Fridge expert required :-)

[alix101]

Picked up a bargain (our seemed to be) commercial bottle fridge from ebay for a tenner well apart from it doesn't cool I did know it needed fixing but im banking on an easy fix. The compressor seems to pump and all the fans lights etc work its just it doesn't blow cold enough air out, I'm hoping its the thermostat or a sensor has anyone got more experience with fridges..it could be a great fermenting fridge if I can sort it.

[Aleman]

Sounds like it has no gas, as a commercial fridge it should be easy to get it re gassed but you will need a refrigeration engineer.

I am in a similar situation myself. Won a double bottle fridge (Osboune 3500) on eBay, arranged a courier to collect it, then just sealing things with the seller when he said . . . "You do know that the plug cable's been removed" . . . That's OK I was going to re wire it anyway to work off a TC-10 . . .

Oh no . . . What he really meant was someone has butchered all the wiring . . . but still at least the tails were in place in the terminals so I could work out what was what, and wire it up . . . Except whenever the compressor switches on the RCD blows!!!!!!! Plus the evaporator Fans don't spin up, but you can hear that they have power.

So I've got an interesting fix, before I even know If it's got gas in it

[alix101]

Wow it sound like you also have your work cut out I've had a bit of a, look at mine its filthy never been hovered out in its life so I'm going to start there . Its a sealed system so if the gas has run out I think would have I have a leak that would be a disaster.

[Aleman]

They are all sealed systems. In order to regas, they cut a tube . . . Usually on the compressor . . . inject the required amount of gas under pressure, then crimp the tube flat again to seal it, and solder quickly

[Matt12398]

First thing I thought was regassing. My actual everyday fridge in my kitchen has this problem but it still gets things cold so I've not got it fixed because when I spoke to refrigeration engineer I was told that success in fixing this is not guaranteed and costs money. If you only paid £10 for it you might be worth cutting your losses and trying to pick up another one. Having not gotten mine fixed though I can really give a good idea as to whether it's worth it or not though.

[paulg]

I bought a drinks fridge that worked ok for about 2 weeks then stopped blowing cold ait even though the compressor was running .
when I checked the pipes from the compressor I found then surrounded by ice as they left the compressor my fridge engineer changed what I assume was a filter(looked like a brass tube about 1" diameter and 6"long) regassed and all was well .it had not been circulating the gas as the filter was blocked

[alix101]

I'm going to have another look when the little one is in bed...its in the the dining room and the wife isn't as pleased as I am with the purchase...I'm sure I can fix it

[tangoman]

Give the condenser coils a really good clean,usually too much build up of fluff dirt etc.

[dan2011]

yes it needs re gassing its not the termostat thats the problem.
not really worth doing it yourself unless you needed loads of fridges doing.
list of thing you would need is
The correct refrigerant for the compressor R45 is the most common
A bypass connector
A set of Digital scales
Epoxy resin if the plate inside the fridge has any holes/ A welder if its the copper tubing on the back of the fridge has any cracks, this is more likely
and the most expensive item is an extraction pump these can cost around £80.

[alix101]

After further checks, I got both fans running, and I also discovered its not the relay or thermostat, but did discover the compressor I thought was running infact isn't doing anything did give it a clean out pretty filthy.back to the drawing board