Finally got my Ideal 55 running!

[maxnew40]

It took some time making phone calls but eventually it paid off by finding a guy that would work on the cooling system for my Ideal 55.

I ended up calling a vending machine repair guy and while he said he preferred not to recharge refrigeration system, he did get me in contact with guy who does and also has experience with vending machines. He checked the pressure first and found that while it still had some pressure that it was really low. He had some R12 replacement and put a charge in it and it started cooling immediately. He didn't have enough gas in his tank for a full charge so he will back this weekend to top it off.

I let it run for a while a found it had frozen the bottles, so I checked the thermostat and it was all the way up. I unplugged the machine and turned the thermostat down and heard it click about half way down, so I think the thermostat still works (probably doesn't need to be turned all the way up though).

The guy also commented on how quiet and smooth my compressor was running.

I am happy to have it running, now I need to get it cleaned up. I domn;t want to do a restore just make it as clean as I can without repainting.

-Max

[Eric]

There are some guys that restore here that can give you some tips and names of some really good cleaners that can help remove some of
the rust and rust stains and of course good ol' elbow grease.
Congrats on getting it up and going!

[jholmgren]

Congrats!  Did he find any leaks?  If it was low on coolant, it had to go somewhere... just saying.

Cleanup wise get yourself a tube of "Flitz" metal polish.   Available online from Amazon / eBay and also sold in some hardware stores.  It is hands-down the best paint cleaner/metal polish I've used and many others here will testify the same.  Clean it up with Flitz and then apply a nice coat of your favorite car wax.

Jim

[HowDueYouDue]

Congrats!

[Jared]

Congrats  looking  good

[mygoose101]

A little Rustmort on the right side should also help. Nice machine.

[maxnew40]

The refrigerant guy came back this weekend to finish up the job (he ran out of coolant and didn't my machine fully charged).

He didn't find any leaks (but he couldn't do an immersion test) and the the partial charge did not leak out in the weeks between visits.

As soon as he got it up to a full charge the cold line frosted up.

I had an issue where some bottles on the front side froze but the others didn't. I turned the thermostat down and will monitor it.

Thanks for the suggestions on cleaning it up, I am going to get some Fitz and see if it helps with the clean up.

-Max