repairing my engel portable refrigerator

 I bought this true compressor based portable refrigerator when Engel was the only game in town. It was a purpose made curation that it would fit into the boot of my 2005 Mini Cooper S, for the express use of grocery shopping in which I can preserve meat and live seafood. I can be powered by 120Vac or 12Vdc without the need of any external power converter.

What sets Engel portable refrigerator apart from other current offering is it was one of, if not, the earliest true compressor based portable that can be powered with AC or 12Vdc. Also the compressor is a swing motor rather than more traditional rotary motor. I paid dearly for this 42-litre unit and I also bought the optional thermal outer jacket for it to further improve the insulation.

Its failure came as a surprise to me after about 5 years of operation at saw not much used while being use as a overflow freezer at home. The symptom was the compressor runs continuously but no cooling inside. Only after 3 years I finally have tine to look into it. I suspect it is due to a very slow refrigerant leak. Nowadays you cannot find anyone to repair these at a economic cost.

I investigate the feasibility installing a refrigerant port; the factory charge port (blazed shut) is located so far in there is not enough space for the hand to add a access valve

I reckoned by removing the cooling fan I could barely have enough working space for my hand to install the access valve

there is more than what meet the eyes with this $8 add a port

I have two of this 12 oz cans at home and the Engel only needs 1.6 oz

I cannot find my needle valve piecing tool so I had to wait for one from Amazon

installing this access port valve was barely feasible due to the tight quarter as well as the cooling fan in front of it

you close the port with by screwing in the needle into the hole that it pierced, which is not most comforting

the cap with an o-ring is what I trust to keep the gas from leaking by the needle against the hole

it would turn out the valve interferes with the cooling fan but I managed to shift the fan slightly 

yes, it is repaired

based on how long after I owned it that it failed the leak is very small and not worth finding

a frozen bottle of water

I gave it a good wipe down and it looks like new; the handles are stout for securing it down in a vehicle

my main use case for it is for my 6 hour round trip into Portland grocery shopping for bring back meat seafood, and frozen food; I really want this repaired as it is truly AC/DC and does not require an external adapter when powered from AC

it consumes only 37 watt during the on cycle