True brand beer meister troubleshoot

[t-jarks22]

Hey guys, lookin for done help on a possible buy. Guy is selling his old beer fridge. Says the motor runs but doesn't get cold. Been like that for about 8 months. Trying to kind of pre-diagnos the problem before I buy. Any helpful ideas would be appreciated! I live on Kauai and don't get many opportunities to find things like this so I
need to jump on it soon

Thanks guys

 

[t-jarks22]

Oh and it comes with a co2 tank a couple tap handles and some glass pilsners for $75.

 

[Dan]

I'd personally save my money and buy a fridge that works. The compressor might be shot, leak in the cooling lines.. who knows. It probably won't be cheap to fix especially on Kauai. Most any parts need will need to be shipped.

 

[t-jarks22]

Here's som pics
It comes with. Co2 tank two tap handles and some glass pilsners for $75. Good deal even not working?

 

[Dan]

Okay.. changed my mind maybe. 75 bucks for a serviceable CO2 tank, and tap handles and shanks that are in good condition is not a bad deal. About the cheapest new 5lb CO2 tank I've seen is $64 plus shipping. Faucets and shanks another 40.. all brand new of course.

Sounds like you might have found a decent deal but I wouldn't waste money fixing the refrigerator. You can still use it as a fermentation chamber.. If it cools down to 60F that would be perfect. If not you could always try throwing a block of ice in it and see it will maintaing nice cool fermentation temps. <65F

 

[t-jarks22]

I'd personally save my money and buy a fridge that works. The compressor might be shot, leak in the cooling lines.. who knows. It probably won't be cheap to fix especially on Kauai. Most any parts need will need to be shipped.

Yea I hear that, but like I said living on Kauai this is the first one I've seen in 6 months of looking. Shipping one here would be more than the fridge itself.

 

[Dan]

Love that picture. Man I miss living in paradise.

 

[t-jarks22]

Okay.. changed my mind maybe. 75 bucks for a serviceable CO2 tank, and tap handles and shanks that are in good condition is not a bad deal. About the cheapest new 5lb CO2 tank I've seen is $64 plus shipping. Faucets and shanks another 40.. all brand new of course.

Sounds like you might have found a decent deal but I wouldn't waste money fixing the refrigerator. You can still use it as a fermentation chamber.. If it cools down to 60F that would be perfect. If not you could always try throwing a block of ice in it and see it will maintaing nice cool fermentation temps. <65F

True, thanks

 

[t-jarks22]

Love that picture. Man I miss living in paradise.

Did you use to live out here?

 

[rhoop]

It doesn't sound like a terrible deal as long as everything else is in working order. Just expect to toss the fridge. Best case scenario you will have to clean out the radiator on the back or maybe get a fridge recharge kit for another $50. I wouldn't even bother trying though. Just toss it and get another fridge. Make sure to factor in disposal charges on the fridge if you buy. Here in alberta Canada its $20 just to bring it to the dump.

 

[Dan]

Yea I hear that, but like I said living on Kauai this is the first one I've seen in 6 months of looking. Shipping one here would be more than the fridge itself.

Hmm.. I can appreciate that. You might want to call around to refrigerator repair places. I think the fridge is worth the cost just for the CO2 tank, tower and taps. I'd probably pick it up too if I were you. But not sure I'd invest money in the fridge fixing it. Might have to go large and pay out some cash for a new one - that sucks I know.

Make sure the test date on the CO2 bottle is good for a few more years. The bottle and taps/shanks is the best part about this deal. And it is a decent deal if they are all in good shape. The fridge? Not so much.

 

[t-jarks22]

Also been thinking if building my own so at the very Least could get some parts

 

[t-jarks22]

So I picked it up. Got the fridge, 5 lbs tank, 15 gal keg, two draught taps and a bunch of nice glasses for 50 bucks. Not bad. Anyone know a good troubleshooting website or thread on here for fixing the fridge? Fridge motor runs well, just no cold

 

[Brulosopher]

Great deal for $75, sans fridge. And I f*cking love Kauai, favorite place on earth.

 

[Brulosopher]

So I picked it up. Got the fridge, 5 lbs tank, 15 gal keg, two draught taps and a bunch of nice glasses for 50 bucks. Not bad. Anyone know a good troubleshooting website or thread on here for fixing the fridge? Fridge motor runs well, just no cold

Shoulda read further... $50 is awesome!!

