It seems that we are always ready to complain when a business fails to meet our expectations in some way. But then we are silent when things go perfectly... well this is one of those perfect cases.
Over the years (23?...) since Eolian's last refrigeration service, things worked well... until the last year or so, when the refrigeration compressor would start, run for a few seconds, shut off, and lather rinse repeat. Eventually tho, it would come on and run until it reached the setpoint. I guessed that the refrigerant level had become so low that when the compressor kicked on, it would rapidly pull the suction side of the system down to the cutout pressure, and that this would continue until the entire system became warm enough to raise the refrigerant temperature to the point where its vapor pressure was above the cutout pressure. So, after all those years, it was time for a recharge.
I tried to find someone in the Anacortes area, but no one was willing to take on additional work.
Looking further afield, I contacted Frostline Marine Refrigeration in Bellingham.
What a pleasant surprise!
Mclean was courteous and scheduled an appointment at our convenience.
When he arrived, he was prompt, fully equipped, familiar with marine refrigeration systems (quite different from domestic or industrial systems - not least because marine systems are so often crammed into almost inaccessible spaces), working on boats (protect varnish surfaces!), and most importantly, knowledgeable of refrigeration in general (I have two degrees in Chemical Engineering - trust me, I know).
He pumped the system down, removing the remaining R-409a (which was the replacement for the old R-12 back 23 years ago) and refilled the system with the newest and greatest R-12 replacement: R-417c. And he was gone in 45 minutes.
If you have marine refrigeration needs, I cannot recommend Mclean and Frostline highly enough.