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Post by fea19711 on Jun 21, 2016 12:47:21 GMT
I have a monitor top that looks like a DR cabinet with an FEA-2-B16 refrigerating machine on top. Where is the cabinet model number located?
It looks to me like the refrigerant runs into the shelf for the ice cube trays then out of the shelf to the U-shaped part of the evaporator and then back to the condenser coils. When I start it up, the shelf gets ice cold and covered with frost as does the line from the shelf to the U-shaped evaporator but the evaporator never gets and frost on it. It does get cold but not cold enough to freeze. The unit runs forever to cool the cabinet down into the 40-45 degree area. What are your thoughts? Is is low on Freon? Is there a blockage? Something else? What should I do next? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Post by ckfan on Jun 21, 2016 13:42:46 GMT
More than likely your unit has a full charge of refrigerant. Unless they are improperly handled or defrosted with a sharp object they rarely develop a leak. Check to make sure that the fan is running properly and also make sure that it is oiled. According to your model number that you gave, you should have an oil spout for the fan motor to add oil. This is very important to ensure that the fan motor doesn't get damaged. When adding oil, make sure it is 10 or 20 weight NON DETERGENT (important!) oil. The "3 in one" oil in a blue bottle with a picture of an electric motor on it will work just fine. Do not put normal motor oil with detergents in the fan motor or any electric motor because it could clog up oil passageways and starve the motor of sweet, sweet lubricant. What if the fan motor isn't running??? No immediate cause for alarm. Make sure you turn the unit off and see how hard it is to turn the motor by hand. If the motor seems stiff then you might get lucky and be able to free it up. If it seems free already you either have a wiring issue or your motor is dead and needs to be replaced. So...If your motor is simply hard to turn (doesn't rotate a few revolutions with a slight push of the finger)...put some penetrating oil like WD-40 on the front of the shaft behind the blades and pull the shaft in and out to work in the oil. Rotate the fan many times by hand and keep working the shaft in and out as you rotate it. Let it sit overnight. Come back the next day and add more oil and do the same thing. Keep doing this until it finally frees itself up. Turn on the unit and hopefully it will spring to life and your evaporator will get much colder. If your fan doesn't spring to life and shows no signs of rotating at all (sometimes they will barely move if they are still too sticky) then you will need to check the wiring. All of these old GE units have brittle wiring where the insulation crumbles if you look at it wrong so be careful. You can see how I rewired a similar unit by looking at my "How I rewired my GE chest freezer" post in the other vintage refrigerators section. If the wiring isn't at fault, replace the motor. You will find a guide on how to do this here: monitortop.freeforums.net/thread/337/replace-fea-condenser-fan-motorYou are in luck because this thread covers your exact model! I'm trying to think if I forgot anything...just remember that if the fan motor isn't working, the condenser coil can't remove as much heat and the evaporator won't frost up like it should. If your fan seems to be working fine and you still aren't getting cold enough you very well could be low on refrigerant but this is pretty unlikely. Let us know what you find!
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Post by fea19711 on Jun 21, 2016 14:45:05 GMT
The fan is running. I found the oil port, thanks to this forum, and will oil it up tonight. The fan seems to pull air through the condenser coil in the direction of the compressor, rather than blow air over the coils. Is is possible there is a blockage somewhere? Let me know what you think. Thanks.
P.S. The oil plug is in bad shape. With what can I replace it.? Thanks.
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Post by ckfan on Jun 21, 2016 16:40:13 GMT
The oil plugs fall apart over time. See if you can pull it out and then you can put a piece of tape over the hole to keep dirt out. The fan sounds like it is running right. It does blow out towards the compressor. As long as you can feel air it is good. Just make sure that you keep it oiled. A few drops every year.
I find it odd that the fan is running and the whole evaporator isn't frosting up. Mine usually frosts up within 15 minutes while hanging in mid air. I don't have the unit on a cabinet. How long does it take to reach temp? There might be some thickened oil in the evaporator. This can be cleared out by heat treating the evaporator with pans of hot water. I've never heard of this issue with an FEA unit but it isn't impossible. Keep the pans hot until the evaporator gets nice and warm. Then turn the unit on. Let it run for 10-20 seconds. Then turn it off. Wait 2 minutes and then let it rip. If you had an oil clog this will get rid of it.
Also, make sure that the condenser coil isn't clogged with dust on the side that is facing the edge of the whole unit.
Keep us posted on what you find. If you are in a low humidity environment only the coldest parts of the evaporator will frost. You might want to take a bit of water and freeze a thermometer to the bottom of the evaporator. After a few hours of running in a well sealed cabinet...it should be in the single digits. Take a picture of the evaporator to show us the frost pattern you are getting.
