[C320-list] Refrig Renew

[Jane & Ken]

Chris,
  You first need to determine if you have R-12 or 134a refrigerant, then you rent or buy the gauge you need.  The A-B company is very good at providing on line information.  An e-mail to them could be useful.
  I have hull #219 and my A-B unit has a slight leak since new--I have evacuated the system once, but now I just juice it up before the 4th of july.  My unit is R-12 and the stuff is getting $$$ now days--but still cheaper than replacement.
  The major problem is getting the 60+ year old body to bend into the small space (mine is located in the aft port locker.
  the factory could easily step you through checking the connections,verifying the voltages and especially explaining the delay function of the electronic module--there were a few very poor quality units imported and that may be the problem, especially if the unit just stopped, rather than slowly not cooling.
  Good luck,  Ken Cathey
  OBUOY #219

Chris Block <cblock at austin.rr.com> wrote:
  Greetings All...

I'm planning on doing a recharge on my refridge this weekend. It seems the compressor is not turning on, hence the Admiral's beers are not cold. It's a 94 Adler Barbour.

What material do I need?
Tools? Guages? ending pressure? recharge with it on or off, plugged in or not? check any voltage/current at the unit?
Will I need to convert from one refrigerant to another?
Assuming there is no large leak, can I just recharge and make it through another summer?

On a different note, while at the dock, is there a way to convert the fridge to run on shore power when its available, and turn off when its not? I will still want to use it on battery when away from shore power.

Any help is appreciated.

Chris
Amore #139