beverage air bm23 not getting cold at all

[jhall33]

someone I know gave me a BM23 for free because it wasn't getting cold enough for him. It has just been sitting in his garage for at least a year. I brought it home, cleaned it up, replaced the hoses, plugged it in, and it isn't getting cold. The fan inside the fridge is working. The fan attached it to the compressor is running. I can't hear the compressor itself making any noises, but it is getting hot. I have been reading about these things and what to check. I jumped the overload sensor and it didn't change anything. i pulled the relay and i can faintly hear it click when i flip it over. There is a cylinder that was attached to the box the relay is in, what is that? Any guesses what i can do to fix it? He said when it was under warranty, he had them replace the compressor. Hopefully i dont have to do that. But most importantly, hopefully it isn't out of coolant. I dont have much experience with fridges, but im mechanically savvy, I hope this is something i can fix.

[KillianBoy]

jhall33,
If it's been off for a year and it doesn't cold at all, it's most likely not a mechanical or electrical problem (the original problem may be either one), but most likely a refrigerant problem, a lot of times the seals dry out when the unit is off and leaks refrigerant. Get a refrigerant expert to take a look, make sure he pulls vacuum and adds the correct refrigerant, cost probably be about $200, mind you it might not work (seals dried out too far), you can look through the forum and see what other bm23 owners did when their units stopped cooling. If it were me I would call a refrigeration expert, it might cost but couple of a hundred isn't much for a free unit, if it works for a while and gets really cold and then slowly loses cold then you know it might be the seals in the compressor are totally dried and needs replacement ( if your expert fills the refrigerant right you will know right away when it won't hold vacuum), if it works but doesn't get cold enough from the get go, check the door seal and any other holes in the system, it also might be the part you mentioned, another member said replacing the dryer (I think that's what it's called) solved his problem.
KB

[THE ICEMAN]

With all due respect to KB, he is correct in that you most likely have a refrigeration problem but absolutely wrong in telling you that there are "seals" that dry out & cause leaks.

Refrigeration systems of this type have no seals in the compressor or anywhere else. These systems are essentially a continuous loop of copper tubing with a pump (the compressor) in it & all the joints are hard soldered.

Anyway, KB is correct in that you need to have someone take a look at the unit. Given what you have described it sounds like the compressor is working so there are a couple of possibilities, a leak in the system or a restriction in the system. Either way, you will need to find a refrigeration company that is familiar with those systems. A simple A/C repairman will not do.


THE ICEMAN

[jhall33]

Anyone have experience with pricing on this? I don't want to throw a ton of money at it.

[THE ICEMAN]

Anyone have experience with pricing on this? I don't want to throw a ton of money at it.

The cost will depend on what is found by the technician. If it is a simple leak in the system that can be easily found & repaired it should be around $175 to $225. If it something more involved like a leak in the evaporator or a restriction in the system it can take a couple hours of labor plus whatever parts are determined to be needed. It is possible the bill could get up to $400 to $600. Call around to some local companies & see if they will give estimates.


THE ICEMAN

[KillianBoy]

THE ICEMAN,
Sorry, I've been told that if you don't run A/C units (auto and home), every so often, seals (maybe gaskets?) will dry out, I've also been told refrigerators need to run again every so often, though not so often as A/C units. I remember someone saying it had something to do with lubricant circulating through system, again sorry if any of this wrong, it's been what I've been told.
jhall33,
By what you have posted, it seems as THE ICEMAN says, either restriction or leak, either way it will take a refrigeration expert to figure out, with a unit costing $1000+ a cost of $300 to getting running is small enough to try.
But with any used unit it's always a crap shoot on the question of "Is it worth it?", it's all subjective, if you don't want to spend the money then don't, it was free, but if it were me I'd spend the money (not more than $500), to try and fix, that's the price of a DIY kegerator.
KB

[THE ICEMAN]

THE ICEMAN,
Sorry, I've been told that if you don't run A/C units (auto and home), every so often, seals (maybe gaskets?) will dry out, I've also been told refrigerators need to run again every so often, though not so often as A/C units. I remember someone saying it had something to do with lubricant circulating through system, again sorry if any of this wrong, it's been what I've been told.

