Is there a kegerator doc in the house?

[glenn973]

Ok, 2 Kegerator issues.

Kegerator 1: I ran across a great deal on a Beverage Air BM23 with 4 taps! It's old, probably 15+ years, but it was real cold when i picked it up.

My major complaint with it is the noisy compressor.(i have narrowed it down to the compressor, not the fans that seem to be the issue everyone else has) I understand it's a commercial fridge, but it's noisy! So much that I am concerned that there may be something going wrong with the compressor.
Also until today, it has been holding at a nice cold temp of around 35. Today I couldn't get it below 45.
Now it is in the garage, and we have had a bit of a scorcher this week, would it be normal to not be able to get the temp down in those conditions?
(i'm guessing the answer is yes, because I just checked my regular fridge that is next to the kegerator in the garage and it is around 45 as well.)

Kegerator #2:
Picked up a non-working beat up Beverage Air BM23 for $50(figured the 2 C02 tanks the guy offered with it were worth the $50 even if I couldn't get it running)
The guy I bought it from said that his "refrigeration repair friend" claimed it was a matter of replacing a $30 part and it would be running good as new again.

So, before I start scouring the internet looking for local repairmen, I thought I would see if anyone had any suggestions, or better yet, if we have anyone here that works or has worked with refrigeration and would be willing to take a look at these and let me know if they would be worth repairing. I could bring them to you, and could throw in some good home brew or cash if you prefer.

Thanks!

[backyard brewer]

I just replaced an evap fan on a BM23, great machine. I didn't open the compressor compartment, but they are a little loud. SHouldn't be distracting though. It seems like it had more than enough BTU's to keep things cool even in the hottest heat, but I don't have running experience to say otherwise.

#2, did he say which $30 part needed replacing? Seems the thermostats are finicky on these units, I need to replace the t-stat on the one I just replaced the fan on because it's freezing the keg of beer now.

[glenn973]

Unfortunately he didn't know what the part was.
I'll plug that one in today and see what it does. If it's the thermostat, I should be able to bypass it to at least see if it cools.

Where did you buy your parts from?

[backyard brewer]

Unfortunately he didn't know what the part was.
I'll plug that one in today and see what it does. If it's the thermostat, I should be able to bypass it to at least see if it cools.

Where did you buy your parts from?

Exactly, bypass the t-stat and see if it cools. I haven't found a source for the t-stat yet, I'm considering just putting a Ranco controller on it.

[backyard brewer]

What was the outcome?

[glenn973]

Actually, I haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet. At this rate I'm not to sure I'll get to it before the wedding/honeymoon coming up rather quickly.

If I get a chance i'll let you know. I did plug it in for a little while though and found that the condenser fan turned on just fine, but the fan inside didn't move at all.
I went back to work for 30 min, and when I came out it was really hot and smelled slightly like melting plastic... Hope I didn't screw it up more.

I'll let you know what happens as soon as I get a chance to pull that sucker apart.

[glenn973]

Had a few minutes to play with it tonight.

Found out that this is not a Beverage Air as I thought, instead it is a f400 from the cooler corporation of america. Since they were bought out by Glastender in 1985 i'm guessing this thing is at least 25 years old.

On that note, the T-stat is seems to be working fine. The condenser fan works and the compressor seems to be turning on as well(it's quiet but definitely running, wonder if I could transfer it to the Beverage Air BM23)
The fan on the inside does not move at all(even after bypassing the T-stat). I guess the next step might be to pull the unit apart and test the electrical...

I did find out that the burning plastic smell was due to the interior light not turning off and a beer line next to it was melting.

I am wondering if with the interior fan not running, should i be able to feel ANYTHING cooling down?

Any further suggestions to help me with my journey would be greatly appreciated.

[maltbarley]

If you can get your hand on the evaporator (the finned coil inside the fridge) it should feel cold. On the commercial fridges the inside fan runs constantly so that should be a relatively easy fix by replacing the blower motor.

[backyard brewer]

The fan is a piece of cake. I replaced the fan in the BM23 with a ball bearing computer fan from Fry's. They have 110vac fans about the right size.

But like Tim said, the coils should be getting cold without the fan running.

[trex]

hi guys if you want to know if your compressor is working the evap( inside coil) should get cold and your condesor coil(outside) should get hot, if not it could be short of gas or the valves on the compressor could be shot. as for a noisy comp the least noisy compressors are the rotary copmressors are the one to get the are yoused in aircons.