 

[t-jarks22]

Great deal for $75, sans fridge. And I f*cking love Kauai, favorite place on earth.

It's an amazing place! Lucky to have been born here. You been out here before?

 

[onthekeg]

I would take it down to a refrigeration place. They can give you an estimate for repair. It may just need a recharge of R-22. True units are commercial refrigeration items and are built to last, I am sure it can be repaired for 100 dollars or so.

 

[t-jarks22]

I would take it down to a refrigeration place. They can give you an estimate for repair. It may just need a recharge of R-22. True units are commercial refrigeration items and are built to last, I am sure it can be repaired for 100 dollars or so.

Ok yea that sounds like a good plan. Thanks

 

[JRems]

It's A commercial unit not a residential unit, all the parts are meant to be replaced or fixed. Most residential mini fridges are sealed systems. I'm sure it has a recharge port. Just see if you know a friend of a friend that does ac units. They would have the gauges and freon needed to check or recharge. It just sounds to me like it's low on freon.

 

[t-jarks22]

So got it home, stated it up, opened the back saw that a fan wasn't moving (unlike everything else), gave it a flick and it started goin. Let it run for about 10 min and it does seem to be cooling. Not super fast but he said he hadn't used it in a year or so. If it just needs a freeon refill I'm stoked. Not counting my chickens yet though

 

[t-jarks22]

Not bad for $50

 

[mobly99]

I would start first off with removing the cover at the bottom back and cleaning the condensing coil before having anyone look at it. Give that a shot and see if that helps any.

- edit - see you already got that far... Good luck

 

[t-jarks22]

I would start first off with removing the cover at the bottom back and cleaning the condensing coil before having anyone look at it. Give that a shot and see if that helps any.

- edit - see you already got that far... Good luck

Actually, did not clean the coil. I'll try that now. It's pretty caked with dust.

Thanks

 

[Brulosopher]

It's an amazing place! Lucky to have been born here. You been out here before?

Yes, twice. I envy you...

 

[t-jarks22]

You're still luckier than most! Hit me up next time you're out here, I'll pour you a few

 

[t-jarks22]

I'm a happy man!

 

[Brulosopher]

You're still luckier than most! Hit me up next time you're out here, I'll pour you a few

Oh, indeed!!

 

[onthekeg]

Looks like it works! Get the fan replaced and you are in business!

 

[t-jarks22]

Looks like it works! Get the fan replaced and you are in business!

The fan seems to turn in and off now as well. The problem I'm the problem I'm havin now is it won't stop cooling. I turned it to the warmest setting and it kept running when it was at 35 deg. Reading service manual now

 

[onthekeg]

The fan seems to turn in and off now as well. The problem I'm the problem I'm havin now is it won't stop cooling. I turned it to the warmest setting and it kept running when it was at 35 deg. Reading service manual now

In a commercial fridge, the fans never stop running.

 

[t-jarks22]

In a commercial fridge, the fans never stop running.

It's not the fan that I'm talking about its the the cooling unit that keeps running. And the fan on the compressor should turn off when it is not actively cooling

 

[raouliii]

Great find. Looks like a TDD-1? I'm not a refrigeration expert by I have had to learn a bit about the TRUE commercial units as I have two GDM (Glass Door Merchandiser) units. I would suspect that the TRUE kegerator units function similarly. Yes, the compressor and condensor fan should cycle on and off together. The evaporator fan inside should always run. Does it appear that anything has been modified in the unit? If you suspect a bad thermostat, research the replacement thoroughly.

My TRUE GDMs use a thermostat called a Constant Cut-In Control, that monitors the evaporator internal temperature, NOT the air temperature of the interior, which is a fundamental difference for a thermostat. The temperature probe is inserted into a hollow tube built into the evaporator. The thermostat operates with evaporator temperatures that drop to well below freezing during normal operation. Once the evaporator temperature is reached, the compressor is turned off and it will not "cut-in" until a specific temperature, well above freezing, is reached at the probe. This is all done in order to provide a defrost for every cooling cycle and does not allow short cycling of the compressor to occur, which allows these commercial coolers to run trouble-free for years.