KB

No worries. With respect to automotive A/C units you heard correctly. Those units are put together differently & are subject to much more vibration. Those systems are 'screwed' together using seals & gaskets for the most part rather than hard soldered as in low temp & home A/C applications. Auto A/Cs are designed to have parts replaced with comparative ease.


THE ICEMAN

[jhall33]

How plausible is it to add some stop leak and r134a? I have been reading about it and it sounds like I could add a line tap valve, vacuum the system, add stop leak, add r134a. Any thoughts? Anyone with experience with that? I don't have the disposable income for a refridgerator service call, but I'm mechanical and have already priced everything I need.

[jhall33]

Second question would be do you out in stop leak then vacuum or vice versa? You can tell there is a leak if vacuum doesn't hold, but I would think after you did the stop leak you wouldn't want to vacuum it all out. Hope I'm making sense

[THE ICEMAN]

How plausible is it to add some stop leak and r134a? I have been reading about it and it sounds like I could add a line tap valve, vacuum the system, add stop leak, add r134a. Any thoughts? Anyone with experience with that? I don't have the disposable income for a refridgerator service call, but I'm mechanical and have already priced everything I need.

I would not recommend it at all. I have only used refrigerant stop-leak a few times & only on expansion valve systems, never on cap-tube systems... Not impressed with it. R134a systems are prone to restrictions on capillary tube systems, like the BM23, in the first place.

Chances are the leak is a small one so if recharged you could get 6 to 12 months before it starts to act up again. On the other hand, if it only lasts a few weeks to a month, you have a good sized leak & it will need fixing.


THE ICEMAN

[jhall33]

Here is a curve ball for you, Iceman! Here is a picture i took of my compressor. I didn't notice before (cuz i didn't know what the heck i was looking at) that someone has already spliced in 2 fill valves. For 1, looks like my dryer isn't stock. I know the guy i got it from said he had the compressor replaced when it was under warranty, I guess the fridge repair guys added those valves. Do you know what connector hooks up to those? I have a big can of freon, but it has a nozzle for cars on it, so it doesn't fit. You are probably right about the leak stop, the whole system only holds 3 oz of freon. So besides whatever kind of connectors i need to get, which of the 2 do i hook up to? i'm guessing the lower one in the picture. Harbor Freight has a vacuum pump that runs off an air compressor for $15, would it be a good idea to run that on it for a while and then add 3 oz of freon and call it good?IMG_81512.jpg

[THE ICEMAN]

The fittings on there are 1/4" schrader valves. Standard gauge hoses fit them. The ones you have are specialized for the auto systems.
The upper valve is the low pressure side of the system & the lower one on the drier is the high pressure side. The drier that is on there now is actually better than the stock one in my opinion. I've had no experience with the type of vacuum pump you mentioned so I can't say. Its worth a try I suppose. The drier that is on there now is actually a bit larger than the original so you would need maybe another 1/2 ounce to an ounce more. Once up & running again you will know if the charge is right if you have a nice cold suction line (the insulated one) coming back to the compressor. If you have frost coming back to the compressor you have overcharged the system & will need to "adjust" the charge.

[jhall33]

Excellent, i appreciate your help. I'm going to borrow a manifold gauge set and buy that pump along with some r134a and hopefully it is smooth sailing from there.

[jhall33]

Oh yah, and here is a link to that pump i'm referring to: http://www.harborfreight.com/air-vacuum-pump-with-r134a-and-r12-connectors-96677.html
After I run the vacuum for a while, any ideas of what PSI I'm looking for on the low pressure side?

[THE ICEMAN]

Oh yah, and here is a link to that pump i'm referring to: http://www.harborfreight.com/air-vacuum-pump-with-r134a-and-r12-connectors-96677.html
After I run the vacuum for a while, any ideas of what PSI I'm looking for on the low pressure side?

With a room temperature box the low side should be about 30psi or so. Once the unit is down to temp it should drop to about 14 to 15psi. The high side should be about 175 to 225psi. If the high side pressure is up around 250 or more you have problems - too much refrigerant or clogged condenser coil. Another way to gauge whether you have the proper charge is to use your hands. Feel the suction line, if it is cold thats good. Then feel the drier, it should be moderately warm. If it is burning hot, once again, too much refrigerant or bad airflow through the condenser.


THE ICEMAN