Most boaters are DIYers but there comes a time when some repairs require a good mechanic. I installed a Grunnert engine drive refer 25 years ago and it has worked quite well... until last year.. when the flow thru condenser (plastic) split. I attempted to glue it back together then seal it when it leaked...many times over last winter and gave up and called Peter from Helm Yachts who is a traveling mechanic who services refrigeration, electronics and I believe rigging. He had repaired the compressor once before.
I knew this would be a spendy repair, but the alternative was a new install (more spendy) or.... ice.
We set an appointment and I would bring the boat along side a dock... He comes with his own foldable dock cart full of all the tools and parts, gas bottles of Freon and Nitrogen, portable digital scale, gauges, vacuum pump, copper tubing, flares tubing bender,and replacement drier... a portable refrigeration shop!
In my case the replacement flow thru was $750 and he decided to use a used SeaFrost... taller but less diameter. This required several new copper tubes and flare fittings. I watched him work, assisted if he needed something...
After he removed the old flow thru he installed the sea frost and cut and bent the
tubing and connected it to the existing system. Lo and behold the old freon had leaked. So he had to pressurize the system with nitrogen and find the leak. He did and tested all the flare connections old and new. When it passed the pressure test... he then had to vacuum the nitrogen out of the system and add 2.4#s of freon. He replaced the drier... checked the pressure at the compressor and then we fired the engine and the refer. WOW.... the system worked very well... better than it had for years as it was probably working with too little freon.
The actual rebuild took him 4 hours. He disappeared to get some more tubing and chatted apparently with a friend.
Very neat worker... amazingly so. Very careful to not damage the boat. I can't say enough about what a great mechanic he is. Naturally he is a sailor and rebuilt his own boat!
Peter works from the East End of LI... but he drove to Northport to do the repair. And we will charge for travel time.
5 ***** completely satisfied. Highly recommended!
I knew this would be a spendy repair, but the alternative was a new install (more spendy) or.... ice.
We set an appointment and I would bring the boat along side a dock... He comes with his own foldable dock cart full of all the tools and parts, gas bottles of Freon and Nitrogen, portable digital scale, gauges, vacuum pump, copper tubing, flares tubing bender,and replacement drier... a portable refrigeration shop!
In my case the replacement flow thru was $750 and he decided to use a used SeaFrost... taller but less diameter. This required several new copper tubes and flare fittings. I watched him work, assisted if he needed something...
After he removed the old flow thru he installed the sea frost and cut and bent the
tubing and connected it to the existing system. Lo and behold the old freon had leaked. So he had to pressurize the system with nitrogen and find the leak. He did and tested all the flare connections old and new. When it passed the pressure test... he then had to vacuum the nitrogen out of the system and add 2.4#s of freon. He replaced the drier... checked the pressure at the compressor and then we fired the engine and the refer. WOW.... the system worked very well... better than it had for years as it was probably working with too little freon.
The actual rebuild took him 4 hours. He disappeared to get some more tubing and chatted apparently with a friend.
Very neat worker... amazingly so. Very careful to not damage the boat. I can't say enough about what a great mechanic he is. Naturally he is a sailor and rebuilt his own boat!
Peter works from the East End of LI... but he drove to Northport to do the repair. And we will charge for travel time.
5 ***** completely satisfied. Highly recommended!