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Cooler not cooling
Posted by guest on February 10, 2017 at 12:00 amCooler compresser and fan is running but box isn’t getting cold and I can’t find name plate to see what type of gas to put in it
fixbear replied 7 years, 3 months ago 1 Member · 6 Replies -
6 Replies
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Sounds like you got a leak.
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First, what type of cooler? If it is a vertical reach in the label should be on the left side inside the box near the top.
Second, If the lable is gone, you can take the model number of the compressor to see what refrigerant it was built to run. If it comes back as a R-12 unit instead or R134, look around on the compressor, condenser housing, or dryer for a conversion marking. I use white paint marker (like for marking steel) or Sharpie, others use tags and stickers.
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I would make sure both coils are clean first and see what temp it is set to. If it’s a cooler it shouldn’t be set below 34 degrees. One common issue I see with coolers is people set it lower to achieve the correct temp. Most coolers do not have a defrost built in so they freeze their evap coil causing the unit to warm up because it can’t circulate any air. The evap freezes, and becomes a solid wall of ice, so the unit doesn’t achieve temp so the unit tries harder (runs the compressor longer) and builds up more ice on the evap. It’s a vicious cycle. Another thing that causes this on coolers without defrost is bad gaskets or leaving the door open. Long story short. Check the coils and the temp first.
-Joe
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Joe, they have defrost built in if the temp control is not changed to the wrong one or becomes unbonded with the evaporator.They should be a A-12 type that will not allow it to come back on till the evaporator reaches 37 to 38 degrees. But you are very right to check for ice up first.
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Good to know. In some cases even with a defrost, if the temp is set too low, the defrost still cant keep up. For some manufacturers it’s a 30 second hot gas defrost with a block of interwoven ice, not a heater with a heater thermostat. Yeah, not going to do a thing. I usually ask, “Can you see ice? Yeah? It needs to be defrosted for 24 hours.” After that time and adjusting the temp the thing works like a champ.
-Joe
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If one wants to thaw it quicker, secure the compressor power but not the evaporator fan’s. If there is a small area not frozen so some air can move it will thaw in about 2 to 3 hours. If totally blocked, use a heat gun to open a air flow to start it. Remember, that the fan motor generates heat, and heat rises. That’s why evaporator intakes are at the warmest point of a cooler.
Hot gas defrost time’s are normally 20 to 40 min. Freezer. 15 to 25 meat cooler.
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