BM-23 condenser fan problem

[Hood0021]

Hey, Ive spent a ton of time browsing through other people's posts on here, and cant seem to find the same problem Im having.....

I bought an old Bev Air BM-23 off craigslist; its seriously old (20yrs?), wood panels, R12 refrigerant, etc. It wouldnt cool after I brought it home and let it rest overnight. Then after reading some posts here, I opened up the back and found a ton of dust and dirt. Cleaned off the condenser coils, and that helped drop the temp to around 60-65, but didnt help that much. The problem seems to be the condenser fan. It sort of pulses, like its trying to turn on, but cant quite get there. I pulled out my little honeywell fan (about 10'' diameter) and pointed it in the same direction as the condenser fan, right at the condenser coils, and set the BM-23 to level 5. The temp dropped to about 35 deg. in less than an hour. This is what makes me think that the problem is the condenser fan. I mean, the fridge wouldnt drop to those temperatures if the problem was a refrigerant leak or anything, right?

Basically, I am considering trying to replace the condenser fan, but I dont want to drop the change on the part if its a bigger problem than just the fan. Alternatively, since it cools to where I want it as long as I keep a small fan pointed at the open condenser coils, I was thinking it might be easier to just run the beast with the little fan all the time and not bother with pulling the back apart to replace the whole fan and motor. Thoughts? Thanks for your help.

[THE ICEMAN]

Yup, you have a bad condenser fan motor. Those motors are not all that expensive, maybe $30-35 bucks. What you probably have is a 9 watt, 115 volt motor with a clockwise rotation, so that is what you need to look for.

Don't run the unit without any air circulating through the condenser because it can damage the compressor.


THE ICEMAN

[Hood0021]

Thanks for the prompt response. I really appreciate it.

Any idea how to get the fan out? I flipped the unit on its front (gently) and was able to unscrew the bolts holding it down, but cant seem to pull it through the hole without exerting force, which seems like a poor idea. The problem is these hard lines running from the compressor; one goes behind to the back of the condenser, the other goes past the condenser and up the back of the unit in an insulated rubber tube. It looks like the bottom panel of the casing here is bolted to the compressor and the condenser coils, so it wouldnt be easy to take this off

Lastly, the fan has an electrical wire coming from the compressor. Is this easy to remove and reattach with a new one, or is this going to require soldering? Thanks again for all your help, Iceman.

[THE ICEMAN]

Thanks for the prompt response. I really appreciate it.

Any idea how to get the fan out? I flipped the unit on its front (gently) and was able to unscrew the bolts holding it down, but cant seem to pull it through the hole without exerting force, which seems like a poor idea. The problem is these hard lines running from the compressor; one goes behind to the back of the condenser, the other goes past the condenser and up the back of the unit in an insulated rubber tube. It looks like the bottom panel of the casing here is bolted to the compressor and the condenser coils, so it wouldnt be easy to take this off.

I don't remember exactly how that model comes loose but I believe you are correct. If you pull loose a couple of bolts the chassis should slide out. just be careful not to kink the refrigerant lines.

Lastly, the fan has an electrical wire coming from the compressor. Is this easy to remove and reattach with a new one, or is this going to require soldering? Thanks again for all your help, Iceman.

The simple way to do it is snip the wires near the old motor, strip them back & just wire-nut the new one in. It does not matter which wire goes where.


THE ICEMAN

[Hood0021]

Awesome! You are the man. Thanks for everything.