Happy cooling.
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Post by fea19711 on Jun 21, 2016 17:16:59 GMT
It doesn't take long for frost to form on the shelf in the evaporator. To me, an ideal refrigerator temp would be below 40 degrees... maybe 37 degrees? I can get it down to around 42 to 45 degrees but that's after it runs for a couple hours. Without the entire evaporator getting icy cold, I think it's too much for just the shelf to bring the cabinet temp down in a reasonable time.
I tried using a hair dryer to heat up the refrigerant tubing that runs between things but it never made the condenser warm. I've heard of the pans of scalding hot water trick and was planning to try that but I didn't have the details of how to do it. Thanks for providing them!! I just blew the dust out of the condenser the other day.
I don't think that lack of humidity is the problem. Delaware is notoriously humid.
I'd really like to bring this unit back to life. The porcelain inside is in great shape and it has all three shelves. The evaporator was painted black and that paint is falling off, so it will need repainting. I have the new rubber feet and I think I have a decal I bought some place in the house. The outside needs paint but it's not in bad shape. It's been painted at least once before. I'm looking for a meat tray for it.
I'll try your suggestions tonight and let you know. Thanks.
Bill
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Post by ckfan on Jun 21, 2016 19:00:56 GMT
Yep, it sounds like there is a blockage in the evaporator. Heat it up good and plenty, just don't get it hotter than the hand can stand. Make sure that there is plenty of heat where the tubing goes from the shelf to the bottom. That should be where the blockage is. The reason I said to turn the unit on for a few seconds and then wait is so that it will flush out whatever oil or blockage there is. You can't turn it back on immediately though, the compressor will stall. Good luck!
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Post by coldspaces on Jun 22, 2016 0:39:29 GMT
Could be oil in the evap, restricted cap tube or low charge.
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Post by fea19711 on Jun 24, 2016 15:53:57 GMT
I tried the pans of hot water once. I'm going to try them again for a longer period of time. If I can get someone with gauges to help me out, what kind of charge should this unit have?
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Post by fea19711 on Jul 14, 2016 3:31:39 GMT
OK... tried the hot water again. Same results... only the shelf of the freezer got frost on it. The rest of the evaporator eventually got cold, but not cold enough for frost to form. After three hours, the cabinet was down to 59 degrees. I unplugged it at that point. I guess I'm going get a refrigerator guy to come out and take a look at it. Any thoughts?
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Post by coldspaces on Jul 14, 2016 5:41:21 GMT
OK... tried the hot water again. Same results... only the shelf of the freezer got frost on it. The rest of the evaporator eventually got cold, but not cold enough for frost to form. After three hours, the cabinet was down to 59 degrees. I unplugged it at that point. I guess I'm going get a refrigerator guy to come out and take a look at it. Any thoughts? Sounds like it has lost some Freon 12. There is an off chance it has a partial blockage but may just be low Freon.
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Post by ckfan on Jul 14, 2016 15:46:28 GMT
Yeah, I think Gill is right. The fact that only part of it is frosting after multiple hot water treatments tells me that something else is going on.
Gill, is there a method other than the "hot water" treatment that would work for a more serious blockage?
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Post by coldspaces on Jul 14, 2016 17:33:15 GMT
Yeah, I think Gill is right. The fact that only part of it is frosting after multiple hot water treatments tells me that something else is going on. Gill, is there a method other than the "hot water" treatment that would work for a more serious blockage? I don't think its an oil blockage. If something was restricted it would be the cap tube or if they have one a strainer. More likely to be a bit low.
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Post by fea19711 on Jul 22, 2016 16:21:03 GMT
Good news. I found a refrigeration guy who looked at my FEA and topped off the Freon. I ran it with the thermostat bypassed for four hours and the cabinet temp went from 70 to 10 degrees!! I put in a Supco universal refrigerator/freezer thermostat temporarily. On the WARMEST setting, the cabinet temp is about 30 degrees, obviously too cold. What's a good replacement thermostat for this unit? I think I can send the original one out to be rebuilt, but in the meantime, I'd like to be able to run it. Thanks.
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Post by ckfan on Jul 22, 2016 18:00:18 GMT
That is odd that your supco universal thermostat is running too cold too. I wonder if we are just doing something wrong? I would think that you just put it in the cabinet and go. I'm glad that you were able to get the unit going again. As far as getting a replacement thermostat, find the part number for the original and Gill (coldspaces) may be able to look up a replacement for it. He has reference books.
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Post by Travis on Jul 23, 2016 20:00:54 GMT
It's possible that I have a control for an FEA unit. I will look tomorrow. It's also possible that either Gill or Ray will offer one. Lord knows Gill doesn't need 3 FEA units or Ray needs two of them.
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