ImagineerTom Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 We've got a JEM heavy fog unit that needs regassing ASAP & currently sitting in hampshire - shipping it off to JEM is an option but expensive and time consuming; has anyone had a fog chiller (of any make/model) re-gassed by someone a little more local - ringing around so far no-one seems to be interested in tackling anything other than a bog-standard aircon unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 People will regas a car aircon, maybe someone in that trade could be local, and timely for you, wherever it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 most car aircon systems have standard connectors for regassing. if they're not the same as on the Jem, you're out of luck. What do the connectors look like? I'd be looking for someone who regasses domestic fridges & freezers - they are more likely to have a variety of connectors and tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 I'm well aware it's actually a "simple" job and that the chiller inside is a very bog standard part - the problem is that every local company I've spoken to so far have ZERO interest in doing a job that's anything other than a bog-standard normal aircon unit; they're scared off by the very idea hence why I'm hoping there's someone a BR member knows who's up for a challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 What sort of connectors does it have? It's unlikely that it'll be the same as a car, but if it did, and it uses R134a, one of those Ez Chill units from Halford might do the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pr0audi01994 Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I fail to see why you spend all this money on a Heavy Fogger but want to cut the corner on having it serviced and regas by the manufacturer. They will know exactly what to do and how to do it. I can only imagine the senario when you get the local car mechanic to regas it for you. two weeks into your show it fails and you will be straight on the phone to JEM to find assistance. It will be met with a reply that you have not followed the manufactures guidelines and therefore they reserve every right to not assist you. Go to the people who know what they are doing. I also believe in the time its taken me to write this (1m 30s) you could have booked a collection and had the machine on its way by tonight. You get what you pay for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 Bless you.... the particular unit is no longer made by JEM and indeed they don't actually have any of the engineers who designed/built this particular model working for them any more so their "expertise" in this unit is non existant. As I mentioned, I could send it to them but with the transit time, the 3-4 days they want to study it and remember how the thing works and then transit time back means I'll be without a unit for a whole week and close to £1000 out of pocket at the same time. Since the service manual positively boasts about how just about anyone could regas/service this unit (JEM in the olden days used to actively encourage you to speak to a refrigeration engineer for technical queries) and since there's 101 such engineers in every county it seems rather sensible to see if someone a little closer who is just as qualified and experienced could regas it faster and without all the down time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipstream Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Look up your local commercial vehicle (chillers in the back not AC) guys they travel and are usually pretty flexible with what they do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyro_gearloose Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Do you know what gas your chiller uses? I think some older gasses are no longer manufactured and some may even be illegal to own as they're considered very dangerous/toxic, so you may find it a bit of a struggle to find someone who can re-gas your chiller for you. Having said that, a friend of mine does have an old Jem low-fog machine (I think its a 6500) and he gets a local refrigeration company to re-gas it for him. Edit : If you use R22 gas in your chiller you're out of luck as its been illegal to use since 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 "Domestic Appliances" 0208 471 686seven will work on many things, I've seen them regas truck refrigeration and cold store units BUT they are in London E7 and their first and only question will be "can you bring it in, we'll have a look?"https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5404144,0.038824,3a,15y,180h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sYB9a1_B-g4DFruCqOzqCXg!2e0 If the gas is on the prohibited list you may NOT get a regas, and the compressor lube oil in the sealed system is specific to the type of gas, so you can't just change gasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 Just to bring the thread to an end, I found a local independant engineer with a daughter at stage school who loved the idea of working on something a bit unusual and who had a tank of recycled R22 gas left that he needed to use up before it becomes illegal at the end of 2014. It was a quick simple procedure and surprisingly cheep. After the ban comes in at the end of this year R22 cannot be used at all but there are apparently a couple of "backwards compatable" chilling agents which can be used to regas such units without the expense/hassle of replacing the entire compressor system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I think the cost of buying vs repairing is a common and quite serious issue for many of us, where our purchase and general repair budgets are very separate and often with many extra columns for zeros. We get a budget for a project and buy very expensive kit, but then finding the price of a delivery and return is very difficult. In Panto here in Belfast, shipping to England and back is damn expensive, and takes far too much time. We'e actually got more expensive hire stock than we'd probably have back in England, because of the exact same problem, and with hire kit, the hirer pays for this. I've actually got a hired in local glaciator because the return and back cost and time is too much. I also believe in the time its taken me to write this (1m 30s) you could have booked a collection and had the machine on its way by tonight. Indeed, but that isn't really the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipstream Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Hmm wonder if I would put the rest of the R22 at the back of my garage for future use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csg Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 I have used a local commercial freezer engineer to re-gas my DNG200's which are mighty similar to glaciators in the freezer department. He told me he had also done some Jem machines in the past. The gas he used was R404A, and the machines were turned around within 24 hours at a cost of £110 each, and have performed faultlessly since. Refrigeration used in these machines is not that specialised, and there is no sense in having the servicing carried out by the manufacturer when experienced commercial engineers will have much more real word experience of dealing with different cooling plants, whilst being considerably cheaper. Same goes for other repairs such as compressor replacement, I was quoted £160 against £1100.... so, perhaps check out the people who look after your local shop's freezers - thats how I found my chap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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