EatMoreJunk Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I've had this refurbished machine in service for about a month now. The temperature inside the machine will not stay consistent. The account keeps notifying me that the drinks are somewhat warm ... but then I show up a few hours later and they're ice cold ... then 2 days later, the same complaint - and I do believe the folks there know what they're talking about and not just idiots expecting frozen drinks. I believe the cut-in and cut-out temps are set at 36 and 42 .... but I'm not 100% certain. Any guidance?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 There's no way they go from "somewhat warm" to ice cold in a few hours. Have you ever felt a can that was warm? Perhaps there is a lot of humidity in the account and it's seeping into the machine through a gap. You'd know if this were the case because you would find a lot of water somewhere in the machine. Bottles feel warm. And the temperature that products "feel" is relevant to the ambient temperature... So if the air in the room is cold already, the cans won't feel so cold. You could also just have a bad thermostat but it sounds like someone is just being whiney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Put a thermometer in it to really know what's happening when you open the door. Also look for ice on the top left corner of your evaporator which indicated it's low on freon. If you also have lot's of condensation in the cabinet then you could have an air leak or low freon. Also check for short-cycling of the compressor. This is a short cooling cycle and a short off cycle. There are two kinds of short cycling. One is when the thermostat causes it and the compressor and fan both turn off together. The other is when your compressor causes it and only the compressor turns off while the condenser fan still runs. In the former case a new thermostat is needed (special to a Royal) and the latter case requires a new compressor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EatMoreJunk Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Not sure if it will help identify the problem but they are telling me that the machine "runs constantly" ...I guess they're hearing the motor/fan a lot. I'm going back there in a couple days and will check for a freon leak. There is no heavy condensation in the machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Not sure if it will help identify the problem but they are telling me that the machine "runs constantly" ...I guess they're hearing the motor/fan a lot. I'm going back there in a couple days and will check for a freon leak. There is no heavy condensation in the machine. I'm not familiar with that Royal model but I do have quite a few newer ones with an occupancy sensor that shuts the machine down at night. If your machine has this feature, maybe you should just unplug it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris1953 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 AZ is correct on checking the temp of product. A thermometer is the only way to know what the temp off product is. They do make thermometers that are liquid filled and will show actual product temp. Air temp will fluctuate a lot more than actual temp. I bought these little jewels for just this reason. They will log temps so you can see exactly what it is doing. You can set it to record for days or weeks. Tells the whole story for a little over a $100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EatMoreJunk Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 Thanks for all the input. The machine is definitely varying in temperature. The cans are not getting "warm" but they are very cold one day and then much less colder the next. There is no heavy condensation inside the machine at all and there is no ice present on top of the evaporator. My next question is this: how can I figure out if the machine is indeed 'short cycling' ... and as AZ listed two different types, how do I figure out which type it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 If it's short cycling then you can sit in front of the machine for just a few minutes and find out. You'll need to listen for the start of the cycle and how long it lasts. If it turns off in just a minute or two then that's a short cycle. You can then see if the condensing fan on the compressor is still running. If it is then your problem is in the compressor. If the fan is off after a short cycle then it's a bad thermostat. You might also have just a bad compressor in general that has great difficulty restarting when it's hot, which is basically all the time as the compressor won't cool off before the start of a normal cooling cycle. If this happens then when the compressor tries to start you'll hear the attempt and then a click as the overload turns it off. In this case the fan will continue running because the thermostat is calling for cold. After the overload cools off then it will try to start again and perhaps click off again. This results in long periods of the compressor not running and will cause the cans to get warmer. If this is happening then a hard start kit might get the compressor to start easier but it won't last for long before you have to put a new compressor on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris1953 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Make sure it isn't on a extension cord and there isn't any other compressors on the circuit. Low voltage can do the same things AZ has mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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