Refrigerator Question

[Estam]

My Samsung refrigerator I was told it needed Freon and was quoted $700 to repair.
I have all the gauges and fittings and have experience in recharging auto's so I thought to save $1700 I give it a try.

Purchased a bullet and vacuumed the system and refilled with the correct amount of freon and has ran now for over 6 months perfectly.
The refrigerator is easy access and have the fittings standing by ready for this moment.

The moment has come and I have a quick question::
I notice the drip tray under the condenser full of water, which may have been so before but I forget.
The water had a slight, very slight residue of oil in it ... which could have been there before, never checked.

The refrigerator has the digital inverter style compressor and is only seven years old. It lives in my basement as a second.
Any suggestions please on whether this could be a problem.

 

[iRONic]

Leak check the Schrader valve where the Freon ‘in’ fitting attaches. I had to replace the one on my Trane AC unit last spring.

 

[Estam]

Thanks iRONc
On most refrigerators there isn't a Schrader valve to aid the adding of Freon making it a closed system.
You purchase a Bullet valve similar to the valve to pierce a copper water line when adding an ice maker.
The Bullet valve has a piercing needle similar to the water line that you can shut off by twisting the
needle back in.

 

[iRONic]

Coolio. I didn't know you could do that.

 

[Paperdoc]

Of course the water in the drip tray is normal - it drains there periodically from auto defrost, and then dries out. The oily appearance is your concern, I'm sure. Surely that is NOT Freon, but could be lubricating from the refrigeration loop. BUT is also could be merely small traces of grease from the room air. Air in Kitchens and other areas often has microscopic droplets of oil or grease from cooking activities that can deposit on any surface.

 

[Jimminy]

Of course the water in the drip tray is normal - it drains there periodically from auto defrost, and then dries out. The oily appearance is your concern, I'm sure. Surely that is NOT Freon, but could be lubricating from the refrigeration loop. BUT is also could be merely small traces of grease from the room air. Air in Kitchens and other areas often has microscopic droplets of oil or grease from cooking activities that can deposit on any surface.

But if he has a freon leak, isn't it possible that some compressor oil leaked out as well?

 

[Estam]

Thanks Jimmy and Doc, they were my concerns, I don't use much oil when I cook but is noted, but as for the freon, would you expect an appreciable amount of compressor oil to show?

 

[Paperdoc]

If there is a refrigerant leak SOME of the oil will leak out that way and show up in the drip tray. Don't forget that even a tiny amount of oil spreads out over a large area of water surface and looks like a lot. But if you suspect this is lots of compressor oil then to get that you would have lost a lot of the refrigerant gas itself. Now a major loss would show up as abnormal fridge performance. But there can be little performance change with some refrigerant loss. The only way I know to detect that is to make the gas connections with the proper equipment and check the pressures. This means YOU need to know exactly how to do that, and exactly what those pressures should be under different operating conditions. If you don't have those skills you would need a pro to make the assessment.