Re: Refrigerator Compressor Replacement

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Andrew Zwickl) wrote:

>I have a Whirlpool refrigerator that needs to have the compressor
>replaced. The refrigerator currently uses R12. The replacement
>compressor is a conversion kit to R134A. What is involved in the
>conversion? Do I have to flush the system and how? Do I need to add
>oil, and what type or is there oil in the replacement compressor? Do I
>need to add service fittings and what type? I do A/C work on cars so
>I'm familiar with the concepts. Thanks in advance!


The short answer is that you can't do it legally in the US since 1992. Federal
law requires the use of a refrigerant recovery unit and a licensed tech to do
the job. There are fines of $25000 for not following the law.  I suspect if you
have done a car a/c recently, you would have run into the same issue. And if you
were a licensed tech, you wouldn't have asked the question. :)

In any case, unless the old compressor was under warranty, it's hard to see how
economical it would be to do a compressor swap. The parts & labor will easily be
a significant amount of a new unit.

A couple of relevant URLs:

http://www.c-f-c.com/supportdocs/epa1.htm
http://www.sbeap.org/ppi/publications/cfc_do&dont.pdf