Pinhole in Fridge absorber leaking fluid

#1----rare but ammonia is corrosive
#2....Nope----300 psi/ammonia-hydrogen gas
#3...YEP----new cooling unit, compressor replacement cooling unit or residential fridge

Are you sure it's not the water line for the ice maker (if you have one)?

4x4van wrote:
Are you sure it's not the water line for the ice maker (if you have one)?

X-2

I had the same symptoms as the OP. It was the ice-maker line leaking.

I'm trying to add an image to my original post. If you look closely you will see a stream of liquid no bigger than a spider web coming from the seam of the absorber.

If it is water it is not the cooling unit. Sources of water are

1: Ice Maker Water Line, either side of the solenoid

2: Evaporation tray

Never heard the term "Absorber" though that would be a description of the coils INSIDE the fridge, as this is an Absorption cooling unit. that's where the absorption happens.

The absorber vessel contains ammonia and hyrdogen vapor. Im wondering that once this comes in contact with oxygen it condenses to some kind of liquid. Any science majors out there to confirm? It could also just be straight ammonia and my smeller is broke.

wa8yxm wrote:
If it is water it is not the cooling unit. Sources of water are

1: Ice Maker Water Line, either side of the solenoid

2: Evaporation tray

Never heard the term "Absorber" though that would be a description of the coils INSIDE the fridge, as this is an Absorption cooling unit. that's where the absorption happens.

Not according to this page Read More

A typical RV refrigerator cooling unit consists of four major components; the boiler, condenser, evaporators and absorber. The unit is sealed and pressurized and is non-field-repairable. The internal contents of the sealed absorption system include water, liquefied ammonia, hydrogen gas and sodium chromate, the chemical used to line the internal pipes to protect them from the corrosiveness of the ammonia.

During a typical cycle, heat is applied to the boiler by either an electric heating element or an open LP flame. Water and liquid ammonia begin to boil and ammonia vapor is passed on to the condenser. The water is separated and returns to the boiler section. After condensing back into a liquid, hydrogen vapor is introduced to the liquid ammonia at the low temperature evaporator located in the freezer compartment. In short, heat from inside the freezer is transferred through the pipes of the low temperature evaporator and released to the exterior. Since the absence of heat is cold, the freezer and everything in it becomes cold.

When I have seen an ammonia system leaking its allways been a yellow/greenish color.

Taste it, collect some in a cup and have someone else smell it......
IF it is from the absorber tank then it would be ammonia -----the ammonia in the tank IS in liquid form already. It turns to vapor when heated by electric/propane in the boiler then gets condensed by into liquid

The 'water' and sodium chromate (anti rust inhibitor---yellow stuff when leaks out) make up a very SMALL percentage of the coolant solution.
AMMONIA is major component

Absorber tank leak.......that would be AMMONIA and it is a strong concentration at that point