More questions about the antique coldspot freezer (long)

[wkilleffer]

Here's the info I was able to find on the freezer:
Part #106.A530000
Serial #23188
Those were on the compressor and coil frame.

Coldspot Perma-Thrift
Seeger Refrigerator Company

F12 charge test pressure 235 and 140 psi.

I went out to the garage to rearrange and move the freezer away from an outside wall and closer to an electrical outlet. While doing that, I got a closer look at the coils and compressor, and am bothered by what I found.

On the left side of the compressor, there is a line leading up to the coil area. This line had oil on it, as did a couple of the coil loops down near the bottom of the coil. The oil didn't seem very heavy, looked more clear than any other color, and didn't have much odor. On the floor in the freezer's previous location, there was a spot roughly where the compressor would have been.

Sounds like something bad like refrigerant leakage or compressor failure has happened or is happening, and could be why the freezer won't get cold inside. I can't help but think that this came about when I uplugged it to defrost and ended up not being able to plug it in for three weeks.

Now, from the information on the back, it looks like the freezer used R12 refrigerant, which is very hard to get these days. Would I be able to safely charge it with one of the many alternative refrigerants on the market these days? Something like Freeze-12, Duracool, etc.

Since this could be a leak, anyone have any ideas about getting it fixed? It's about 55 years old. Would getting it fixed even be a good idea? It's been in my wife's family since it was new, and has been used more or less the entire time. We like it for sentimental reasons and the fact that it's somewhat unique these days, and we were storing some food in it until this happened. I don't want to get rid of it, but may have to.

Thank you,
-Bill

[Phelps]

Would you, yourself, be charging it? Just curious as I would have thought that if you had THIS knowledge, you would have been able to figure out what was wrong with it. Licensed people can only do this. There are issues with refrigerant leaking out into the atmosphere causing ozone problems, for one thing.

[wkilleffer]

Originally Posted by Phelps

Would you, yourself, be charging it? Just curious as I would have thought that if you had THIS knowledge, you would have been able to figure out what was wrong with it. Licensed people can only do this. There are issues with refrigerant leaking out into the atmosphere causing ozone problems, for one thing.

My father is licensed to purchase and dispense R12. He did that for automotive purposes. It's actually quite easy to get a freon license. It's just hard to get R12. Neither of us are professional appliance repairmen.

The alternative refrigerants I mentioned do not require a license to purchase or dispense. I've bought Freeze-12 to use in one of my older cars, and it works great.

If I knew what was wrong and how to fix it, I would not have seen the need to post here.