allprovending Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 I have a DN 501 that is freezing. It has a new thermostat on it. The fan motor never turns off so I'm assuming this is the reason for freezing around the coils. Does the fan motor need to be replaced or is it something else?
AngryChris Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 The evaporator fans make ice and water go out of the machine. If the soda is frozen, then there is still something wrong with your thermostat or you have a serious refrigeration issue. If you're just getting ice growing around the evaporator, then you're probably low on refrigerant.
AZVendor Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 The evaporator runs all the time and the condenser fan in front of the compressor only runs when the thermostat calls for cooling. If your compressor is running non-stop then you have a bad one and it needs to be replaced. Like Chris said, if you have ice built up on your evaporator and there are no cabinet air leaks, no standing water in the cabinet and the compressor will turn off when you turn the knob off, then you are low on freon.
allprovending Posted August 7, 2015 Author Posted August 7, 2015 Thanks.....I should have said the coils are icing up, the drinks are not freezing. So since its running all the time the compressor is bad?
CajunCandy Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 Not so much as being bad, there is a freon leak causing evaporator core to freeze up. It's not the easiest thing to find unless your a tech that does this for a living. Have a proper vending tech look into fixing it. cajun
AZVendor Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 Thanks.....I should have said the coils are icing up, the drinks are not freezing. So since its running all the time the compressor is bad? The compressor will run as long as the machine is not at the proper temperature. Even though you have ice on the evaporator doesn't mean the machine is real cold so the compressor continues to run. You will need to defrost the ice before it can be recharged.
AngryChris Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 Around here, I just take the deck out and exchange it for another cooling deck. I can often get my deck repaired for under $100 if it's just a leak, or I can exchange the entire deck (which saves down time if I don't have a spare deck) for around $250. I have another place that charges about $400 (after tax) to give me a completely rebuilt unit. Yes, it's expensive but the exchanged units ($250) come with a 6-month warranty and the rebuilt units have a 1-year warranty for the compressor and 6-months on parts if I remember correctly. Some places will only give you the warranty if they know you can install it properly, but they know I can do it. It's actually pretty easy to exchange decks out on most Dixies and Royals. I think Vendo's are easy but I have never had to replace one (eat that Moondog!). USI and Rockola refrigeration decks are often a pain though. If I were you, and if I had a place that could recharge it locally, I would pull the whole unit out and take it to the location to get it fixed up before putting it right back in. Just be careful not to bend or pinch any refrigeration lines and make sure you put all of the screws back where you took them out. Swapping a deck out probably takes about 15 minutes total time.
rmorris1953 Posted August 8, 2015 Posted August 8, 2015 One of the things I dislike about DN is they use a thermostat that is a air over. Means air moves over the bulb and that is how it regulates the temp. If you notice the location is in the upper right hand of the evaporator housing. That is a dead air space and that makes the thermostat not work correctly. If the compressor starts to cycle to often because of heat buildup, to close to wall, dirty condenser etc. Or a air leak the evaporator will begin to freeze the upper coils on the evaporator. Once this happens that space gets less and less air. Once this happens the air flow is reduced and the compressor will just continue to run. If your vendor is still using the cold control in this situation it maybe the only thing that is wrong. If your lines are freezing all the way out of the cabinet it maybe just the cold control. When replacing it I never put the bulb back in that dead air space instead I route it around the accumulator and place it in the center of evaporator but not touching it. About a inch away, If it touches the evaporator then the compressor will short cycle reducing its life.
allprovending Posted August 8, 2015 Author Posted August 8, 2015 rmorris1953 yeah I always do that as well when I replace the thermostat......I picked that up from the Pepsi techs
AngryChris Posted August 8, 2015 Posted August 8, 2015 rmorris1953 yeah I always do that as well when I replace the thermostat......I picked that up from the Pepsi techs Those Pepsi Techs are a whole different breed of animal.
allprovending Posted August 9, 2015 Author Posted August 9, 2015 Yes they are AngryChris......I learned a lot from the pepsi techs on the Dixie Narco machines but still have a ton to learn. As for the Royals I pretty much no everything on those machines.
AngryChris Posted August 9, 2015 Posted August 9, 2015 It's weird how you can learn as you go and things just suddenly fall into place (in your brain). I remember when a vending machine was so overwhelming. Over the last 4 years, I have gone from not knowing how to barely change out a validator to being able to do diagnose refrigeration decks, quickly figure out what's wrong with a vending machine after receiving a simple phone call and asking a few questions (so I can make sure to bring parts), to being able to make a quick phone call to have parts sent to me. Just the other day, I had a customer tell me that the "cokes won't come out" of one of my machines. This machine is problematic as it is, but I am going to simply change out the selection switch first and see what happens. AZVendor and rmorris have been huge helps to me. It's just amazing that... the more you know.. the more you can learn. Within another few years, I might be as good as they are.
rmorris1953 Posted August 11, 2015 Posted August 11, 2015 Thanks for the mention Chris. I once asked AZ how he was able to remember all the stuff he does. I asked him if he has files and just pulls from them and reposts. LOL He said no. He told me this forum is the best way to stay sharp because it keeps a lot of information in the front and keeps it from slipping off into never never land. He is right. Since I have found this forum I have been able recall many things I thought were gone and learned things I didn't know. Vending is for ever changing and there is always something to learn. Just like a vendors job is never done. I don't think there is any other job a person can have that can change so much within the first 5 minutes of showing up in the morning as vending. My pet peeve is hearing a service tech tell a customer it is junk. It makes me boil. Maybe true in a few cases but don't ever let a customer hear you say it. Some techs want to trade it out. That is another pet peeve. I would rather fix it on location than see it go to refurb because it ends up being someone else's problem. 75 % of a service call is troubleshooting. A week ago to the day I sold a 501 E to a customer for $1200 delivered. Nice cold drink for a teachers lounge. One week later I get a call it isn't cooling. He says pop is hot and appears the compressor isn't running. Neither is the condenser fan motor. I have him tap on cold control and still nothing. Condenser is not hot. I tell him I will be down in 15 minutes. So I go to shop and make sure I have everything I need to fix it. At this point I am pretty sure I know what is wrong. Or at least it is what I hope to find. I make sure I have wire strippers connectors, cold control, A cooling deck and the starting components for a Embraco compressor. I have all the information I need now. I prepare my self for the call on the way over so I don't have to spend a lot of time troubleshooting. So the compressor isn't running and neither is the condenser fan motor? Condenser is cold to the touch. That means to me either the cold control or a wiring issue. I already knew this was an Embraco compressor. The fan motor won't run if it has kicked off on the overload. If that were the case then condenser would be hot. It isn't. So I get there and grab my tools and parts. First thing make sure the cooling deck is plugged in. Second temporarily plug in new cold control to see if compressor starts. No go. Then I pull deck out enough to get to cap on compressor. Pop cap off and sure enough the wires are melted and start relay broken. Embraco is notorious for this scenario. They cram all those wires in the cap and because it gets hot in there the wires will overheat and melt causing it to short out. 50% of Embraco compressors you will find this on. Problem fixed.
rmorris1953 Posted August 11, 2015 Posted August 11, 2015 Wires melted on overload Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
AngryChris Posted August 11, 2015 Posted August 11, 2015 Oh yeah, I got a call once about the machine being low on snacks. I brought more snacks, a pair of gloves, and a fake mustache. When I got there, I put the mustache and gloves on and slowly opened the door. Suddenly, a large grizzly bear popped out and I had to wrestle him into submission. The bear cried uncle and promised it wouldn't happen again. But I know he's out there...
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