When obtained, my GDM-12 had been modified with an air sensing thermostat in an attempt to use it as a ferm chamber and not having the original, I had to research a replacement. I ended up installing a Ranco A12-701 thermostat with a 23.5deg Normal OFF / 41deg Cut-In temperature and it runs like a dream as a corny cooler.

Good Luck

 

[onthekeg]

On my unit the fan inside the cooling chamber runs all the time, the compressor cycles on and off.

 

[t-jarks22]

Great find. Looks like a TDD-1? I'm not a refrigeration expert by I have had to learn a bit about the TRUE commercial units as I have two GDM (Glass Door Merchandiser) units. I would suspect that the TRUE kegerator units function similarly. Yes, the compressor and condensor fan should cycle on and off together. The evaporator fan inside should always run. Does it appear that anything has been modified in the unit? If you suspect a bad thermostat, research the replacement thoroughly.

My TRUE GDMs use a thermostat called a Constant Cut-In Control, that monitors the evaporator internal temperature, NOT the air temperature of the interior, which is a fundamental difference for a thermostat. The temperature probe is inserted into a hollow tube built into the evaporator. The thermostat operates with evaporator temperatures that drop to well below freezing during normal operation. Once the evaporator temperature is reached, the compressor is turned off and it will not "cut-in" until a specific temperature, well above freezing, is reached at the probe. This is all done in order to provide a defrost for every cooling cycle and does not allow short cycling of the compressor to occur, which allows these commercial coolers to run trouble-free for years.

When obtained, my GDM-12 had been modified with an air sensing thermostat in an attempt to use it as a ferm chamber and not having the original, I had to research a replacement. I ended up installing a Ranco A12-701 thermostat with a 23.5deg Normal OFF / 41deg Cut-In temperature and it runs like a dream as a corny cooler.

Good Luck

Yea, it's a TDD-1. It does have the same cut in/ cut out thermostat control. Seems to be all original parts, I know the guy who sold it to me did not change anything. As I was tinkering with it last night, the cut in seemed to work when adjusted but not the cut off. Perhaps I just did not let it get cold enough. Though 32 deg in the in the box seemed pretty cold to me. So if the box was that cold the internal temp of the evaporator must have been much colder.

The service manual said that cut in Is set at 36.5 and cut out is at 16. I didn't realize that wasn't the box temp.... Now I've messed with the temp settings and Probly made it harder on myself. Damn my impatience.

Guess I'll just let it run and see what happens. Did your GDM-12 take awhile to get to temp first time around?

 

[raouliii]

I have a thermometer in my GDM-12 but I try not to look at it much since it changes drastically during the cooling/defrost cycle of the unit. The important thing is that you set your temperature control such that the temperature of the beer is where you want it to be, everything else takes care of itself.

I assume you adjusted the cut-in/cut-out settings? These are base settings that allow the control to have the cooling duty cycle needed for the desired temperature range over the range of the control knob. If you can get a temperature probe into the evaporator, you can recalibrate the thermostat with the control knob @ 5. The service manual has you remove the evaporator fan blade to gain access.

 

[t-jarks22]

So after letting it run awhile to see if the cut out was working, I opened it up to find it blowing
Warm air.... F@&$!!! Did I blow the compressor letting it run for so long?

 

[raouliii]

How long did it run? Compressor could have just tripped on an overheat condition. Let it cool and try again.

My GDM-10, with the factory thermostat bypassed, ran constant for quite a few hours with the door blocked wide open with no ill effects. My add-on temperature controller had powered back up after a power outage. Condensate pan was overflowing since it was essentially dehumidifying my garage in June for hours.

 

[onthekeg]

It probably froze up as its low on freon.

 

[t-jarks22]

How long did it run? Compressor could have just tripped on an overheat condition. Let it cool and try again.

My GDM-10, with the factory thermostat bypassed, ran constant for quite a few hours with the door blocked wide open with no ill effects. My add-on temperature controller had powered back up after a power outage. Condensate pan was overflowing since it was essentially dehumidifying my garage in June for hours.

It ran for about 6 hours while I was away.

 

[t-jarks22]

So it sounds like the compressor is still running. The condensing coil though, is not getting hot any more( unlike it was when it was working)