Refridgerator DIY recharge?

Can I recharge my refrigerator myself? The fridge itself seems fine, but the freezer isn't cutting it anymore. I cleaned the coils, but it didn't make much of a difference.

On a lot of fridges, there is a door between the fridge and the freezer that controls the temperatures. You might check to make sure one of them isn't stuck. Also check the seals on the door. My old freezer started getting weak. It ended up being a kink in the door seal.

Oh, and to answer you original question. They make a tap in filler port for small refrigeration units that aren't factory equipped. A local appliance place will probably carry them. The problem is going to be getting the freon. It's probably R12 or R22.

It usually isn't worth the trouble. It's going to leak down pretty quickly after you top it off. It is probably not a lack of refrigerant. From my experience, the problem is usually airflow related or a bad compressor.

Thanks for the replies.

For reference, it's an Amana BX21VW.

Just out of curiosity, what's the average life expectancy of a fridge? This is the first one that I've ever bought.

Is the evap coil in the freezer iced over? There is a timer that cycles the defroster on and off to melt the frost. I had one stop once and the freezer iced over and the fridge wouldn't stay cold.

Toyman01 wrote: Oh, and to answer you original question. They make a tap in filler port for small refrigeration units that aren't factory equipped. A local appliance place will probably carry them. The problem is going to be getting the freon. It's probably R12 or R22.

Really depends on how old it is; my old fridge, bought around 1996 or so, was r134a. It operates at much higher pressure than a car's a/c so it could require different gauges if you don't have a high-pressure manifold set.

We just replaced our fridge over the weekend because my wife wanted water/ice in the door. Our old fridge was built on 12-12-2000 and it is still going strong.