[hmclem]

Re: Samsung RS20 – R600a gas problem

15 months on and its still working fine.

I decided to let out the excess gas in small amounts , capturing it in a 1.5 litre clear polly bag so that I could monitor the gas released.
When I bought the the fridge I used a “powermeter” to monitor the average power consumption as 68W ( over in excess of 1000 hrs operation). Just to see how “green” it was. With the extra gas it was drawing 100W. So I just released 1.5l ( about 4g of R600) at a time and monitored the result. In the end I released over 22g of gas. It took a while!

Its now drawing the old 68W , and seems fine.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[hmclem]

Re: Door misaligned /bent

Thanks for the suggestion however Ive discovered my error. It wasn’t actually the door misaligned , it was the casing.

While pulling the dishwasher out and in several times investigating another fault, the feet adjusting screws must have turned. Because the casing is so floppy these screws in fact seem to control the alignment of the casing. After a lot of experiment , I finally restored their original setting and the door closes fine without catching the case , and doesn’t leak.

I was really surprised how “ not quite square” the casing can be with the door open, and pulled out of its kitchen slot. In fact the door and hinges seem by far the most rigid part. Close the door and it all firms up.
The design is presumably to use the minimum material structure to make it “ firm enough”. In fact now Ive had it in bits the whole dishwasher is a amazing piece of engineering to a price.

[hmclem]

Re: Keeps blowing the plug fuse after a few minutes running

Found the problem.

Eventually located charring on the heater connector.

I reckoned that the heater itself was unlikely to have an intermittent short so it must just be the connector insulation breaking down. Found the there were large holes blown in the spade connectors. So possibly the connection they were making had been slackening causing increased resistance ,which in turn lead to them overheating and an intermittent short. Well maybe.

Anyway I didn’t like the idea of that type of connector carrying 7A , so I just soldered the wires onto the heater. I hope that will remain more secure.
The dishwasher has now run longer than it had before so fingers crossed.

So all down to a faulty heater connector.

Thanks for all you suggestions.

[hmclem]

Re: Keeps blowing the plug fuse after a few minutes running

Thanks for the suggestion.
Ive just checked the suppressor , and it looked fine with no sign of charring. For good measure I bybassed it. It all worked fine for about 2 minutes. Then the 13A plug fuse blew with a bang , and there was a visable flash from somewhere underneath, it wasnt clear where. Same pattern as before.
So the suppressor doesnt appear to be the problem.
Any other common issues like this?

[hmclem]

Re: Samsung RS20 – R600a gas problem

Thanks guys, youre right.
I checked the resistance across all of the connectors. They all made sense apart from the defrost sensor which was reading 33 degC .( Its never that hot in Scotland!!) I measured its actual ambient temperature as 18C.
Ive replaced it and now and when I command “Defrost” from the test mode , the compressor stops and the fridge draws 400W. Previously this did nothing. So Im pretty hopeful thats it fixed. Ill check the ice build up in a few days.

As an aside , when I checked the old thermistor having removed it from the fridge , it now appeared to be working fine. However I did notice what looks like slightly melted insulation ½ way down the connecting wire In fact bare wire was showing. Not good in a watery environment. Its either melted or been eaten by polystyrene . It didn’t appear to be routed near the heater element , but Ill go back in and check the new routing , and possibly even the temperatures if I can fire it up when dismantled.

R600 gas.
Now the previous engineer had a “ meter” when he diagnosed low gas , so Im now going to be a bit wary. The line tap he put on is on the sealed stub on the side of the compressor. On the sunction side?
What is the correct pressure? Under what circumstance , e.g. when running?

Incidentally the fridge was repaired by Samsung under warranty 4 years ago and its worked fine since , until now.

[hmclem]

Re: Samsung RS20 – R600a gas problem

One of the symptoms is the compressor running continuously. Well Ive monitored it over at least an hour.

Any idea what actually controls the compressor run cycle?
e.g Is it controlled by some sort of thermostat switch within the compressor unit ?

And is this another indication of possible R600a overcharge?

Oh, and while this is happening the fridge and freezer are settled at their correct temperatures ( and indicated and measured).

Im now keen to understand as much as possible before getting another engineer involved , for obvious reasons. ( Even purchased the service manual , which seems generally pretty comprehensive , except of course on this aspect.)

[hmclem]

Re: Samsung RS20 – R600a gas problem

I live in Edinburgh , and as you suggest Ive done a WTA search. It give a Freezer engineer in Bonnybridge about 24 miles away.
Thanks

[hmclem]

Re: Samsung RS20 – R600a gas problem

Thanks guys.
I do hope that at least he didnt add a different gas. Its clearly marked R600a , and was talking about the ” new gas” . Interesting and scary point though.

As well as safe handling of gas , Is there some sort of body or qualification which is acknowledged as meaning “ Im competent to repair domestic fridges”. ?

Even the Samsung recommended engineers didn’t inspire much confidence as they seemed more interested in charging me £200 to fix the defrost problem .
Also they reckoned that the extra gas wouldn’t be a problem , and it “may even make the fridge more efficient”. !!. Which from your replies I would doubt.

[hmclem]

Re: Samsung RS20 – R600a gas problem

Thanks.
Would the pressure at the sealed pipe from the compressor ( via the newly installed line tap) be standard for any R600a type fridge? So that too much gas would have a higher than expected pressure ?

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