Ice Build Up on probe?

[Pops]

I'm still very new to the biz since Jan 2013.

Last week I got a call that my combo machine was dispensing warm sodas. I got a recommendation for a technician and planned to meet him on Friday afternoon, but he got stuck in traffic and never made it.

I took a look on my own and I found I ice build up on the evaporator.... it appears to be built up on somekind of probe or very small diameter tubing... like on the order of 1/8" diameter. see attached.

I've tried searching for this issue and not finding a lot other than icing tends to be a symptom of low freon?

I cleaned the front of the condenser coils with a wire brush a couple of weeks ago.

Also I'm not sure who the manufacturer is for this machine. The name plate on the snack side only says NAMA listed with a serial number, and cant find any serial no. or identification on the soda side. Any suggestions for how to find a manual for this machine?

[Walta]

The machine was made by USI model 3130

The refer unit has a leak.

Anyone that says they can fix it for less than 300.00 is not finding and repairing the leak . They look for big leaks if one doest bite their nose they add refrigerant and you can bring it back when it leaks out again.

Walta

[Pops]

The machine was made by USI model 3130

The refer unit has a leak.

Anyone that says they can fix it for less than 300.00 is not finding and repairing the leak . They look for big leaks if one doest bite their nose they add refrigerant and you can bring it back when it leaks out again.

Walta

dang it 300 bucks, that'll probably be my entire year's profit, if that. Thanks for helping me interpret the nameplate. I'm learnin.

[Walta]

If you want to be a vender stop buying combo machines. I dont think anyone can turn a profit with one as they hold to little product.

Walta

[AZVendor]

In my 28 years of experience you probably only need to recharge the compressor. It is rare for a large enough leak to develop quickly that would need to be repaired. If it has taken a long time for this ice to develop and the machine has been on location for a long time, then you are probably only low on gas. The rule of thumb that I follow is that if the compressor is recharged and the low gas situation returns in under 6 months, you probably have a leak that is large enough to find. If it takes more than 6 months to leak down again, then the longer it goes after the 6 month period the smaller the leak is and the harder it is to find. With small leaks that we can't find, and with the customer's knowledge, we inject UV dye into the system so that when it leaks down the next time we can put a black light on it and look for UV dye to show up somewhere, which shows where the leak is. I always tell my customers what their options are and they usually opt just for the recharge, and 95% of the time that is all they need. I will, however, always do what my customer asks, I just don't like wasting their money.

Most cooling units lose a tiny fraction of gas each year. Eventually this can cause enough freon loss that you see ice form on the evaporator, but this takes years on most machines. Ice can also be caused by bad valves in the compressor, a stuck thermostat, or a bad evaporator fan and proper troubleshooting is required. Putting a line tap on the compressor is the only way to install the gauges to check the freon charge. The most expensive repair is if the compressor valves are bad then the cooling deck needs to be rebuilt with a new compressor.

From what I see in your photos the ice is forming where the high pressure gas moves from the capillary tube to the 1/4" tubing in the evaporator. This is where you should always have what is called a "frost line" because of the natural expansion of the gas into the larger tubing. The ice you see means you are low on freon and it only needs to be recharged. I also saw that the condenser is pretty clogged up with dirt and needs to be blown out or washed out. In order to recharge this unit it has to be pulled completely out of the machine from the back. Since it will be out of the machine the condenser should be cleaned at the same time as it is recharged or you will have other problems down the road.

I also see that the thermostat on the right side of the evaporator still has its factory cover on it. This probably means the thermostat has never been adjusted, but the only way to know this is to remove the cover. On this particular model of machine the themostat needs to be set between 1 and 2 on its dial and no higher. This setting is not typical of most soda machines but is specific to this model. You should still verify that your setting is correct or evaporator freezing or worse, product freezing, can occur.

[moondog]

dang it 300 bucks, that'll probably be my entire year's profit, if that. Thanks for helping me interpret the nameplate. I'm learnin.

Like AZ mentioned, the compressor deck will need to be removed for servicing. You can save a few bucks if you pull it yourself and take it to be repaired. That slave unit shouldn't be too hard to turn around if you have to pull the deck out the back. I don't own any of these machines, but it shouldn't take more than a half hour and some basic tools (sockets and screwdrivers) to pull it.

As I recall, this is a family project and you're down south. What Walt say's about combos is true but for your initial purposes, it's okay. Summer's coming and it's getting hot so don't waste too much time getting this fixed. As much as I respect Walt's opinion on these matters, for a machine that old I'd try to recharge it first - barring any obvious problems the tech finds. Dropping 3 or 4 bills on this thing is probably not worth it.