Sealed system that holds pressure but not a vacuum?
I'm chasing the source of a vexing leak in my undercounter wine cooler. After years of normal operation I presumed I owned the ONLY reliable of these infamously un-reliable appliances on the planet. But my stalwart wine fridge suddenly failed to cool whilst the compressor purrs. <plaintive sigh>
With all the cursory checks completed, I pulled a vacuum and let it sit overnight; the vacuum didn't hold. I peeked under its skirt with a blacklight and sniffer with no results. I pressurized the low side to half max and let it sit overnight. It's holding pressure!
What am I to make of a sealed system that holds pressure but not a vacuum?
crwdns2934109:0crwdne2934109:0
crwdns2889612:0crwdne2889612:0
0
Hi @holley58775
Perhaps pressure might be closing a joint in the piping, whereas a vacuum mightn't and would let the air in
What is the make and model number of the wine cooler?
crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0 jayeff crwdne2934271:0
The behavior is identical to a check valve.
Vissani MCBC58DST
(r134a era...)
crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0 holley crwdne2934271:0
Do we know the brand/model of this device? A lot of small wine fridges do not contain refrigerant gas, compressor or radiator. They are not "refrigerators", they are simply "coolers" that cool via a peltier device. These devices, and their power control units, fail. If this is the case, there isn't a lot you can do; here's why:
1. with the peltier and controller removed, your device is now merely a metal shell packed with expanding foam. With a door. There *is* nothing else.
2. ergo, if the electronics have failed, you are potentially replacing the entire cooling system, keeping only the shell and foam.
3. the shell and foam are not the expensive part of the device.
Which leads to, 4) unfortunately some devices were made to be disposable, and it is unfeasible to repair them.
SUMMARY: Check for the existence of a heavy compressor motor. If not found, consider replacing the fridge. Otherwise, come back with more information.
crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0 Jade crwdne2934271:0
Any joints (seals) which are compressible material? A vacuum would pull the stuff in creating a 'plug' whereas pressure inside would blow the material out of it's way as @holley said, a check valve. This is how a a tension pneumothorax kills you, by the way... that's the reverse, but if you can find say a rubber type seal in there it could be pushed to seal but pull in under vacuum... how is the compressor itself, sealed?
crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0 Juan Garcia crwdne2934271:0