nor lake freezer

[JF254]

hello I was working on a nor lake w/i today and the whole bottom of the evap pan was solid ice. to the point that there was ice all over the floor. I defrosted all of it and confirmed that the drain was clear, the pan heater was operating, and the defrost timer was going into defrost. ( 4 times a day 30 minutes each) just wondering for any feedback of what else could be causing this.. thanks for any input.. sorry I don't have model and serial.

[jpsmith1cm]

Is there a heat trace? Drain line insulated? Drain plugged or flowing slowly?

[pairman]

There is usually a separate limit for the pan heater. Is it cutting out at the correct temp. Also what about a drain line heat tape. Is it working and on 24/7. :putergreet:

[JF254]

dont usually work on freezers starting something new here.. drain is insulated and heat taped. heat tape is plugged in 24/7. cleaned out drain line.. they said that this happens pretty regular ( we just got the account from another company recently) did not see a seperate thermostat for the pan heater.

[k-fridge]

Probably clogged drain or bad heat tape.

[JF254]

heat tape was working while I was there.. anyone every had any heat tape not work occasionaly?

[jpsmith1cm]

heat tape was working while I was there.. anyone every had any heat tape not work occasionaly?


Could they be turning it off inadvertently?

breaker? Switch? Maybe it's wired in with the lighting circuit.

[pairman]

is the heat tape actually heating?. Is there a possibility that power is intermittantly shut off. Maybe a circuit or switch they don't realize controls it.

[JF254]

will double check tomorrow. But I think the outlet was live 24/7

[pairman]

JP - - we seem to be typing similar responses at the same time

[hvac wiz 79]

did u blow out the drain to ensure it was clear 100% of the way ? i like to pour a decent amount of water down drain after de-icing & visually verify it coming out at termination with decent flow . that could cause water to back up enough in heated drain to freeze up in pan

[k-fridge]

Make sure the heat tape isn't plugged into a GFI

[JF254]

yes I did brought the nitrogen in and blew it out. Then I put a cup at the termination and poured water through to confirm it came out... then I poured a couple more bottles of water down to make sure anything flushed out.. and no gfi.

[bacciagalupe]

there should be a trap on the system also make shure there is not electrical knock out floating around in the pan covering the drain i have seen this before

[JF254]

yup there is a trap, and no electrical knockout.. had the whole thing dissassembled .. but that sounds like a fun one to find

[hvac wiz 79]

hmm well might b a chance u freed up whatever may have been plugging drain if that was indeed the issue. i always put a rag & or something to catch my debris in to ensure i get it good when blowing out. . . .

[mmmdave]

Maybe too obvious but is evap pan sloped correctly? Also is coil defrosting completely each time? 30 minute failsafe sounds a little short, and if failsafe is kicking in maybe there's not enough defrost and/or drip time.

[Joe Harper]

The ice in the pan is from the drain PAN heater not working. Common issue. The heater is only energized in defrost. On Norlake systems I think its two red wires running off of "3" and "n" on the clock.

[JF254]

while I was there the heater was working in defrost.. should it be wired to constantly heat? or is it possible it has weakend

[Joe Harper]

You dont want it to constantly heat. How do the door gaskets look?

[JF254]

they dont look that bad. and it is a freezer behind a fridge set up.thanks for all the help guys.. the only real refrigeration I did was like 6 years ago. but it keeps us busy now. :)