Old Superior/Bev-Air

[Fitz]

Hi all,

I ran across this kegerator today and bought it up. It has a Superior logo on the front, but after a little research it appears that it is actually a Bev Air...I think?
Anyways, it's definitely an older unit and hasn't been used in a long time. I plugged it in and it's running, but whether or not it will get cold is yet to be determined.
I'm looking to anyone that can help me get this thing working good. It's very obvious that the lines need to be replaced and maybe a new regulator. But one big concern of mine is that there is a hole drilled in the side for one of the hoses (I'm assuming it wasn't manufactured with the hole?). Anyone have any suggestions on either how to insulate around the hose to keep my kegerator running efficiently, or on how to completely close up the hole and keep the CO2 regulator in the fridge (What's best? Any opinions?).
Lastly (I think) does anyone know where to pick up accessories for these models? I'd like to replace the railings and the handle if possible, and maybe change out the drip tray later on.
Below are a few pictures of the unit. I plan on sanding off the rust inside hoping that it will be okay, and then re-painting the unit to give it a fresh look.









Thanks for the help,
Fitz

[Fitz]

more pics

here are some more pics of the unit.









Looks pretty rough huh? I can't wait to get it all cleaned up and ready for the first keg which will definitely be something from New Belgium by the way!

[Fitz]

So the tag on the inside says that it is a model BM23 and the refrigerant is 12. Also, I've had it plugged in for just under 2 hrs. and I can't tell any change in temperature inside the unit.

[BrewGuru]

Congrats on your purchase, however, I'm sorry to say it, but generally speaking an old R-12 BM23 with no refrigerant (leaked out of a sealed system) is usually a scrapper... I hope you didn't pay more than $100 for it, and even then that's high for a dead unit.

It should begin to blow VERY cold air down the back wall almost immediately, certainly within 5 minutes of firing up. First ensure that your compressor and condenser fan are operating, to get to them remove the lower rear cover, the compressor should be humming and vibrating and the fan should be on whenever the compressor is running.

Also the fan inside should be running ALL of the time, whether the compressor is running or not.

Check these elements and report back.

Service calls on these units which require repair of the refrigeration often exceed the value of the unit. Estimate $500 to $700 for a compressor replacement, and even then you have to make a determination WHY the refrigerant leaked out in the first place. Also R-12 is very expensive now that it is banned, so if compressor replacement is required, a conversion to a new refrigerant is possible, but tricky, or you can opt to use one of the Drop-In R-12 replacements. ICEMAN will have more information for you on this one.

As far as refurb, Do NOT sand the inside of the unit where the surface rust is, this will only cause more rust down the road, clean it well with a blue or lightly with a green scrub pad and call it good you can wipe a thin coat of protective oil over the rusted spots if you want to mitigate future rusting, and honestly, that unit is not bad for it's age.

Check the compressor, condenser fan and evap fan and let us know how it goes.

[Fitz]

BrewGuru,

Thanks for checking in.

I just plugged the unit back in at the compressor and condenser fan are both operating. And when I had it plugged in earlier, the fan inside ran the entire time. Cooler air is blowing down the back wall, but I wouldn't say it is cold. The guy I bought it from said it hasn't been plugged in in years, but the last time he ran it it worked good...

As far as the rust, thanks for the advice, I will be sure to remember that.

By the way, I only paid $25 for it.

[BrewGuru]

Now that sounds like a good deal, especially if you can coax it back to life!

It's good news that everything is running as expected, the next step is to measure the temp of the air coming down the back wall it should get pretty cold, around 30ish degrees or so before the cut-out hits. If you have any sort of digital temperature probe, use this to take the temp.

Alternatively, you can remove the evaporator cover (the upper box containing the fan inside the unit) and, with the unit running, check to see that it is getting cold, there are two lines leading away from the evaporator, one feeds the refrigerant to the coil where it boils off and cools, and the other is the suction line where the refrigerant vapor returns to be re-compressed. after the first minute of operation the rounded ends of the first coil should be very cold to the touch and the rest should start getting cold, chances are that some frost will form on them if you have the door open when you do this, which you will... If it does not get pretty cold, you probably have a refrigerant problem and you will require professional service unless you have a refrigerant recovery bottle, gauges and manifold, vacuum pump, and EPA cert to purchase new refrigerant...

