mojorhino Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 I have a FSI 3038 & the evaporator keeps freezing up. This is what it looked like after thawing it out & coming back the next day. So far what I have done is clean the condenser with a brush and a vacuum It was pretty dirty but its clean now I checked & both the condenser fan & evaporator fan appear to be working & I can feel air coming from them I also checked the inner door seal & it looks good I as far as I can tell is making a good seal with the refrigerated area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojorhino Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 When I turn the thermostat off it stops running & when I turn it up then it starts again. When I turn the thermostat back up I can feel the capillary tube getting cold & you can see frost start to form. You can actually sit there & watch it go across the tube from left to right I closed the door & checked back about an hour later & I could see the ice start to build up I checked back the next day & saw this. As a temporary fix here is what did. I installed a timer on the wall outlet & the machine turns off for a few hours each night When I come back in the morning the bowl I put in the bottom of the machine has water in it. Based on what I have learned from this forum am I correct in my diagnosis that the machine is low on refrigerant? If it is low on refrigerant do I just call a refrigeration tech & have them fill it? If so how much should something like that cost? Should they they check it for leaks before filling or after filling it? Is there anything else I should try or am not thinking of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 It is low on freon. The entire cooling unit has to be pulled from the back of the cabinet in order to recharge it. That can be done after removing the 6 - 8 screws in the top of the evaporator shroud, freeing up the thermostat capillary tube (thermostat comes out with the cooling unit) and any light harness to the door must be disconnected at the door as the harness also comes out with the unit. This will cost you a couple of hours labor plus freon and a line tap if it's not been tapped before. As I posted before in the refrigeration thread, if this unit hasn't been recharged within the past year then there is likely no leak that is large enough to be found so it only needs a recharge. Make sure that the metal housing is surrounding the compressor and fan assembly after the gauge hose is installed and while the unit is being recharged to best simulate the normal operational environment for the unit. There are three things very important in these machines: 1. The thermostat on most USI soda machines must be set at 1 1/2 to 2 on the dial. 2. The rear condenser fans must both be running strong in addition to the clean condenser coil. 3. If the cooling unit is removed, the rear mounting plate must be properly sealed upon reinstallation of the unit or you will have an air leak. There are 10 screws that secure the unit to the back of the machine and they must all be installed. There is also, on most serpentine units, a large amount of putty on the right side mounting plate that must seal the hole in that plate against the cabinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris1953 Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 AZ is 100% correct... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 I have a FSI 3038 & the evaporator keeps freezing up. This is what it looked like after thawing it out & coming back the next day. So far what I have done is clean the condenser with a brush and a vacuum It was pretty dirty but its clean now I checked & both the condenser fan & evaporator fan appear to be working & I can feel air coming from them I also checked the inner door seal & it looks good I as far as I can tell is making a good seal with the refrigerated area Aha!!! I think I see your problem - it appears that you have a Pink Plush Pig partially blocking the air flow to your condenser. It takes a trained eye to spot this stuff sometimes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snack dude Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Moondog I was going to suggest that but I thought it was way too obvious. But seriously AZ hit it on the nose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojorhino Posted August 7, 2014 Author Share Posted August 7, 2014 So I asked one of the vendors in town that I go in on Vistar orders with & they recommended someone to do the refrigeration work. I called them & their secretary quoted me $70 per hour labor & approximately $20 per pound of R134A refrigerant. I plan on going to the location on Friday afternoon & pulling the unit & taking it to my garage since I have two other Dixie Narco machines that don't freeze up or even get cold all. That way I can go back on Monday & put the unit back in the machine & have minimal down time for the location. Hopefully I can get all 3 machines working for a couple to a few hundred bucks. . I will get pictures of the refrigeration deck & post & label them. The timer thing seems to be working well as a temporary fix the product stays somewhat cold & the water evaporates without overfilling the bowl in the bottom of the machine. I put a thermometer in the machine & it seems to be about 40 degrees inside the refrigerated area. . Speaking of which how cold should it be inside the machine on average? Does it vary by manufacturer? Wal-Mart had these thermometers for 0.97 cents each so I bought several of them & am going to put them all of my machines so that I can keep a closer eye on their temperatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris1953 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 36 degrees. The compressor cuts in at around 46 degrees and cuts out at 36. That is air temp not product temp. To know product temp you need to open a can and put a thermometer in it. I did see these thermometers but never used them. They would be the most accurate. Know at a glance the temperature of your kegerator, refrigerator or freezer! This thermometer has liquid inside of it, so instead of reading the temperature of the ambient air inside of your cold box, this thermometer gives a reading based on how cold the liquid surrounding it is. Meaning this would be a better way to know what your fermenting beer is at, rather than the air surrounding it. -20 to 70 degrees.Aluminum thermometer panel for long product life. Glass tube thermometer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.