Kegerator hot to touch but cold inside.

[Daveed1025]

I got a used Kegerator yesterday. Plugged it in today and left it for about an hour or so. I went out to check it and noticed the top and sides were very warm to the touch..bordering on hot to the touch. The compressor was also really hot. I also noticed the one of the refrigerant lines in the back had a little bit of ice build up (this may come from the ripped insulation though which I planned to replace). The inside seems to be cooling just fine. An empty keg came with it and it seemed to be pretty cold when I felt it.

Any idea why the outside would be so hot? Do you think something is wrong or an I just worried that I bought a dud (caveat emptor). Thanks!

 

[GoeHaarden]

Normal. Nothing is actively cooled rather it's the loss of heat that causes a temperature drop. In order to cool the inside the heat has to go somewhere. As long as it's cooling and not getting too hot to touch then I wouldn't worry about.

OTOH. Too hot to touch could be a sign of a problem. Remember to leave about a ~1 inch gap around the sides or you will effect performance.

 

[day_trippr]

Agreed, modern chest freezers attach the condenser loop against the inside of the exterior cabinet skin and use the large metal surface area as a radiator. And, yes, compressors can get painfully hot even under normal operating conditions.

My 13cf unit requires 4" spacing at the compressor end and an inch everywhere else. I'm not sure I'd actually want to test either parameter because there are times it gets pretty toasty as it is with a good 6" on two sides and essentially unlimited space on the other two...

Cheers!

 

[Daveed1025]

Thanks for the quick responses. Any idea about the ice buildup on the line in the back? Think an insulation refresh would help?

 

[day_trippr]

Uh oh.
I totally missed that icing bit, and usually that is not a good sign as it's indicative of low refrigerant level which allows the condensed vapor to "flash" before reaching the evaporator loop.
Before you get totally committed to using that unit you might want to see if it actually can achieve refrigerator temperatures (like, around 34°F)...

[edit - thought this was a keezer]

 

[Daveed1025]

Good idea. I will kick it in again tomorrow and throw my digital thermometer in there.

 

[augiedoggy]

I know with AC units the larger line coming off the condensor should be very cold and wrapped in insulation, it may develop icing if not insulated.. I imagine on a fridge the principal is the same?

 

[Daveed1025]

Update - plugged the kegerator back in And let it sit over night with a cup of water in it. When I got home today half of the water was frozen and my digital thermometer read 34 degrees. I am still getting icing on the back pipe however, it is only happening on the parts with the ripped insulation. It looks like I should be in business after I replace the feed lines and insulation.

 

[day_trippr]

Sounds good, especially if the unit actually shuts off when it reaches Set Point (ie: doesn't run continuously forever)...

Cheers!

 

[Daveed1025]

It looks like everything seems to be working correctly. I bought what is in the picture to fix the insulation on the pipe in the back and some expandable foam to fix a small hole. Hoping this helps eliminate the icing. It only seems to happen in the places that lack the insulation.