We have had zero problems with our Frigoboat sealed compressors, three of which are in use with our two freezers and one fridge. But after five years the fridge had lost a touch of refrigerant and was running more than normal. We carry 134A and a charging system for this eventuality, but in the process of adding refrigerant we allowed air into the system. The result was a frozen evaporator system requiring a vacuum pump. This was at 1400 on a Friday afternoon in Spain. What do you think of the odds?

A walk to the Vigo marina office initiated a phone wall resulting in a savvy local tech showing up on board an hour- and- a -half later. He quickly diagnosed the problem, evacuated the system, refilled with gas, did a second evacuation, and then a careful balance of refrigerant using this very cool digital gauge as a guide. Note that it measures not only pressure but suction and high pressure temperatures (and switches between various refrigerants).

We were billed through the marina for the service call, which includes 21% VAT and their markup. The invoice was 95 Euros.