AngryChris Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 I have a CB 500 with a bad condenser fan. I showed up (after a call) and the cabinet was obviously warm (if not a little hot) but the evaporator coils were frozen even down to the line that went back to the compressor. There were two problems that I noticed -- the machine was too close to the wall AND there was noticeable heat coming from the condenser (from the compressor, I presume). I turned the thermostat to 0 and came back the next day. Sure enough, upon turning the machine on, the top coils began to ice over BUT they DID defrost when the door was shut for a little while (maybe 5-10 minutes). However, I heard the condenser fan make a noticeable noise as though there was a lot of friction before it stopped. To the best of my knowledge, the compressor was still running but there was, again, a lot of heat coming through the condenser. When I took the unit out, the fan would barely spin by hand. Can a bad condenser fan and/or a machine too close to the wall cause the evaporator to freeze over? I was thinking it was just a bad evaporator fan but it seems to work. When I inquired about ordering an evaporator fan from USI, the guy on the phone said he figured it froze over because the compressor was "working harder" to keep the machine cool, but I don't see how that would allow the evaporator to freeze up. I'm just wondering if both fans are bad. Also, the ice was solid but looked like frozen snow. It was not solid clear ice. I could not simply scrape or wipe this ice away either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 No. The bad condenser fan will cause the compressor to overheat and turn off prematurely. It sounds more like you have a bad evaporator fan, a large air leak, low freon or you have your temp set too low. I don't think this has a physical thermostat but if it does then you can't set a USI thermostat above 2 or it will freeze the evaporator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted June 21, 2017 Author Share Posted June 21, 2017 It does have an analog thermostat. It had never froze over before. I don't understand how I can get this unless it's purely a coincidence. An airleak makes sense. It could be low too but it didn't look like how a Dixie looked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 If the thermostat is bad it could stick and freeze the evaporator. Also make sure that the capillary tube doesn't touch any metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted June 21, 2017 Author Share Posted June 21, 2017 The refrigeration tech said that I can get a frozen up evaporator if the condenser fan is bad because the compressor isn't pushing the refrigerant due to shutting off. I don't know but two sources said that so I'm crossing my fingers. I exchanged the deck already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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