How to find a freon leak in the refrigerator

Household appliances have become an integral part of our lives. However, we do not think about the principle of their action and the possible causes of failure until we come across a difficult situation.

In practice, the failure of almost any household appliance means incomplete home rest due to troubleshooting or calling the master. The most important household appliances do not allow you to cook or save food, so checking them for malfunctions is recommended at least once a year.

Freon is a gas obtained from derivatives of methane and ethane, saturated with molecules of fluorine, bromine and chlorine. The condensation method is used in refrigerators as a heat sink.

The most attractive features of using freon is its small amount - usually it does not exceed 200 grams and its harmlessness in domestic use. Even if Freon will break out into the atmosphere of the house for a long time, it will not pose any danger to the owners.

The most obvious sign of freon leakage, of course, is the insufficient refrigeration of the products by the refrigerator and the inability to maintain the set temperature. If the refrigerator has several chambers, then most likely only one of them will not be fully functional, since often manufacturers for such household appliances perform several closed circuits of gas circulation. The contours are not connected with each other, so only one part of the household appliance is disrupted.

How to identify a freon leak

Detecting a gas leak from a cooling appliance is quite simple. It is only necessary to periodically show a little more attention to his work, the signals given and the sounds made.

Many modern refrigerators have special sensors that make it possible for the owner to understand the malfunction that has occurred and to resolve it as soon as possible. Therefore, the owners of new models of refrigerators can only verify the presence of such a function, and periodically monitor the occurrence of leaks by sound or visual alerts.

Most often, owners notice a gas leak, paying attention to the incorrect operation of the compressor. It works constantly, or in other words expressed in terms of “wear and tear”, and the required cooling effect is insufficient or not at all.

Perhaps the owner decided to independently eliminate the ice on the walls of the freezer with a sharp or cutting object, and inadvertently stuck it into the wall. A characteristic whistle or hiss is a clear sign of a freon leak.

A visual inspection of the refrigerator may help in finding a leak. If traces of rust are present along the contour of the freezer door, then most likely a leak will occur along the contour of the door's cooling perimeter.

Visual inspection allows you to detect the presence of leaks at the sites of brazing aluminum alloy and copper tube, the evaporator. In these places, there is usually an ice formation, which is difficult to miss even with an unarmed look.

This is due to the fact that manufacturers may produce insufficiently high-quality products, and then earn on the sale of spare parts. Although more often such malfunctions occur in budget versions of refrigerators, even the most high-quality productions cannot guarantee an uninterrupted service life of equipment for several decades.

This is due to the principle of operation of the refrigerator, namely the constant presence of a small vibration due to which microcracks in copper tubes can gradually increase until small streams of cooling gas are pulled out of them.

If the leak cannot be visually found, the tube system can be lubricated with soapy water. This method helps to search for even small leaks, because bubbles will form in the passage. But the most accurate methods for finding leaks are modern methods that use the latest equipment: halide, electronic and ultrasonic leak detectors. Their use most often falls on the search for leaks that are not available for visual inspection.

What to do if freon of their refrigerator has leaked and how dangerous it is

Situations with the leak of freon are not so rare among the inhabitants of our country. But the most responsible of us, to our health, are asking ourselves how harmful is the effect of gas on the human body when it leaks out?

The answer to this question is a soothing answer: in 99.9% of cases, the gas used cannot harm a person. It is non-toxic under normal living conditions, absolutely fireproof and cannot provoke an explosion due to its concentration even in a small kitchen.

Did you know?! Varieties of cooling gas freon R134a, R12, R22 and R600a are used in all modern refrigerators. Under normal conditions (temperature up to 250 degrees Celsius) and concentration in a standard kitchen up to 400 grams, it is absolutely safe for the human body and the occurrence of fire or explosion, since the maximum concentration in the refrigerator is only 200 grams.

Therefore, in cases where a gas leak has occurred, it is not worth taking any immediate measures to seal the system, because most likely a significant amount of gas has already leaked. You just need to find a phone of a high-quality wizard, which can quickly, safely, and most importantly inexpensively eliminate your problem.

Findings

A freon leak can only temporarily disrupt the correct operation of the refrigerator and lead to increased electricity consumption due to the compressor running continuously.

This gas does not present other dangers. However, it is not recommended to repair the refrigerator yourself, change filters, solder and refill freon, if you do not have the necessary skills.

By negligence, you can inflict a rather unpleasant injury on yourself, and a master’s call will cost you a fairly modest amount. In addition, many craftsmen after their repair give a warranty period, which is also a significant advantage.

Watch the video: How To Leak Check And Locate Freon Leaks On Air Conditioners Or Fridges (March 2024).

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