Broken Chest Freezer?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

vio0633

Active Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2010
Messages
27
Reaction score
0
Location
Oak Harbor
Well im not going to lie but I messed up. I drilled a hole near where the hinges where mounted for my johnson analog controller. Everytime my freezer turns off, it makes a bad hissing noise and smells like freon. Did I mess up my freezer for good? Is there anything I can do to fix it? Im not seeing any lines inside the area I drilled in. The freezer also feels like its getting cold. Any help is appreciated!
 
Well im not going to lie but I messed up. I drilled a hole near where the hinges where mounted for my johnson analog controller. Everytime my freezer turns off, it makes a bad hissing noise and smells like freon. Did I mess up my freezer for good? Is there anything I can do to fix it? Im not seeing any lines inside the area I drilled in. The freezer also feels like its getting cold. Any help is appreciated!

1. Yes

2. No (or probably not without it costing more than the freezer is worth to repair it)

2. If it's actually getting cold and the freon smell is only your imagination at work, you may be OK. Let it run for several hours and check it again. If there is a leak it will not be cooling at all by then.

This is what my grandma used to call, "totally screwed". I hope that this is not the case and that your fears are unwarranted. Even if it turns out to be disaster, you could possibly still use it for a fermentation chamber. I do that with one of my now defunct refrigerators.
 
What would cause the hissing sound? If the freon line is busted shouldnt it not get cold?

The hissing sound could simply be the high pressure gas continuing to expand into the evaporator coils. You should hear the sounds that my kitchen refrigerator makes and it is working just fine. I get all kinds of gurgling, hissing and squealing noises and most of the time this is when the compressor has stopped. I'm not a reefer guy (well, not that kind anyway), so that's about as far as I can advise.
 
These units only hold a few ounces of refrigerant if it is getting cold and turning off i have a hard time beleiving you hit a refrigerant line up at the hinge location maybe you hit the wiring or the mullion heater and nicked it and thats what you are hearing/smelling if thats the case you may be ok on the refrigerant side of things
 
The hissing sound could simply be the high pressure gas continuing to expand into the evaporator coils. You should hear the sounds that my kitchen refrigerator makes and it is working just fine. I get all kinds of gurgling, hissing and squealing noises and most of the time this is when the compressor has stopped. I'm not a reefer guy (well, not that kind anyway), so that's about as far as I can advise.

That the sound they make when they are in the defrost cycle (no compressor operating)only electric heat running and a timer
 
Yea its weird....as soon as the thing stops running...it hisses like a flat tire. When it turns back on, everything is quiet. I will run it a little longer and see if its works good. It does smell like a chemical when it leaks though.
 
That the sound they make when they are in the defrost cycle (no compressor operating)only electric heat running and a timer

That's comforting to know. I thought it might be dying a slow death, but it's been doing this for a very long time.
 
Its also leaking a little bit of water. So best thing for me to do is just leave on over night and see how cold it gets? Can I patch up the hole to seal it up maybe? Im not seeing any hard lines!
 
Freezer never got cold. Freon line must have been busted. No one can repair it in my area. Looks like I will be looking for another one. Lesson learned :(
 
Back
Top