
• tester and digital thermometer;
• vacuum pump;
• pliers;
• set of wrenches;
• pinch pliers,
• Schroeder valve;
• and, of course, a cylinder with freon.

To carry out flame work, you will need a protective screen.

Reference! The necessary equipment can be rented, since acquiring it will cost more than repair from a professional craftsman or in a service center.

Before starting refueling, it is necessary to carry out certain preparatory work, which consists in conducting a complete cleaning of the evaporation system from the remaining refrigerant. Let's consider them in more detail.

The gas outlet from the system is carried out thanks to the following actions: with the help of a needle grip (vise), the filter drier is clamped and punctured where the area with copper is observed. The part located in this place is subject to further replacement.

To keep the air in the room clean, you can bleed gas through a pipe that is led into the window on the street. Further, unnecessary pressure is vented; to eliminate excess moisture, the installation is purged with nitrogen. And at the end, in the complete absence of refrigerant, a Schroeder valve is installed, through which it will be delivered a new freon.

Important! Before connecting a cylinder filled with gas, make sure that the pressure in it is less than six atmospheres. If this parameter does not correspond to the norm, you can use a gear to reduce to the desired rate.

Refueling Instructions

After the preparatory operations, we proceed to the refueling procedure in compliance with all safety measures.

We will need two red and blue gauges and three hoses: blue, yellow and red, which, as a rule, are already included.

The blue manometer will control the suction pressure, and through the red manometer we will monitor the inlet (discharge) pressure in our system.

Important! Before proceeding with the filling procedure on the pressure gauges, set the valves to the "CLOSED" position.

1. We connect the blue hose to the tube through which we will refuel the system, for this we use a fitting.
2. Then we fix the yellow hose on the cylinder with freon.
3. In order to measure the discharge pressure in the system, we connect the red hose to the so-called Schroeder valve (a soldered pipe in the pipeline).
4. Slowly perform the valve opening procedure on the blue pressure gauge and fill the system from the cylinder with freon pressure (0.4 - 0.5) Atm. After filling the system and reaching the desired pressure, we close both valves.
5. We start the compressor for approximately thirty - forty seconds and then turn it off.
6. We disconnect the yellow tube from the cylinder and attach the vacuum pump to this place.
7. We turn on the connected pump for about nine to ten minutes, no more.

Important! Before the pump start-up procedure, we spin the blue valve on the pipeline to the end in the "CLOSED" position.

8. Then we connect the yellow hose to the gas cylinder, having previously disconnected it from the vacuum pump. We open the valve, at the same time we disconnect the yellow tube from the collector in advance by slightly moving it to the side in order to release air from the system.
9. After the performed air bleeding procedure, we connect the yellow hose back to the system and open the blue valve, the system is filled with gas to the desired volume.
10. We turn on the compressor and observe the pressure in the system according to manometers, if everything is fine and there are no deviations from the pressure corresponding to the norm, we bend the tubes.
11. We solder the bent tubes so that there is no leak.

Precautionary measures

Filling freon with your own hands requires a great responsibility from the contractor.

To fulfill all safety precautions, before starting work, you must carefully read all the rules for safe handling of the refrigerant.

Before starting work, it is necessary to disconnect the appliance from the network.

During the repair process, the grounding condition of all equipment must be met. If this is not possible, then all work is carried out only on a specially equipped site using insulation.

Carrying out the full range of work with gas, it is forbidden to smoke and turn on heaters.

The work is carried out with periodic ventilation of the kitchen, depending on the temperature in the street (at least one ventilation every 10 to 15 minutes), since freon vapors can have a negative effect on the human condition. Professionals advise the use of a protective mask.

It is advisable to purchase material for repair by trusted manufacturers who give a guarantee on their products.

Compliance with fire safety rules is useful when soldering the joints of the circuit.

Before checking the tightness of installations, it is necessary to carefully read the instructions for safety regulations for refrigerators that operate on freon.

Using the above rules will allow you to carry out the repair procedure as safely as possible.

Who will contact if there is no opportunity to change independently

If you don’t have the opportunity to change freon yourself at home, or if you get all the necessary tools, it’s quite expensive, you can contact the service center, where experts will conduct high-quality repairs of your equipment in a short time.

You can also find a good master through private announcements, while the price will be much lower, but there is a risk of not getting a high-quality final result.