Beer fridge gone bad

[rockdogz]

Extra (beer!) fridge in the garage not cooling up to par in the past week... any suggestions? Just call the fridge repair guy? It's only about 5 years old. Grrr..

[torval]

......Start drinkin! Is it freezin up underneath (I don't know much about fridges). You could get 4 or 5 bags of ice, and don't open it too often till you get someone out to look at it.

[TonyL]

look at the coil (the radiator looking thingie) underneath, is it dirty? take a brush and clean it out. It'll have a lot to do with it. Check the door seal as well. If it's "icing up" there's a problem with the charge.

[Steve68]

Great advice T, I was supposed to go to CA next week but I gave up my trip, "work induced" I coild have helped drink that with you!!

[formula]

have you got a couple fresh cases in there? That whole specific heat of water thing'll come back to bite ya if you're really full up on beer. It takes a lonnnnng time to cool down a fridge full of room-temp beer.

Just a thought--it may be that this has nothing to do with it.

[rockdogz]

Yeah I thought that maybe it was too much stuff in there at first, but then the freezer stopped working too... stuff started melting. I pulled it out from the wall and opened up the back panel and vacuumed out all the dust I could find - there wasn't much. I can just barely see the coils from the back, but can't really see how to get at them unless I tip the whole thing over. It's been pretty hot around here lately, I wonder if the heat in the garage has finally killed it. Either that or the temperature adjuster is wired up backwards?

[formula]

They make a vacuum cleaner attatchment that'll get in there and suck on 'em real good like, if you want. It's like a long flat thingy. Not too expensive, as i recall.

[Damn True]

Could be that your evap has frozen up. Unplug it, set it in the back yard all day tomorow to defrost and see if it works when you get home.

[TonyL]

are we talking a full size fridge here?

the coil will be UNDER the fridge. the bottom front unsnaps out of newer models and you use a special "poker" like brush to get in there and clean it out.

[rockdogz]

Yep, full size fridge and the coil is underneath. I vacuumed it all out but it really wasn't too bad.

[TonyL]

you've fully checked the seal? is that coil frosty? or Iced up?

If the seal is good, (fridges are a vacuum, it should give suction when opening.) you possibly have a compresser issue or a low charge. adding charge to a fridge is easy business, and cheap. they simply use a pericing valve and shoot some more in.

Lastly, it could be the thermostat.

1) Check the cold control. Be sure it is set to "cold." Normally, the temperature inside the refrigerator should be about 37 degrees F.

2) Listen for the freezer fan inside the freezer. When the freezer fan is running, it means the defrost timer and the cold control in the refrigerator are both set to cool.

3) Listen for the compressor fan, where the compressor is located (typically behind or beneath the refrigerator. When the freezer fan is operating the compressor fan should also be working (most of the time).

4) If one of the fans is not working or the compressor is off, the refrigerator will offer very little cooling or none at all. Call a repairperson.

[rockdogz]

you've fully checked the seal? is that coil frosty? or Iced up?

If the seal is good, (fridges are a vacuum, it should give suction when opening.) you possibly have a compresser issue or a low charge. adding charge to a fridge is easy business, and cheap. they simply use a pericing valve and shoot some more in.

Lastly, it could be the thermostat.

1) Check the cold control. Be sure it is set to "cold." Normally, the temperature inside the refrigerator should be about 37 degrees F.

2) Listen for the freezer fan inside the freezer. When the freezer fan is running, it means the defrost timer and the cold control in the refrigerator are both set to cool.

3) Listen for the compressor fan, where the compressor is located (typically behind or beneath the refrigerator. When the freezer fan is operating the compressor fan should also be working (most of the time).

4) If one of the fans is not working or the compressor is off, the refrigerator will offer very little cooling or none at all. Call a repairperson.

Dang Tony, is there anything you don't know?
The coil isn't iced up, the seal is good, and I hear a fan in the freezer. There is a fan that I see spinning when I removed the cardboard cover in the back where the compressor is, but I don't know if that's the compressor fan you're talking about or not. That would be cool (doh!) if it just needed a charge. Thanks!!

[TonyL]

since your fans are running and the coil isnt icing up, im more inclined to think its your thermostat. It's simple to change out out and should be around 40 or 50 bucks depending on the brand. There are tests the technition can do to verifiy it's working correctly.

/has been a maintenance guy for close to 20 years. (wow. Im old)

[rockdogz]

Wow this site is pretty cool:
http://www.acmehowto.com/

It even has a link to a place that will sell replacement parts! (http://www.repairclinic.com)

I'm gonna break out my multimeter and test my thermostat tonight!

[rockdogz]

Ok, I didn't realize the coil was behind the back wall of the freezer. It was iced up like a mother*****

So, from reading the acmehowto website, it seems like it could be the defrost heater or timer... gonna try to look for the timer first, I don't see it in the freezer though, hmm...