Let us know what temp air the evap is throwing off and we can help you more, though if it ran for a couple hours and was not COLD inside, something is wrong. Did you check the condenser coil to make sure it is free of obstruction and can disperse the necessary amount of heat?

[woody]

I'm doing the "ancient kegerator resuscitation dance ritual" for you! I recently acquired an old Perlick and it sounded like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the seller's house. Took it home for $200 and after running for about 20 minutes it was nice and quiet. There's only bottles inside it for now, but all the replacement lines and parts arrived today. It actually FREEZES the condensation on the beer bottles inside. Lucky!

[THE ICEMAN]

Service calls on these units which require repair of the refrigeration often exceed the value of the unit. Estimate $500 to $700 for a compressor replacement, and even then you have to make a determination WHY the refrigerant leaked out in the first place. Also R-12 is very expensive now that it is banned, so if compressor replacement is required, a conversion to a new refrigerant is possible, but tricky, or you can opt to use one of the Drop-In R-12 replacements. ICEMAN will have more information for you on this one.

As far as working with old R12 systems goes it is not too bad. There are a number of replacement refrigerants that work very well in old systems, R409a for example.

Fitz, it sounds like from reading the other posts that the unit could be low on refrigerant. You will need to find a service company that is familiar with those types of systems (not a company that does A/C only) to assess what is going on & to leak check if necessary.

For an initial investment of 25 bucks it is worth spending a little more to see if you can get it working.


THE ICEMAN

[Fitz]

Running warm

I was happy to wake up this morning and see some new replies to my post. I just registered to use this forum yesterday. You guys are fast!

Anyhow, the kegerator seems to be functional all around except it's simply not getting cold. I was running it with the thermostat on 7 to get it nice and cold-but no luck. After reading some of the posts I found that reducing the setting to about 2 or 3 could get the unit cold, but at a slower rate - but still no cold air blowing down the back.

As far as I can tell (And I truely have no idea) it probably needs a service call to be recharged and checked for leaks. How much does it cost to recharge a system and check for leaks generally?

Thanks again for everyones help!

[PointPleasantNJBeerguy]

That is one tired looking unit...Glad you didnt pay much for it.

[Fitz]

Second Guessing

Well Folks,

I'm glad I only paid $25 for this POS, because I'm beginning to think it's more work than it's worth.

I've had plenty of time to look over the unit today and have noticed that the door doesn't seal properly and I've heard thats sort of expensive to get new seals. Also, I took the top off, and the sheet metal underneath it is rusted pretty bad. Not to mention that the top is bowed and doesn't fit flush with the unit.

Here's what I'm thinking - First of all, I need to call a technician out to re charge the unit which I think will probably get expensive because there's probably a leak if there's no refrigerant in there (Plus it's r-12). Next, once I get it running, I'll want to have a new piece of stainless steel cut for underneath the top. I'll have to shave off some of the old foam insulation inside the top to help it fit flush with the unit and then re-fit it and caulk around it. And of course I need new seals for the door so it will STAY cold. I figure I'll spend enough on this to just go out and buy a functional unit.

This isn't all folks, I still need to buy new hoses. Im gonna try and avoid buying a whole new kit, but even the hoses alone will cost me another $80 at least.

So once I get the unit to where it will chill my beer, and seal properly, and produce beer from the keg, I will of course want to paint it and make it look nicer than it does now which is another added cost.

Should I just scrap this and go for another unit? I kinda like the style I have now, but found a cool set up on craigslist using a full sized retro fridge for $250. Which do you guys prefer? or should I continue my quest to get this vintage one up and running?

[ramcharger1979]

Well Folks,

I'm glad I only paid $25 for this POS, because I'm beginning to think it's more work than it's worth.

I've had plenty of time to look over the unit today and have noticed that the door doesn't seal properly and I've heard thats sort of expensive to get new seals. Also, I took the top off, and the sheet metal underneath it is rusted pretty bad. Not to mention that the top is bowed and doesn't fit flush with the unit.

Here's what I'm thinking - First of all, I need to call a technician out to re charge the unit which I think will probably get expensive because there's probably a leak if there's no refrigerant in there (Plus it's r-12). Next, once I get it running, I'll want to have a new piece of stainless steel cut for underneath the top. I'll have to shave off some of the old foam insulation inside the top to help it fit flush with the unit and then re-fit it and caulk around it. And of course I need new seals for the door so it will STAY cold. I figure I'll spend enough on this to just go out and buy a functional unit.

