BM23 cooling

[reliefdvm]

I have searched the archives first before asking. I picked up a used 8 yr old beverage air that is cooling (hence the reason I bought it) but not below 40. I cleaned the condenser coil and the evaporator fan is working fine. the thermostat is a little flaky but will turn off/on the compressor and condenser fan. In taking things apart I was less than impressed with the people that had worked on it before me. Mismatched screws were my first clue and an obviously different thermostat was my second. The gasket is ok but I went ahead and ordered a new one as well as a new thermostat.

So here are my questions.

1. On the back I see a label that talks about a cover - the refrigeration assembly is open in back and I see 2 screw holes that might have held something - should there be a cover back there and will it make a difference in how well air is pulled through the condenser coil?

2. When I pulled the evap housing after it had been running for 24 hours straight (with a keg inside) I saw a small amount of ice buildup on the upper left side (as you look at it) of the evaporator coil. The whole coil does not feel very cold. Does this mean that the freon is low, and I have a leak to fix, or is the compressor shot?

Thank your for any help you can give

Allen

[THE ICEMAN]

I have searched the archives first before asking. I picked up a used 8 yr old beverage air that is cooling (hence the reason I bought it) but not below 40. I cleaned the condenser coil and the evaporator fan is working fine. the thermostat is a little flaky but will turn off/on the compressor and condenser fan. In taking things apart I was less than impressed with the people that had worked on it before me. Mismatched screws were my first clue and an obviously different thermostat was my second.

So here are my questions.

1. On the back I see a label that talks about a cover - the refrigeration assembly is open in back and I see 2 screw holes that might have held something - should there be a cover back there and will it make a difference in how well air is pulled through the condenser coil?

It should make no difference. If anything, it would help.

2. When I pulled the evap housing after it had been running for 24 hours straight (with a keg inside) and saw a small amount of ice buildup on the upper left side (as you look at it) of the evaporator coil. The whole coil does not feel very cold. Does this mean that the freon is low, and I have a leak to fix, or is the compressor shot?

Thank your for any help you can give

Allen

From your description I would say you are indeed low on refrigerant. There is not enough refrigerant to fill the evaporator & what refrigerant there is, is "flashing over". That is the ice you see.
And yes there is a leak. Those are supposed to be sealed systems & should never have to be "recharged". The other possibility is a restricted capillary tube but I would think a leak is more likely.


THE ICEMAN

[reliefdvm]

thermostat

thank you for your reply Iceman. In my searching of the post on this site I have noticed your replies were always helpful and knowledgeable.

My second questions is this. Reading other post say the the thermostat goes to the evap coil - the way it is set up now is the probe runs along the back wall at the outflow of the blower box, is this correct? there is also a small coiled copper line about the same size as the thermostat probe, at the upper left side of the evaporator coil that I have no idea about. If this errant copper is the old probe - is there anything to know about removal?

thank you for all your help.

Allen

[THE ICEMAN]

thank you for your reply Iceman. In my searching of the post on this site I have noticed your replies were always helpful and knowledgeable.

My second questions is this. Reading other post say the the thermostat goes to the evap coil - the way it is set up now is the probe runs along the back wall at the outflow of the blower box, is this correct? there is also a small coiled copper line about the same size as the thermostat probe, at the upper left side of the evaporator coil that I have no idea about. If this errant copper is the old probe - is there anything to know about removal?

thank you for all your help.

Allen

It varies from one brand to another but generally the temp control probe slides into a small tube inside the evaporator or along the front.
That coiled tubing is more than likely the capillary tubing, a part of the system. If you look close you should see that it is welded into the evaporator. That cap tube is the way those systems meter the refrigerant into the evaporator.


THE ICEMAN

[reliefdvm]

Thank you Iceman

I hope everybody appreciates what an asset you are to this forum. I have been amazed at how fast you reply.

take care and have a great week

Allen

[THE ICEMAN]

Damn! I need you to talk to my boss.


THE ICEMAN

[reliefdvm]

Just as a follow up. I had the service guy come out and he found the system to be low on freon, but even with the halogen sniffer, he could not find a leak even after the recharge. I was told that when a system sits idle for a period of time that leaks tend to develop.

I had him recharge system and we will see how long it takes to have the problem return. If the pressures drop (as I expect it to) and we can't find a leak I was told by the service tech that the evap coil is usually the culprit and we will replace it first. But for now I am thrilled that the compressor is actually cycling off and the keg is getting cold.

Now for one more question. I have a new door gasket - but it does not seem to seal like it should. I placed a thin 1/8" cord in one of the grooves on the side of the gasket to make it contact the cabinet. After about 24 hours the gasket seemed to conform like it should. Is there any tricks out there that will help the next time or is there something wrong with the gasket I installed?

