Penguin chiller help

[Jaymex98]

Penguin chiller owners,

I have the 1/3 hp penguin chiller. It was maintaining 62’F in a 7 gal SS Brewtech fermenter. The ambient air in the garage is 82’F. The chiller stopped running. It is plugged in, it is getting good power, it is just not lighting up.

Any tricks? Circuit breakers? Fuses? The website is no help.

Thanks for any quick replies.

 

[mongoose33]

No lighting on the temp control unit?

How do you know you have good power to it?

There's a reset button on the plug-in to my unit--have you tried resetting it?

 

[Jaymex98]

No lighting on the temp control unit?

How do you know you have good power to it?

There's a reset button on the plug-in to my unit--have you tried resetting it?

No lighting on the temp control unit.

There are other working things plugged into the same outlet and I tried plugging the chiller into another good outlet.

I tried the reset button, there is a green light on the plug itself, just no lights on the temp control panel.

 

[Jaymex98]

No lighting on the temp control unit.

There are other working things plugged into the same outlet and I tried plugging the chiller into another good outlet.

I tried the reset button, there is a green light on the plug itself, just no lights on the temp control panel.

...the green light is on when I plug it into either outlet.

 

[mongoose33]

I'm afraid I'm just about out of ideas...have you looked all around the unit for something like a reset button, circuit breaker, etc?

At this point, you may need to remove the case and inspect for anything amiss inside. Maybe it's something as simple as a wire coming loose.

 

[Jaymex98]

I'm afraid I'm just about out of ideas...have you looked all around the unit for something like a reset button, circuit breaker, etc?

At this point, you may need to remove the case and inspect for anything amiss inside. Maybe it's something as simple as a wire coming loose.

I have looked around the unit....nothing. I do not want to dissemble it because it is still under warranty.

 

[Jaymex98]

Thanks for the help....

I bought the unit in April 2019.

 

[Jaymex98]

So,
Penguin Chillers was very receptive to my inquiry. I talked to CS on the phone and they troubleshot a bad controller via symptoms. They gave me the option of sending the unit back to the factory at my cost or replacing the controller myself (part of the 1 year warranty, free part and free shipping)—without voiding the warranty. I chose the latter.

This came in the mail 2 days later.

Front view of the controller

Remove these 2 screws from under the front faceplate. The panels were painted together so I had to run a blade along the seams, easy removal after I cut the paint bead.

All wires either had either terminals or friction clips. The orange things on each side are the plastic clips that secure the controller into place (on the back side of the faceplate).

1/3 hp chiller has been working since Jul 5th without issue. The scrapes on the top right corner of the faceplate are from the set screw of the box cutter I used to cut the paint bead ...careless mistake.

 

[emr25]

I had the same issue with my Penguin chiller. Failed controller that they replaced free of charge and I installed myself (very simple).

I bought myself a backup on eBay just in case it fails again at an inopportune time (as in during the middle of a beer fermenting that needs active cooling in my 80*+ garage). It only cost $12 so nice peace of mind to have on hand.

 

[mongoose33]

I had the same issue with my Penguin chiller. Failed controller that they replaced free of charge and I installed myself (very simple).

I bought myself a backup on eBay just in case it fails again at an inopportune time (as in during the middle of a beer fermenting that needs active cooling in my 80*+ garage). It only cost $12 so nice peace of mind to have on hand.

Do you have a link to that? I think I might want to lay in a spare, just in case.

 

[emr25]

My Penguin chiller uses the MH1210F controller model. I’ve seen a few variations in people’s pictures so you may want to confirm the model in your unit before ordering a spare.

Mine came from eBay, looks like it is $14.99 now. You can probably shop around for the best price by searching for the model number.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MH1210F-11...1?pageci=7ecbabca-81a5-4193-b8e6-23aea0be5da3

 

[Blazinlow86]

Disappointing that they would expect you to pay shipping for a warranty repair. Something to note for future buyers. Cheers

 

[PenguinChillers]

Our warranty covers the repair, repacking and return shipping. We also offer to provide an inbound label at cost- $25-$35 for most of our standard chillers. We do everything we can to help our customer while trying to ensure we don't get nuisance issues being sent back that are easily field trouble shot/fixed. I don't know how many times we get support cases due to the GFI plug getting tripped. If it was 100% free to send in I think we'd waste alot of money on simple fixes that shouldn't be sent in. If our cost go up, our prices go up.

BTW.... anyone want a free chiller?

https://www.penguinchillers.com/giveaway/

 

[Noob_Brewer]

nice giveaway - too bad its only for people with facebook. Im not on it and don't want to be on it lol.

 

[PenguinChillers]

you should be able to use our Facebook ID instead - "penguinchillers"

we are using that just to track those who refer others.

 

[Noob_Brewer]

you should be able to use our Facebook ID instead - "penguinchillers"

we are using that just to track those who refer others.

thanks!

 

[Blazinlow86]

Our warranty covers the repair, repacking and return shipping. We also offer to provide an inbound label at cost- $25-$35 for most of our standard chillers. We do everything we can to help our customer while trying to ensure we don't get nuisance issues being sent back that are easily field trouble shot/fixed. I don't know how many times we get support cases due to the GFI plug getting tripped. If it was 100% free to send in I think we'd waste alot of money on simple fixes that shouldn't be sent in. If our cost go up, our prices go up.

BTW.... anyone want a free chiller?

https://www.penguinchillers.com/giveaway/

I'd agree that if a customer returned a unit specifically with a tripped GFCI after being walked thru checking that GFCI was not tripped the customer should pay shipping as that would be user error. In the case like this were it's a penguin parts failure I believe penguin should be responsible for any cost incured to honor the warranty. If that's happening enough to cause issues with the bottom line that's a different discussion altogether. Admittedly being a warranty administrator for one of the largest auto makers in the world may have me biased abit. When our product breaks during the warranty it's completely our problem regardless what it costs. Cheers