Kegerator not cooling down

[jnlipas]

Hello all,

I've read through some other posts on the forum regarding this topic, but so far none of them seem to really apply to my situation. A little background: I found a kegerator on Craigslist and the guy said that he had only run 1 keg through it then just stored it because he quit drinking beer. It sat on its side on the way home and I waited at least 48 hours before turning it on to let the freon settle. I've let it run for a few days, and it isn't getting cooler inside. A lot of people experiencing the issue I am is that there is either a problem with the compressor or a freon leak. I have limited mechanical knowledge but I read one forum that someone said as long as the compressor is hot to the touch it should be fine. My compressor is hot to the touch and I don't see any signs of anything leaking inside.

If anyone could point me in a direction to take this I would really appreciate it. I am really bummed that I bought this kegerator only to be having problems with it out of the gate.

Cheers!

 

[Yooper]

Hello all,

I've read through some other posts on the forum regarding this topic, but so far none of them seem to really apply to my situation. A little background: I found a kegerator on Craigslist and the guy said that he had only run 1 keg through it then just stored it because he quit drinking beer. It sat on its side on the way home and I waited at least 48 hours before turning it on to let the freon settle. I've let it run for a few days, and it isn't getting cooler inside. A lot of people experiencing the issue I am is that there is either a problem with the compressor or a freon leak. I have limited mechanical knowledge but I read one forum that someone said as long as the compressor is hot to the touch it should be fine. My compressor is hot to the touch and I don't see any signs of anything leaking inside.

If anyone could point me in a direction to take this I would really appreciate it. I am really bummed that I bought this kegerator only to be having problems with it out of the gate.

Cheers!

Sounds like it's out of coolant, either via a leak or something else. Was it cold/cool when you bought it?

 

[MindenMan]

Is it running non-stop and still not cooling?

 

[jnlipas]

Unfortunately I did not ask the person to plug it in to prove that it got cold before I bought it. All I know is that it was sitting for some period of time between the last time he used it and when I picked it up.

 

[jnlipas]

Is it running non-stop and still not cooling?

That's correct, I let it run for a few days and it hasn't cooled down. It's sitting right at 60 degrees.

 

[Yooper]

That's correct, I let it run for a few days and it hasn't cooled down. It's sitting right at 60 degrees.

Then it's a coolant issue. It may be very expensive ($$$$$) to have that fixed, unfortunately.

 

[dmcman73]

Do you hear the compressor kick on very frequently, continuously run or not come on at all? If it's only cooling down to 60 degree then the freon could be low otherwise if there was a freon leak I would think that the compressor would never kick on as there are safety valves in it that prevent it from kicking on if the pressure is to low (leak) or too high (clog).

The other thing it could be is the thermostat. Have you tried adjusting it? It could also be busted as well.

As Yooper stated, those little fridges are expensive to repair which is why the guy may have sold it. If you can't get your money back I wouldn't throw the whole thing out, post a picture of the fridge, you might be able to salvage the draft tower and all the of the plumbing and gas valves and pick up a cheap "college dorm" fridge from Walmart or somewhere. There are plenty of threads on here with Kegerator builds to help you.

 

[jnlipas]

Do you hear the compressor kick on very frequently, continuously run or not come on at all? If it's only cooling down to 60 degree then the freon could be low otherwise if there was a freon leak I would think that the compressor would never kick on as there are safety valves in it that prevent it from kicking on if the pressure is to low (leak) or too high (clog).

The other thing it could be is the thermostat. Have you tried adjusting it? It could also be busted as well.

As Yooper stated, those little fridges are expensive to repair which is why the guy may have sold it. If you can't get your money back I wouldn't throw the whole thing out, post a picture of the fridge, you might be able to salvage the draft tower and all the of the plumbing and gas valves and pick up a cheap "college dorm" fridge from Walmart or somewhere. There are plenty of threads on here with Kegerator builds to help you.

