Cooler/ice Machine Advice Just Ask Me

sparky_123

didn't see a section for refrigeration. happy to give my help to anyone that needs it .just ask....

72chevy4x4

I've done a little work on a chest ice machine for my church. Problem was it wasn't getting cold enough to make ice. I first found the fan motor was nto coming on. After replacing it, the machine gets a little cooler, but not cold enough. It is dependent on room temperature to a certain point-i.e. in summer when the room is warmer it never makes ice-in winter months (now) it slowly fills the ice check.

My thoughts on this is the freon is low-pretty sure its 113. Any advice? My gauge set doesn't fit the connector on the ice machine-do you know the name of the connector I would need?
thank you

mdshunk

Okay, here's one that still haunts me from my past....

Walk in cooler at a funeral home. Unit working fine for years. Scheduled annual PM performed week before by another person, and now the trouble call is "not getting cold enough". Found leak where liquid line enters liquid receiver. Recover refrigerant, braze leak, pull vacuum, and recharge with new 22. Almost 1 week later, trouble call again for not getting cold enough. Found compressor running with same pressure on high and low side... valves shot. What happened? Was it just my lucky day?

#CARRIERMAN

Hi Md

I can answer that one for you. When you clear the sight glass you are supposed to weigh in 60% of the reciever weight. Example: If the receiver is 10 lbs, your weigh in overcharge is going to be 6 lbs. If the over charge is not correct or not installed, as the evaporator starts to flood you will not have enough capacity. Not sure if this is what caused compressor failure though.

Added information: Sorry Md forgot this when I was writing my post. After capacity should have said or velocity for oil return. I don't think you caused the problem personally. I think you just got stuck with it after the damage was done. Heck you know I think your pretty sharp, I won't question you.

Good luck
Rusty

__________________
Character is doing the right thing even when no one is looking. Intelligence is understanding and practicing the meaning of character.

mdshunk

CARRIERMAN... If I undercharged the liquid receiver, that would starve the evaporator and not flood it. No? I don't see how I could have slugged the compressor if I was undercharged. I believe the charge was dead nuts, though. It's just one of those flashes from the past that I puzzle on from time to time.

sparky_123

It very well could be one of those things,but its also possible that u lost alot of oil from unit due to leak,and recovery.Not likely but you never know.It's also possible that new freon losened some nasty stuff out of compressor, lines ect..
A side note was it a can or a simi?
carriermans point sounds good to

sparky_123

What brand of machine are we dealin with?
It does sound like refrigerant problems.
Not sure about your fitting issues. I suggest tapping unit recovering,and brazin in new taps that are todays standad ports.
Don't forget to weigh in freon!!!! very important

AirPro

Yes..
and no...you can't diagnose "brittle" valves, if the reed valves are opening and closing...the compressor is doing it's job. However, if the valves were weak from the compressor overheating (caused by low refrigerant/oil) there is no way to tell until a valve breaks after you get it running.

Compressor valves are made of thin steel, if you overheat them....they will crack/break ....and most times easier than if you slugged the can with liquid.

mdshunk

It was a can....

I will buy that the valves might have gotten brittle from the heat buildup when the charge was lost previously. Fix leak and bring charge to spec, and the valves just won't take it. I've certainly seen blue burned valves in the heads of semi's before. Just don't have the xray vision for cans. Just sorta sucks, because even if I did my repair exactly right, and I believe I did, that compressor failure was still "my fault" in the eyes of the customer.

boman47k

Just wondering how similiar to home refrigerators these things are. Timers, def stats, frost patches on condensor coils when there are blockages as opposed to maybe the whole coil frosting over when undercharged?

mdshunk

Refrigeration is refrigeration. Doesn't matter what type of appliance it is installed in. Home comfort cooling, ice machine, walk in box, display cooler, domestic two door refrigerator-freezer... all the same. Just different gadgets and gizmos on each. You won't find a HeadMaster or a condenser fan speed control on a domestic refrigerator, for instance. You won't find a cap tube on a walk in, but you will find one on a soda machine and el cheapo comfort cooling coils, as another for instance. Even the huge centrifugal chillers that I've worked on, with shell and tube evaporators and condensors, with big cooling towers are just like your home refrigerator, on a very large scale with extra gizmos.

boman47k

I knnow you checked the pressures on your problem, md. I was kind of wondering if chevy's problem might be the areas I mentioned. I used to mess with home appliances a few years ago. Seldom came across a low refrigerant problem. The parts I mentioned and warbed doors, bad gaskets and dirty coils quite a bit.

AirPro

Anytime I do a repair to get a flat system up, I explain to the customer that because there is no way to tell the condition of the valves or reciprocating assembly on a hermetically sealed recip compressor, I can not guarantee that it will last because of the heat buildup/lack of oil from running without refrigerant/oil.

I know what you mean though about the perception of customers....you touched it last, it's your problem is what they think. That is one reason that I will seldom change out just a compressor or condenser in the case of a burnout or the compressor coming apart internally....there is no way to know what is floating around in that system, and changing out 8 filter driers to try to clean up a system is not going to happen...with me anyway.

sparky_123

to check how the valves are in a can compressor,you can try a pump down test,amp draw,and if you really want to know whats going on inside there i.e bearings wearing out, valves breaking down.you could do a spectial analizest on oil. lol if you wanted to

72chevy4x4

I will check the brand/model within a couple of days.

Can you elaborate on the comment regarding proper weight of freon? For instance...the AC in my car wasn't working well (not cold enough) so I picked up a can of refrigerant from Walmart and followed the proper steps to recharge the system (used gauges and ambient temp). This obviously added freon from the can, had to do each summer, so its a slow leak-should I worry about this?

whatever your answer, will the same be true of the ice machine? what would a knowledgable technician do-reclaim, clean system and recharge, or just recharge?

AirPro

"It is dependent on room temperature to a certain point-i.e. in summer when the room is warmer it never makes ice-in winter months (now) it slowly fills the ice check."


Be sure the condensing coil is clean, if you have low airflow through that coil, it will greatly affect refrigeration temps.