|
|
Post by coldspaces on Oct 7, 2013 1:27:21 GMT
Some of you may have notice I tried to sell my 48 Spacemaker on Ebay and Cgraigslist for fairly high $. No one in my area seemed to be interested but I did have someone about 2 hours away email me when he saw I had been working in the RHVAC field for 36+ years.
He has about a 47 Kelvinator that cools poorly and is looking for someone to diagnose what is wrong. He does not want to put a ton of money in it but already had it professionally painted at a body shop and now it runs all the time and won't stay cold enough especially when it got warm this summer. Said the door seal is new and the evap coil was all frosting till it got hot out this summer so it sounds like it is gonna be a sealed system problem. Anyway I though it was kinda cool someone from that far away contacted me for help. If things work out he will be bring it to me this coming Sunday.
|
|
|
|
Post by cablehack on Oct 7, 2013 9:57:28 GMT
You wouldn't be selling the Spacemaker to make room for another prewar model by any chance  ? Actually, I got emailed about diagnosing a CA-1 at the beginning of the year. When I explained what was involved in getting it to run again the owners decided to cut their losses...worked out well for both of us. Now that I've almost finished restoring it, I can see it would have been completely uneconomical as a paid job. All they wanted was a vintage fridge to go with their antique stove. It didn't have to be a monitor top, so I suggested they might be wise to get a 50's round shoulder fridge that anyone can service. They were happy to sell the CA-1 to me for what they paid for it. So, you never know. |
|
|
|
Post by coldspaces on Oct 7, 2013 17:49:51 GMT
Mostly was selling the spacemaker to recoup what I had spent on the others so far. It is in such nice shape I felt it could bring some real money being it was already reconditioned and ready to go.
As for another prewar,don't have one lined up at the moment.
|
|
|
|
Post by coldspaces on Oct 20, 2013 4:05:35 GMT
Here is the 47 Kelvinator that was brought to me last Sunday.    Turns out it was almost out of R-12. Was able to remove a small solder disc from the factory valve and use the adapter set to tap into the system. I was glad I did not have to add a clamp on line tap, looks original still now. Owner bought it over a year ago from someone who said it had sat for years. He said it ran a year non stop before he shut if off. I was not able to find a leak even with 100 psi of extra pressure from nitrogen. So I pulled a vacuum and it held. Not having any r-12 left I recharged it with R409A an interm blend for replacing r-12 in freezers. I chose this as it has only HCFC refrigerants that should not cause the compressor terminal seals to shrink. Kept my beer cold all week till he came and got it today. Only other thing I am not sure of is I think the cold control stays off to long, but it was consistent and the box temp was always between 31-36 all week. Also replaced the wire from the hot wire relay to the compressor for him as it was pretty bad.   Hope I saved it for him and it runs a long time yet. |
|
|
|
Post by allan on Oct 20, 2013 11:20:29 GMT
Here is the 47 Kelvinator that was brought to me last Sunday. Turns out it was almost out of R-12. Was able to remove a small solder disc from the factory valve and use the adapter set to tap into the system. I was glad I did not have to add a clamp on line tap, looks original still now. Owner bought it over a year ago from someone who said it had sat for years. He said it ran a year non stop before he shut if off. I was not able to find a leak even with 100 psi of extra pressure from nitrogen. So I pulled a vacuum and it held. Not having any r-12 left I recharged it with R409A an interm blend for replacing r-12 in freezers. I chose this as it has only HCFC refrigerants that should not cause the compressor terminal seals to shrink. Kept my beer cold all week till he came and got it today. Only other thing I am not sure of is I think the cold control stays off to long, but it was consistent and the box temp was always between 31-36 all week. Also replaced the wire from the hot wire relay to the compressor for him as it was pretty bad. I wonder how the charge got out? Hope I saved it for him and it runs a long time yet. |
|
|
|
Post by coldspaces on Oct 20, 2013 13:49:22 GMT
Not sure how it leaked. It does have the compressor terminals with mechanical seals (from what I have researched they most likely are neoprene rubber). There was no signs of oil at the seals and my H10G leak detector had no luck finding any leaks anywhere. My best guess is it could have been stored in the cold allowing the seals to contract and leak.
After running long enough to warm up the compressor and find it barley frosted the evap I shut it off and hooked up the gauges, it only had 8 psi in the system. Knowing the owner had run it for a year non stop this low it had to have been a vacuum on the low side. When I evacuated the system it showed no signs that any moisture had ever gotten in leading me to believe there could not be much of a leak on the low side.
|
|
|
|
Post by cablehack on Oct 20, 2013 22:12:33 GMT
the owner had run it for a year non stop Does that mean the compressor was running continuously, never cycling off? |
|
|
|
Post by coldspaces on Oct 20, 2013 22:42:57 GMT
the owner had run it for a year non stop Does that mean the compressor was running continuously, never cycling off? Yes he said it did not shut off for a year. He then unplugged it about a month before he contacted me. He was worried he was gonna burn it up. It was so low on Freon it could not even begin to get cold at the control bulb. |
|
|
|
Post by cablehack on Oct 20, 2013 23:15:13 GMT
Amazing. Funny that I used to worry about running the CA for more than about 20 mins back when I was all new to it.
|
|
|
|
Post by ChrisJ on Oct 20, 2013 23:54:16 GMT
Amazing. Funny that I used to worry about running the CA for more than about 20 mins back when I was all new to it. I'm still at this phase I guess. Any long run times really worry me. |
|
|
|
Post by cablehack on Oct 21, 2013 0:15:13 GMT
I got caught out a few times when I thought it was running ok, so I'd go out for the day and when I came back the float had stuck, evaporator ice melted, and the compressor motor was nice and warm from running for hours.
So, that prompted me to build my compressor timer. If the compressor runs for more than 20 mins (or any other time I choose), without cycling, it shuts off the supply until manually reset. Since most faults will cause excessive run times, I think it's a fairly failsafe form of protection.
|
|
|
|
Post by coldspaces on Jun 29, 2017 2:28:12 GMT
This frig is coming back to visit me, maybe this Sunday. The compressor is not starting, but jiggling the box sometimes makes it start. Should just need a new hot wire relay if I have one or a RO81 will be going in.
|
|
|
|
Post by ckfan on Jun 29, 2017 13:34:34 GMT
At least the owner isn't giving up on it. What a neat kelvy.
|
|
|
|
Post by coldspaces on Jul 23, 2017 20:07:01 GMT
This one got the R081 treatment while it was here. Must be working good as I have heard no complainants yet.
|
|
?