This isn't all folks, I still need to buy new hoses. Im gonna try and avoid buying a whole new kit, but even the hoses alone will cost me another $80 at least.

So once I get the unit to where it will chill my beer, and seal properly, and produce beer from the keg, I will of course want to paint it and make it look nicer than it does now which is another added cost.

Should I just scrap this and go for another unit? I kinda like the style I have now, but found a cool set up on craigslist using a full sized retro fridge for $250. Which do you guys prefer? or should I continue my quest to get this vintage one up and running?

I got the same unit in about the same condition for free. I will get it going some day but I went ahead and found a used kenmore off craigslist for 150 and I am happy with that. I say find something you can use now and get the old one going later. That way you can enjoy good beer now!!

[BrewGuru]

Are there already access valves on the lines to the compressor? If so, it wil be relatively easy to try to pull down a vacuum to check for leaks, and easy to charge it up once checked, if the valves are not there, the compressor is likely ******* and might be so old it's not worth working on.

Anyways, it's probably worth seeing if you can get it up and running, new lines certainly should not run you $80!! About a dollar a foot for each gas and beer lines, and a couple of clamps, not more than $20 total for new CO2 and beer lines.

Also those 'Golden Gate' draft taps pictured in the unit are becoming rarer and harder to find, alone are worth double your purchase price, and might fetch you enough to buy you a new Stainless 'D' System coupler (which you will need for the vast majority of domestic beers) and lines. If you don't want them, send them to me!

From what you describe, I wouldn't worry too much about the rust. It is between the top stainless cover piece and the actual top of the insulated box, correct? That's just the outer metal shell and was never intended to be seen, but maybe I've got it wrong!

The door gasket will not run you more than $40 and is a very worthwhile investment if you get the refrigeration portion of the unit operational. Part number for the BM-23 gasket is: 703-195CAA

As far as buying another unit, if the compressor is recent and strong, it alone is likely more valuable than an entire new residential style 'budget' kegerator unit....

Do you have any friends who are refrigeration repair technicians? That might help with the costs. If you do have someone come in, be prepared to spend $90-$135/hr. for labor and a minimal amount for parts and supplies (purge nitrogen, leak detector, refrigerant, valve cores, etc...) Some techs may include minor expendables in their hourly rate, so the low hour rate is not always the best - ask questions and shop around.

Good luck!

[Skinsfan1311]

Seriously....don't give up. I rehabbed an older Kenmore unit that was in much worse shape.

I dropped around $200.00 or so, but that's because I had to replace the table top and I added a blower to cool the tower. It was worth every penny

[Fitz]

Where?

Are there already access valves on the lines to the compressor? If so, it wil be relatively easy to try to pull down a vacuum to check for leaks, and easy to charge it up once checked, if the valves are not there, the compressor is likely ******* and might be so old it's not worth working on.

Anyways, it's probably worth seeing if you can get it up and running, new lines certainly should not run you $80!! About a dollar a foot for each gas and beer lines, and a couple of clamps, not more than $20 total for new CO2 and beer lines.

Also those 'Golden Gate' draft taps pictured in the unit are becoming rarer and harder to find, alone are worth double your purchase price, and might fetch you enough to buy you a new Stainless 'D' System coupler (which you will need for the vast majority of domestic beers) and lines. If you don't want them, send them to me!

From what you describe, I wouldn't worry too much about the rust. It is between the top stainless cover piece and the actual top of the insulated box, correct? That's just the outer metal shell and was never intended to be seen, but maybe I've got it wrong!

The door gasket will not run you more than $40 and is a very worthwhile investment if you get the refrigeration portion of the unit operational. Part number for the BM-23 gasket is: 703-195CAA

As far as buying another unit, if the compressor is recent and strong, it alone is likely more valuable than an entire new residential style 'budget' kegerator unit....

Do you have any friends who are refrigeration repair technicians? That might help with the costs. If you do have someone come in, be prepared to spend $90-$135/hr. for labor and a minimal amount for parts and supplies (purge nitrogen, leak detector, refrigerant, valve cores, etc...) Some techs may include minor expendables in their hourly rate, so the low hour rate is not always the best - ask questions and shop around.

Good luck!

BrewGuru,

Where can I find these replacement parts? Can I find them online, or do I need to call the manufacturer? So far I've found parts lists, but nothing listing pricing or how to order online. Thanks for everyones help and input also.