I had someone who knew some things about fridges look at it the other night, his suspicion was that it was out of freon. Unfortunately he couldn't find a service port on the compressor and said it would have to be a pierce filling which is costly (he gave a ballpark quote of between $3 - $500). I did test some things with the thermostat as that was another suspicion I had, but that didn't seem to make a difference. For now I'm just going to put it aside and maybe come back to it one day.

I appreciate everyone taking the time to reply!

 

[jnlipas]

I just wanted to update anyone that cared - a few weeks back I did end up filling the kegerator with R134 and it immediately started cooling down. However, after a few hours the temperature shot back up and it quit cooling, so I'm assuming there is a pretty big leak somewhere in the system. I haven't fully decided if I'm just going to scrap it or hang on to it, but just in case someone else down the road stumbles across this thread they will know my fate...

 

[dmcman73]

Depending on where the leak is and how big, it could be brazed and repaired. They have freon with UV dye in it. Charge it and wait, then use a UV Light to find the leak. If it glows purple, you'll see where it's coming from.

EDIT: Sorry, use a UV light not a black light. They sell them in the autoparts store with the UV dye based freon.

 

[jnlipas]

Depending on where the leak is and how big, it could be brazed and repaired. They have freon with UV dye in it. Charge it and wait, then use a UV Light to find the leak. If it glows purple, you'll see where it's coming from.

EDIT: Sorry, use a UV light not a black light. They sell them in the autoparts store with the UV dye based freon.

Thanks for that bit of info. Currently the biggest dilemma is that I can't find out a way to get the back of the kegerator off to see where the leak is. I've talked to a few people about it and all of them basically said "Well just start cutting the thing apart and the worst thing that could happen is you break it, and it doesn't even work right now anyway!". So I'm just trying to think of a way to get the backside off but haven't come up with one yet. I've just been pouring my beer from my keg in to a howler and refrigerating it and it seems to be working fine so far so I'm not really in a huge hurry to try and fix the kegerator.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Thanks for that bit of info. Currently the biggest dilemma is that I can't find out a way to get the back of the kegerator off to see where the leak is. I've talked to a few people about it and all of them basically said "Well just start cutting the thing apart and the worst thing that could happen is you break it, and it doesn't even work right now anyway!". So I'm just trying to think of a way to get the backside off but haven't come up with one yet. I've just been pouring my beer from my keg in to a howler and refrigerating it and it seems to be working fine so far so I'm not really in a huge hurry to try and fix the kegerator.

Are you sure its the backside that comes off and not the interior walls?

The coils didnt get put there by magic, theres screws or glue holding something in place you should be able to pry apart to get to them.

 

[raouliii]

...Currently the biggest dilemma is that I can't find out a way to get the back of the kegerator off to see where the leak is.....

What brand/model of kegerator is it?

 

[jnlipas]

What brand/model of kegerator is it?

This guy right here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ZT2XRW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[dmcman73]

I just looked at the owners manual for that unit online. There is a section where it shows how to reverse the door swing and when it shows how to remove the lower bracket, I see what looks like a service access panel under the unit at the back.

You may have to lay it down on it's back (or side) to see the panel. Just make sure it's off when doing so and that after you put it right side up, you wait a few hours to turn it back on.

 

[dmcman73]

Here's the page I was referring too, I circled in red what I think looks like a service panel under the unit.

 

[thaymond]

Interested in the fix as I'm experiencing the same thing. The compressor goes on, but it doesn't cool. I also suspect a leak somewhere. Where is/would typically be the charging port for the freon? Mine is a BD6000 kegerator.

 

[Newsman]

Charging port is probably on the back under the access panel indicated in the post immediately above yours.

 

[raouliii]

FWIW, consumer refrigerators very rarely have integrated charging ports. Ports would be added by a service tech.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

FWIW, consumer refrigerators very rarely have integrated charging ports. Ports would be added by a service tech.

And as stated earlier, its not very cost prohibitive at several hundred dollars when you can go down to any Home Depot and get another brand new chest freezer for $250.