New to Me BM23 and a few questions

[MJH]

Hello All, New member and first post here, thanks in advance to anyone that can help me out with a few questions about my new used BM23.
It is an older model tag reads R12 but is black color and looks to be in good shape has not sat for any real lenght of time unused that I'm aware of. It cools down OK but at its coldest setting does not get lower than around 34F which keeps beer at 40F if I back the dial down to 7 or 6 temp fridge is 37F beer around 43F, should it not get lower than that? Compressor and condenser fan run together about once every 45min to an hour for about 15 min before shutting off (is that normal?), fan inside runs all the time as it should, I don't see any air leaks, tower is insulated and has the cooling hose hooked up, don't see any frost build up and I've had it running for about 4 days.
One issue I have is it's loud when the compressor and condenser fan come on, and I have traced the rattle sound to I believe the condenser fan. I took off the back cover panel and discovered the bracket for the fan seems to be bent causing the back of the fan motor to rest against the compressor. I put a piece of rubber between the two and the rattle lowered a bit but not by much, if I hold a screw driver to the housing of the fan motor there is a definite vibration from the fan motor and not the compressor. The fan seems to spin freely and is quite fast and pushes a lot of air just makes a lot of noise, the compressor gets warm but not hot
So I know I need to replace the fan if I'm ever going to be able to leave it in the house, right now its just to loud. Replacement looks easy but how do I get it out of that space once I remove the two bolts form underneath thats holding the fan bracket? There are copper tubes in the way that don't look move able. Also the wires from the fan go around the backside of the compressor and do not look accessible with out removing the compressor? How do the fan blades come off the shaft of the motor? See picture
Cheapest fan I can find is $58.00 from here http://store.o-reps.net/cold-control...019b-fan-motor

So my questions
Should it get colder? If so what do I look for as the reason its not getting colder? Does it need to be recharged with freon?
Do I spend the money on the new fan knowing the fridge does not get colder, could there be more issues I should look at before replacing fan?

20161030_111523.jpg

Again thanks for any advice
Jamey

[THE ICEMAN]

I wouldn't worry about the cycle times, I would be more inclined to worry if it were the other way around. Your temperature problems may be as simple as a new temp control. The vibration problems may be a fan blade bent or out of balance. Spin the blade slowly by hand & watch to see if all the blades line up with each other. You can gently bend the blades to get them uniform with each other. If that doesn't solve the problem you can access the fan motor by pulling loose the chassis where the compressor & fan are mounted. There should be some screws at each end to take loose. There should be a channel running up the back of the unit that you will need to take the cover off. This will allow you to slide the chassis out along with the copper lines - be careful not to kink the lines.


THE ICEMAN

[MJH]

Thanks for the response Iceman, the blades don't look to be bent but there is a lot of play or movement with the shaft might be a bearing issue, I've ordered another fan motor and temp unit. will let you know how I make out.

[MJH]

Ok received and installed new condenser fan motor and it so nice a quite now! I was able to wiggle it around the copper tubing with not to much on an issue.
Iceman quick question I did not check before removing the old fan as to wind direction off the fan blades but with this new motor installed its blowing air from the coils towards the compressor, is that correct? I did not replace the blades just the motor.
I will be installing the new temp control unit tomorrow if I have time it looks quick and easy.

[THE ICEMAN]

Yes, you want the fan pulling air through the condenser coils & not pushing into the coils.


THE ICEMAN

[MJH]

Hello All, I got the new temp control unit installed, very easy job just a bit of a pain getting the cover on and off as its a tight fit. My BM23 is now set with the dail at 4 and it a lot colder that it use to be with the dial set at 4 and it's keeping my beer at 38F on the 2nd pour. Now on to getting rid of the foam I have, I will do some reading on this site and see if I can figure that out as well. Lots of great info and help here.
Thanks again Iceman.

[djc]

The foam is from being out of balance. What is the beer and what is your pressure set at?

[MJH]

Pressure was set high I think somewhere around 14 psi, I reduced it to 9 psi a few days ago and released some of the pressure with the pressure relief valves (pins). Both beers right now are American lagers one is Coors Light and the other is from a brew store which is a knock off of Molson Ice, both beers are in 20L Sankey D Style kegs, and I do have the tower cooled. I'm not sure what diameter the lines are but length would be about 5', I think from what I have read the lines should be 3/16" and longer some close to 10' long?

[djc]

The pressure isn't a guessing game which might be part of your problem. Using the temperature of the beer (second pour into a room temp glass with calibrated thermometer) and the volumes of CO2 for the beer you then consult a force carbonation chart to determine your pressure. Longer lines will slow the flow of properly balanced beer to reduce turbulence, longer lines cannot correct for not being balanced. With a BM23 you should not have to tinker with anything other than understanding balance and how to get your temp and set your pressure. For volumes of CO2 Miller Coors products are all 2.6 I believe. Not sure if Molson Coors products follow suit.

[MJH]

OK just went and check my numbers, temp on 2nd pour is 38F and my current psi setting is at 10psi, from what I can see from charts I have found is an American Lager is 2.6 v/v and with a temp of 38F I should be running my psi at 13. Is that correct?
Will longer lines also help?
Is temp a personal preference or is there specific temp for ever beer, how do I know what is correct, should my current beers be colder?
Also here comes the real rookie question what is v/v?

[djc]

V/V is volumes of CO2, or carbonation levels. You found a generic value, there is a thread here for specific values and when in doubt email the brewery. In most cases you will be right around that area +/- .5 anyway. You are correct at 13. Temp is your preference, the charts allow you to maintain proper carbonation based on that temperature. As you get very cold or very warm, it gets harder to control foam. Longer lines will help slow the flow if you have balance, but if you aren't balanced it won't do much for you. One thing to look at is what the lines look like between pours. Are there gaps or solid beer? Gaps mean you aren't balanced. Always open the faucet all the way. If you get a burst of foam and continue to pour beer onto it, you will have more foam. If this is the case, switch glasses after the burst.

[MJH]

OK I adjusted the psi to 13 or maybe just a hair above 13 if I look really close at the gauge lines are now full of beer I don't see any air, and the Coors Lite is better (little less foam) but the ICE is now very foamy (about 30% foam in a glass) even on the 2nd pour. Would longer lines help this out?

[MJH]

It appears to be settling some, I just poured a beer and it was just the first shot that foamed, I put that shot shot in a glass then started another glass and it was good. Now any recommendations on how to get that first shot of foam to stop so that I dont need two glasses to pour a beer?

[djc]

Is the tower cooler hose going all the way up to the shanks? Usually it is held onto the top of the tower with a wire hook.

[MJH]

No my cooler hose only goes about 3 inch up the tower, there was not a hose on it when I purchased it so I cut a piece of hose, did not know it should be that long. I have some left over hose I will try cutting one that is longer. It should be right at the shanks, blowing right on the tower cap?