t-stat issues on uss 12-96

[sh0rtlife]

just got my first machine last week for 50$ as is, knew basically nothing other than the machine went into this warehouse business NEW when the building was new, and while scuzzy on the inside and dirty on the outside its actually a very nice lookin machine with only tiny dings and light scratches ZERO RUST and nice unfaded paint

over the past week of fighting with it, cleaning etc i found that is a 1981 model bottle/can, initially i had questions about the rack and coinco but ive since figured all that out..with much tinkering...i AM mechanically and electrically inclined and have rebuilt parts for lots of things in the past 20 years that were "not rebuild-able" soo im not afraid of much

my wife is out of town so its a surprise for her as well

initially the coin mech was acting up, some testing and bending of wire triggers fixed all that, i even found a way to "over ride" the changer so that you can feed it anything short of a penny and get no change, the unit wouldn't cool..found a apple sauce container in the fan, it now cools, the stack was acting up as well needing lubed and some springs and adjustments, was getting very lightly electrocuted, finding a damaged cord, its missing 2 shelves and the glass is "perma fogged"..so ill get new glass cut for it later..the lighting wasnt working was both the starter and the bulb

in the end a whole lot of cleaning and TLC and the machine hums along just like it should..for the most part and is whisper quiet when the compressor isnt running..and honestly the compressor is quieter than the AC units i have

the issue ive got right now is that it does cool..and will even freeze itself up entirely at random, tho after playing with the knob on/off a whole bunch the freezing seems to have gone away but it does let the internal temp drop down to about 55+ before kicking on and cooling back down to 38-40...i dont know if there is an adjustment or if i just need a new t-stat ..or if i can get lucky and re-build the t-stat so im looking for advice ..i did find this which looks to be the EXACT t-stat on the front side....unsure about the back https://www.dsvendinginc.com/p-143-d448-1829-rowe-448548-cold-control.aspx

it does still heavily frost up the internal unit so i think somethings not quiet right

[MoonDawg]

        Welcome to the group Short!
        First thing to do is try the old hammer trick. 
        When the machine is plugged in and you see the temp is getting too high (above the 50 degree mark), tap the side of the thermostat body with the handle of a screwdriver....... and see if the compressor kicks back on. (maybe spider webs inside)? It has worked for me in the past.
        Secondly, that T/S may have cut-in and cut-out settings, which you could play with.
        Third: make sure the capillary tube is fastened into the proper position.
        Fourth: order the new thermostat you found on line.
       

        P.S. : I have a USS 64 I will be parting out, in case you or anyone else needs shelves or other non -compressor parts.

[sh0rtlife]

thanks for the welcome and input, im hoping its got the in/out setup on it, ..by chance do you have a short or diagram of the correct routing?..ill try the hammer trick and see...something i was thinking is that due to almost 40 years of use...the contacts are probably out of gap spec in the t-stat and could use filing and re-adjusting(assuming it doesnt have a kick in/out setting)...but im weary of pulling the t-stat out without a diagram or good pic to see where the capillary line is ran

outside of 1 rusted off clamp(front center of condenser box and the only rust anywhere) i highly doubt anythings every been changed or modified...hell i pulled the stack out to clean and best guess is the machine had never actualy even been cleaned by the buildup i removed

as for my missing 2 shelves and dividers, im not sure i want to even bother since my wife likes "big" beers(ipa) and those wont vend...but they do sit nicely in those 2 empty slots in the door that wont vend.....now...if i could find a stack for it localy(portland) that was cheep..id love to mod one to vend "larger" items like arizona teas and big beers..basicly anything that would fit thru the door...for "big" beers one would need to section out the entire stack...not for the faint of heart but totaly doable..no worse than sectioning a full size truck 18 inches....as for vending "tall" cans one only needs to remove the bottle tapper "wedge" thats welded into the stack vendors as best i can tell.....

while i wont mod this machine "directly" as in i wont mod its parts..ive got no issues getting spare parts and modding those and swapping bits out...so im on the lookout for 1-2 of the vendors out of a stack and a lighted pepsi signage since mines a no lit sign but thankfully also a non woodgrain model

[sh0rtlife]

the hammer trick worked..in fact it needs such a light tap i can do it with a finger....

so if anyones got a good pic or diagram of the OE capilary routing id be greatfull..then ill rip out the t-stat and see if it can be rebuild