AC_hacker Wrote:
I suspect that you bought a unit with a joint that had a hidden pinhole defect, that was not quite 100% through, and that the pressure and vibration of use caused the hidden defect to manifest.
I helped my brother repair a fridge he was given. The fridge looked new but it had a leak. The appliance business that had sold the fridge to the family gave them such a hard time with the warrenty repair that they just went out and bought a new one. A family needs to keep their food refridgerated. He was given the fridge just to get rid of it.
We just used a little propane to find the leak. The leak was located in one of the bends in the aluminum evaporator. As the bend was made the material thinned out so much the vibration and pressure cause a little pin hole. My brother ordered a new evaporator and we brazed it in with silver solder. (it flows a little better than silphos) The aluminum evaporator had short fused copper tubes for connection.
To charge the fridge with freon I had a modified propane bottle (trick I picked up from AC_Hacker) that I pumped down a old window shaker and installed the gas in the refridgerator. My brother was amazed. Recycling at its best. He had a like new fridge for $80.00.
Point is: The forming of tubes are not infalible. Some wall thinning can occur and over time a hole can develop.
Randen
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