[THE ICEMAN]

Just as a follow up. I had the service guy come out and he found the system to be low on freon, but even with the halogen sniffer, he could not find a leak even after the recharge. I was told that when a system sits idle for a period of time that leaks tend to develop.

The leaks don't "develop" as you say but if present the refrigerant will leak out more quickly if the leak is on the low pressure side of the system when the unit it idle due to equalization of the low & high sides of the system.

I had him recharge system and we will see how long it takes to have the problem return. If the pressures drop (as I expect it to) and we can't find a leak I was told by the service tech that the evap coil is usually the culprit and we will replace it first. But for now I am thrilled that the compressor is actually cycling off and the keg is getting cold.

If it is a slow leak on the evaporator (which is likely) it could take 3 to 6 months before it needs recharging. If it only takes a week or so you have a leak on the high side of the system. What your service guy can do is pressurize the system with a small amount of refrigerant & about 300 to 350 psi of nitrogen. Most of the time the leak will show up with a leak detector after this.

Now for one more question. I have a new door gasket - but it does not seem to seal like it should. I placed a thin 1/8" cord in one of the grooves on the side of the gasket to make it contact the cabinet. After about 24 hours the gasket seemed to conform like it should. Is there any tricks out there that will help the next time or is there something wrong with the gasket I installed?

Sometimes it just takes time for the gasket to wear in. The plastic of the gasket has a "memory" & needs to get used to it's new home. Try & keep the door closed with the gasket in its proper position.


THE ICEMAN

[reliefdvm]

OK I've got the gasket formed to the unit. The temp inside is fine at 37 (liquid). Now as I had stated before the person working on this unit before was not impressive (stripped hardware and mismatched screws and parts from other Mfg.).

So in replacing the thermostat - i don't have a good reference for the probe placement. I placed it under the evaporator air outflow (where the old one was located) but it seems the the cycle is pretty short. Right now the system is running pretty much on a 9 min cycle with the compressor running for 3 of those minutes. I'm feel this is too short and that probe placement is most likely the problem (brand new Bev air thermostat). If anybody has a picture of their Thermostat probe placement that would be helpful. I think that maybe instead of placing it on the air outflow - I should go with putting it on the inflow in front of the evap coil.

thank you for all the help so far

Allen

[bard]

Hopefully this will work

[reliefdvm]

Thank you thank you.

So it looks like the monkey before me got it partly correct - The general placement almost correct (he had the holders reversed so the the probe was closer to the evap coil), but this now explains the plastic tube that was just laying on the "Co2 shelf". The thing that was throwing me was there is a groove in the middle of the evap coil going side to side that could poss hold a tube.

but anyways thank you again and enjoy the day - you've helped me enjoy mine.

Allen

final note - just reversing the brackets to where they should be and covering the probe with the plastic - the cycle time has more than tripled to around 35 minutes, and I had to drop the thermostat back to 6.

[alpine0000]

hello,

glad things are coming together with this unit for you.

i was an HVAC tech for 6 years, and installed my share of gaskets. when you replace your gasket, the new one never fits correctly because it sat in a box for many months, all folded up and twisted. what you want to do is take a hair dryer (on the highest heat setting), or even a better, a heat gun (on a low heat setting) and run it along the edges of the gasket with the door closed. this will make the gasket hot, and will make it more pliable, and the magnet inside of the gasket will be able to pull the gasket towards the kegerator easier. remember, patience is the key when doing this. i often spent 1-2 hours installing a gasket trying to get it correct.

and it looks like you are already aware that your freon will inevitably leak out again, its just a matter of time. ive seen em last up to a year, and ive seen em last 4 days. theres just no tellin'! and i can confirm that the leaks are, indeed, very difficult to find sometimes (and i used to use a leak detector as well). im wondering if the person who sold you this unit already knew this, got fed up with trying to fix it, and sold it knowing it had a problem without telling you (as you said it has been worked on before).

good luck with it!

[reliefdvm]

the hair dryer trick worked like a charm!!! I had tried giving it time, I had put pieces of cord in the grooves to space it out. I was down to begging and pleading ( didn't work any better than it did in high school). so thank you for the trick.

Allen

[alpine0000]

the hair dryer trick worked like a charm!!! I had tried giving it time, I had put pieces of cord in the grooves to space it out. I was down to begging and pleading ( didn't work any better than it did in high school). so thank you for the trick.

Allen

No problem! Glad you got it all taken care of. Sometimes the 'tricks-of-the-trade' can be the simplest little things...

With a little bit of heat, and a lot of patience, anybody can install a gasket.

I hope your freon lasts you for a while.

cheers