Free Fridge Score! [UPDATE]

jimmy101 · Sun Mar 01, 2009 4:11 pm

FishBoy wrote:I know there is freon gas, but what is the liquid?

oil probably

sniper hero · Sun Mar 01, 2009 4:15 pm

just try it and be careful
first read this topic again so you won't miss anything
and when done shoot the rest of the fridge:D

Biopyro · Sun Mar 01, 2009 4:20 pm

Most likely just freon which is cold and has not boiled off, unless it isn't volatile in which case I have no idea. All refrigerants in fridges boil well below 0*C, so maybe it's water which has condensed.

Check the fridge for a label, which may well tell you what kind of refrigerant is contained. R12 is very harmful to the ozone layer, whereas R134a is 'just' a powerful greenhouse It is unlikely to contain other refrigerants if it is particularly old.

Edit: didn't see scond page, but thinking about it, jimmy is probably correct in thinking it's oil.

FishBoy · Sun Mar 01, 2009 6:59 pm

Update: Compressor freed

Ok, I have freed the compressor from the fridge, and once again, have a few questions.

1. Which tube is the intake and which is the output? (I know the crimped tube is where the freon was put in)

2. Once I get things set up, do I need to do anything with the ground wire (green) or can I just icap it?

I am planning to install a switch between the grey and yellow wires; that is where the thermostat switch was.

POLAND_SPUD · Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:46 pm

most likely it is oil

there will be more of it in the compressor... try not to spill it as it lubricates it and helps in transfering heat (so it prevents overheating to some extent)

fridge compressors create a sort of oil mist when they run... so air is lubricated (which is a good thing) but to a much greater extend than normal shop compressors...

there are several ghetto ways of stopping some of it, lol it's hard for me to explain it but it involes using a vertical lenght of an airhose and gravity will do the rest (some of the oil will condensate on internal walls of an air hose and gravity will bring it down - I am not sure if this helps you to understand what I mean but it's really simple)

if you want to you can even add an oil filter

EDIT
lol beaten

just wire it and turn it on... the one that is sucking air is an air input

at least that's how I determined that

every electric device should be grounded
so don't scrap it - it's there for a reason...

FishBoy · Sun Mar 01, 2009 8:14 pm

How should I ground it? Just stick a bolt in the ground? (my limited electrical experience doesn't include groundings)

POLAND_SPUD · Sun Mar 01, 2009 8:46 pm

I assume that you have sockets with grounding in the US ?? the cable has three wires so I assume that you do

if you have salvaged the plug as well then what is the problem?

FishBoy · Sun Mar 01, 2009 9:13 pm

Yes, the grounding is the green wire (currently not attached to anything). What do I attach it to?

POLAND_SPUD · Sun Mar 01, 2009 9:33 pm

sorry but as a non-native speaker of english I am not the best at explaining stuff like this...

but let's try...

if there are three wires then the socket should also have grounding...
( I suppose you it should look like this one -> http://www.hdinterconnects.com/images/us-3-pin-plug.jpg and a link to wikipedia article on plugs&sockets -- > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_A ... nd_sockets )

just join the wires from the two cables (the one sticking out of the compressor and the one with the plug)

use a water-proof connection box aka a junction box to join them safely ( http://www.made-in-china.com/image/2f0j ... on-Box.jpg )

ohh and it's a good idea to buy a switch that is also water-proof

EDIT

links added... to all in all, you should have a 3 pin plug and one of them is ground
plzz read the article if you have any problems... hope this helps... I am out it's 3:40 AM here

FishBoy · Sun Mar 01, 2009 9:43 pm

Yes, I know what to do with the positive and negative wires already. I still have no idea what the grounding wire connects to!

brplatz · Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:36 pm

Seriously What are you doing? http://www.hdinterconnects.com/images/us-3-pin-plug.jpg

3 Contacts and you have 3 wires.

The 2 vertical ones are you pos and neg, the round one at the bottom is ground. Solder it up and your good to go

I thought Poland made it very easy...

FishBoy · Mon Mar 02, 2009 7:02 am

Once again, I know which ones are positive and negative, I know how i will set up the switch with them and all that. When you say "solder it up", that really doesn't help considerering I still don't know where to attach it to. (do I just connect it to the compressor's shell?)

POLAND_SPUD · Mon Mar 02, 2009 8:41 am

the compressor case is already grounded...
that's why there is grounded wire in the cable...

use teh junction/connection box to connect the wires sticking out of the compressor with the ones sticking out of the cable with a plug

FishBoy · Mon Mar 02, 2009 11:37 am

the plug is still connected to the compressor, I never cut any wires. So this is what I'm doing. The negative wire from the plug is already connected to where t needs to be, the ground wire from the plug is not connected to anything, and the negative wire from the compressor was connected to the negative wire of the plug by the thermostat switch, witch I will replace with some kind of on/off switch.

So, I am assuming I connect the ground wire from the plug to the body/shell of the compressor?

POLAND_SPUD · Mon Mar 02, 2009 12:25 pm

so the cable with the green (grounding) wire is the one with a plug ? and you don't know where to connect it ??
(I assume this is true becasue otherwise it doesn't make any sense... or I am missing something)

so either there should also be a green gounding wire in the cable sticking out of the compressor and you should connect it there... or you can solder it to the case

well anyway... I just want to stress the fact that it is really simple to build a fridge compressor.. I know that after reading this thread and lenghty explenations some people might get the idea that it's quite the opposite but really it's very very simple