FP> "Servals"? Hmm. Didn't know that, but your message sounded promising.
 FP> What about the possibility of leakage? I understand that Ammonia cound
 FP> be very toxic.
 CO> You're rightfully concerned because ammonia can be VERY toxic.  
 CO> In both the Servel refrigerators and in the LPG gas fired 
 CO> refrigerators used in recreational vehicles, the quantity of 
 CO> ammonia used is small enough not to present a great risk.  In 
 CO> addition, the entire refrigerant system is constructed of steel 
 CO> tubing (not copper or plastic) with welded joints and isn't 
 CO> designed to flex (as would a refrigerant system on an 
 CO> automobile air conditioner, for example). 
The only incident I can recall hearing about was in a warehouse,  and that 
took a forklift accident to damage the tubing...
 CO> While I haven't had the opportunity to closely examine one of 
 CO> the large commercial gas fired coolers, I do know that they 
 CO> don't circulate the ammonia through the building but, rather, 
 CO> use it to chill water (or a water/antifreeze mix) and then 
 CO> circulate that through the building.  
That apparently wasn't the case in the situation I heard about a while back.
 CO> I'd bet that they do it that way to keep the ammonia out in the 
 CO> open air where it can dissipate quickly and without endangering
 CO> people.
Looking at the RV I've got sitting outside,  the refrigerator has a vent 
panel right behind it,  the same size as the fridge,  that would probably 
take care of that (no venting to the inside,  either).
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