Gordon:

Nope. I wouldn't fuss with trying to resuscitate ANY of your old machinery.
As Wayne notes here, it all gets pretty complicated and you're still stuck
with a condenser that's 20 years old, and VERY likely to fail. And I
diverge from some of the other opinions here about depending on an inverter
to drive a 110v refrigerator. Sure, you can do it, but from what I read and
hear from friends (and have done myself) is either to stick with or switch
to a 12v refrigerator system. I recently removed a noisy smelly old genset
from my boat and installed a 1500 w inverter, which works great--unless you
leave it running for a long time, even with a light load (say a light bulb).
For short bursts--the wife cranking up the blender, or using her hair
curler--the inverter is fine, but batteries were never meant to drive a
110v. fridge. Yes, you can do so with the main engine running--but then you
may as well have the engine-driver condenser. 12v is easier, quieter,
mellower. With all due respect to those who disagree and pile the load on
an inverter: disagreement is what makes horse-racin'!

Cheers,

Dick



"gordon" wrote in message
...

Thanks for all the info. I'm convinced now that it would not pay to fix
the evaporator. I've been studying the web page at rparts.com, I think I
could replace the evaporator and the pump(with control) . I would keep
the condenser, fan, thermostat, tubing and convert the system to R-134a.
Is this a possibility ???Do I need to flush out what's left in the system
or can I just start using r-134a. The R-12 leaked out about 12 years ago.

Many compressors don't last too long when being run from a traditional
modified sinewave inverter. A true sinewave inverter is better but a DC
system is the most versital and efficient.

Doug
s/v Callista

"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
...
Gordon:

Nope. I wouldn't fuss with trying to resuscitate ANY of your old
machinery. As Wayne notes here, it all gets pretty complicated and you're
still stuck with a condenser that's 20 years old, and VERY likely to fail.
And I diverge from some of the other opinions here about depending on an
inverter to drive a 110v refrigerator. Sure, you can do it, but from what
I read and hear from friends (and have done myself) is either to stick
with or switch to a 12v refrigerator system. I recently removed a noisy
smelly old genset from my boat and installed a 1500 w inverter, which
works great--unless you leave it running for a long time, even with a
light load (say a light bulb). For short bursts--the wife cranking up the
blender, or using her hair curler--the inverter is fine, but batteries
were never meant to drive a 110v. fridge. Yes, you can do so with the
main engine running--but then you may as well have the engine-driver
condenser. 12v is easier, quieter, mellower. With all due respect to
those who disagree and pile the load on an inverter: disagreement is what
makes horse-racin'!

Cheers,

Dick



"gordon" wrote in message
...

Thanks for all the info. I'm convinced now that it would not pay to fix
the evaporator. I've been studying the web page at rparts.com, I think I
could replace the evaporator and the pump(with control) . I would keep
the condenser, fan, thermostat, tubing and convert the system to
R-134a. Is this a possibility ???Do I need to flush out what's left in
the system or can I just start using r-134a. The R-12 leaked out about 12
years ago.

On Tue, 18 Oct 2005 08:39:42 -0400, "Doug Dotson"
dougdotson@NOSPAMcablespeedNOSPAMcom wrote:

Many compressors don't last too long when being run from a traditional
modified sinewave inverter. A true sinewave inverter is better but a DC
system is the most versital and efficient.

I added an isotherm holding plate system to my icebox and was very
pleasantly surprised with how little power it pulled. I had heard
everybody's complaints about (older) fridges and was ready to think
about power system upgrades, but I thought I would try it first. On
days with 25-27C outdoor temps the fridge pulled an average of less
than an amp for a total usually under 20 amp hours a day.

The fridge was expensive, but may pay for itself pretty quickly in
more nights at anchor, less spoiled food, and less engine running
time. Not to mention avoiding the issue of upgrading the battery bank.

Ryk