Beverage Air DD94 keg cooler cycling and not getting down to temp

[radiantdesigner]

Ok I picked this unit up a while ago and have done some research on the issue. It seems to cycle a lot, comes on for about a minute, then turned off for about a minute and a half then repeated. From researching it a little it said it could have been under charged.

My neighbor does commercial HVAC but not refrigeration but said he would look at it. He determined that the coil or compressor was getting too hot and that's why it kept turning off (a safety precaution) and it probably had a low charge, so he cut one of the copper tubes, evaporated the unit (he said there was probably more refrigerant in his hoses and gauge than in the unit) and brazed on a shrader valve, he then pressure tested it with Nitrogen and said it held pressure for almost an hour so didnt think there was a leak.

The unit called for 7.5oz of 134A so he told me to get the smallest can that I could so I went to the auto parts store and picked up a 14 oz can. Thats where we got into some issues, his hoses wouldnt pierce the can, and the valve that I got at the store that would pierce the can had 1/2" ACME threads that didnt match his Yellow Jacket hoses. He tried Brazing a valve to it but the valve apparently wasnt brass (he said it was a painted white metal and almost melted completely) so in a act of almost desperation we just used some of the quick steel epoxy putty to seal the a valve he could attach to on to the valve that came with the can. We put in the 134A and it "drank" a lot of it.

It seems like it ran so much better that night. The compressor stayed on for quite a while and it dropped temp down to about 44 degrees (the unit had been unplugged for about 4 days while we were gathering materials and so on) Two days later it seems like it is cycling a lot again and it doenst get any colder than 42-44 degrees, even at the coldest setting (or at 5, its the same temp)

I used a laser temp probe and the coil on the front isnt getting much hotter than 95ish and the compressor itself is getting up to 110.

Any thoughts?? trouble is a lot of people I called didnt want to work on it because it was in a residential location (I use it for my home brew beer) and the res guys didnt want to touch it because it is a commercial unit.

[kamersoutdoor]

You have a critically charged system, that you should have never let your neighbor touch in the first place!
Call a reputable refrigeration Co. out!

sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note

[radiantdesigner]

I called 5 companies. 2 who did commercial refrigeration service would not work on it because it was a commercial unit and it is is in a residential location, and the other 3 wouldnt work on it because it is a a commercial unit and they only do residential stuff.... so its a catch 22 for me....

[pecmsg]

It would be cheeper to buy a new unit then repair at this point.

[radiantdesigner]

Really?? You think it would cost less more than $ to fix it????? I doubt it could be that much... these units MSRP is abit more but nobody pays MSRP for it. New ones sell around $ to $

I talked to one guy in Ma who said he just repaired a similar unit that had the same issues and it was about $. The only issue is for me to get the unit down to him, if it comes down to it I will have to get 3 or four friends to help me put it in the back of the truck and bring it to him for a weekend. And the guy is in fact listed on beverage air's website as an authorized service person, just that he doesnt do residential so I would have to bring it to him

[pecmsg]

Be advised pricing is not allowed in your post...

and you can buy a keg cooler at Home Cheepo for around $800.00

[radiantdesigner]

I was putting the price as a comparison to buying a replacement. The home Depot one isnt a 1:1 comparison either, the one I have was made to fit 5 full size (15.5 gal) kegs. I have it set up for my home brew where I have 10-15 things on tap at any time, I dont think I could fit anywhere near that in anything that you can get from a big box store.

[radiantdesigner]

The reason I posted in the first place was to try to have some idea what is going on..... Could it be there is a leak (he did pressure test it with Nictrogen for about an hour), or could it be over charged or under charged? I just want to have some idea so as I call around to try to find someone I can tell them a pretty good indication of what could be the issue to save them time and maybe get them a better feeling to come out and look at it. I dont mind spending some cash to get it done right, its just something that I hate being stuck in the middle of a commercial/residential thing. Maybe I should just tell them that I am applying for my nano brewery license so it could be technically commercial

[pecmsg]

I was putting the price as a comparison to buying a replacement. The home Depot one isnt a 1:1 comparison either, the one I have was made to fit 5 full size (15.5 gal) kegs. I have it set up for my home brew where I have 10-15 things on tap at any time, I dont think I could fit anywhere near that in anything that you can get from a big box store.

I stand corrected.

For this unit you will need a commercial refrigeration contractor. You can go the manufacture web site or check with a local restaurant and see who they use.

[lytning]

Where are you located? Did any one check for amprage draw?

Really?? You think it would cost less more than $3,000 to fix it????? I doubt it could be that much... these units MSRP is abit more but nobody pays MSRP for it. New ones sell around $2,750 to $3,000

I talked to one guy in Ma who said he just repaired a similar unit that had the same issues and it was about $250. The only issue is for me to get the unit down to him, if it comes down to it I will have to get 3 or four friends to help me put it in the back of the truck and bring it to him for a weekend. And the guy is in fact listed on beverage air's website as an authorized service person, just that he doesnt do residential so I would have to bring it to him

[radiantdesigner]

Im in Kingston NH. I do believe he checked the amp draw, he said the compressor seemed good because it was only pulling a little more than it was supposed to, he said when they re about to die they draw a lot more, but i am not sure what the draw was or if its true what he said.

[lytning]

I am in Maine. Have you checked the contractor locater map on this forum.

[jpsmith1cm]

These little coolers can be a royal pain the the behind to get just right.

Unless you've got a few screw-ups under your belt, you'd have to be very lucky to get it exactly right the first time.

Without a full set of system readings, it's quite difficult to make pronouncements as to what is or isn't wrong, but given that the charge has been tampered with, I'd start by pulling the charge and weighing in EXACTLY 7.5 ounces and checking system performance.

[radiantdesigner]

I didnt know that there was a contractor locator map. I will look for that. If you know anyone who is willing to work on this that is around south east NH (about 10 mins north of Haverhill MA, 40 mins south of Portsmouth depending on which way you go) please let me know.


I feel a little better, my neighbor came over last night and used his calibrated thermometer, and where mine (it was just a basic cooking thermometer used for meat so I assumed it was accurate around the 160 degree mark not something that low) read 42-44 degrees no matter what position the thermostat is in, his read down to almost 28 degrees (he put it right where the cold blows out of the inside fan) when it was on the coldest setting.

Apparently he did some research and found they like to sit right at 30 lbs of pressure at rest, he was reading about 32, so we pulled off a little and its right at 30 now.

I am waiting for a call back from someone that said they would look at it. just not sure when they will have time to schedule the service call. I will also check the map to make a back up plan

[jpsmith1cm]

Apparently he did some research and found they like to sit right at 30 lbs of pressure at rest, he was reading about 32, so we pulled off a little and its right at 30 now.

Not a reliable or accurate metric of unit charge.