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Refrigerator leaking black liquid? (sopuli.xyz)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Refrigerator is a Frigidaire LTFR1832TF0.

Leak came from the front-right side.

I did not notice any temperature fluctuations, but I also don't notice much of anything. It still seemed cold when I unplugged it, though!

Checked the drain pan & it seems dry? Not overflowing or anything.

No water on inside of refrigerator.

Anyone have any idea what might be going on? I'd really appreciate it, as no one can take a look for another 3 days.

I don't want my food to spoil, as I don't have a lot of money. I just want to know if it'd be safe to plug it back in!

Thank you.

EDIT: had my BIL stop by to take a look. More than likely it's refrigerant. The compressor was fine, but one of the lines on it would not get cold, so that's that. Probably a leak in the line, more than likely from a failed seal.

The cost to refill the refrigerant / repair the line / seal would cost waaaaay more than a new fridge, unfortunately.

Thanks, y'all. Appreciate the help and advice.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 months ago (1 children)

            
              Keep it turned off.
If you are good with tools and know how to hard solder, dismantle the housing, find the leak and close it. Once closed, run the fridge for an hour or two standing freely in the room and check whether it works properly. By the amount of cooling you found it can well be a goner.
For your food get another fridge off FB marketplace, Craigslist or whatever else people in your region use to sell used stuff locally. You can often get them for free. In case you manage to repair your fridge/get it repaired it's probably gone again as easy as you got it.
Keep the room well ventilated, coolants often becomes a gas at room temperature, so you won't find much liquid residue of the actual coolant. Also they don't smell. They are not dangerous to you imminently AFAIK (only really bad for the environment) but nobody likes breathing industrial chemical agents :)
Refilling a fridge with new coolant requires a professional, there's some tricks and special pumps involved to get something that is a gas at room temperature into those pipes and also to get any air out of them. If it's necessary to refill, don't try on your own.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 months ago

Nevermind the temperature of the room, as soon as refrigerant is exposed to atmosphere, it becomes a gas because its boiling point at atmospheric pressure is so low. Any liquid leaked from the refrigeration circuit is just compressor oil, which actually is a good indicator of a leak in the system. But it shouldn't be black like in the photo so idek what's in the photo, let alone if there was a refrigerant leak.

Also if your frudge lost its charge, just get a new one. It'll be cheaper than the repair bill