Placement of thermostat non-contact style sensing tube tip on Vendo 56 Squaretop

[kdog]

Hi,

so everyday I keep learning new things about my machine (vendo 56 squaretop).  While cleaning it last night, I cam across the thermostat (non-contact) sensing tube coiled up next to the evaporator and under the bottle rack.

Is that where tip supposed to be, or can the tip be placed somewhere better to get better sensing results?

Oh, for some reason Coke here in Australia moved the thermostat knob and mounted it next to the condensor fins, and ran the insulated sensing tube up through with the service lines into the machine along with the wire to the evaporator.  Anyone know why they would do that?

Oh, and the compressor cycles on for 8 minutes or so, and off for between 20 and 21 minutes.  Is that normal? The evaporator stays on all the time, but have been told that normal for earlier 56 models.

cheers

[vendo81d]

The thermostat should be fine where it is.  Attached is a picture of the thermostat placement on one of my round top Vendo 56s.

As far as operation, 8 minutes on, 21 minutes off seems to be within normal limits.  The run time is affected by things such as the cut in and cut out temperatures of the thermostat, the insulation, the tightness of the air seal on the gaskets, and the amount of liquid (soda) in the machine.  If you are OK with the soda temperature, you are probably good to go.

[kdog]

What about the sensing tube tip?

[vendo81d]

You're talking about the end of the coil that comes out of the thermostat?  If so, they are generally placed above the rear of the evaporator where the cold air comes out.  I don't think a slight variation in the location makes a significant difference.

[kdog]

You're talking about the end of the coil that comes out of the thermostat?  If so, they are generally placed above the rear of the evaporator where the cold air comes out.  I don't think a slight variation in the location makes a significant difference.

Hmm, mine is next to the evaporator, under the bottlestack, all coiled up.

Would uncoiling it slightly (might even reach without uncoiling) so the end/tip of the coil was placed above the rear of the evaporator where the cold air comes out make a difference in how much the compressor was used, make it more efficient etc?

It's not that I'm unhappy with its current performance.  After I cleaned the machine, I filled it with 56 bottles and let it cool down completely over a 24 hour period.  At the start, it was costing just above 10 cents an hour to run, but 24 hours later, that had fallen to 4.38 cents per hour, costing $1.0521 over that period of cooling down all the drinks (quarter $96.04, Yearly 384.25).  

This was slightly more than what it measured at (4.05 cents per hour) for 24 hours on a empty fridge.  After resetting the power meter, the hourly rate 1.5 hours later from a full already chilled fridge is 4.05 cents per hour again.  So if I kept turning the machine on and off daily, any power I saved off overnight would probably be eaten up by cooling down the fridge and the drinks daily, just Like MoonDawg suggested in another thread.

Anyway, with power prices the way they are here in Australia, it wouldn't hurt to try to get some extra power saving. Might move the coil end over the evaporator in a few days and compare performance then.

Does anyone have  Vendo/Vendorlator 56 squaretop, and have photos of their thermostat setup?

EDIT:  downloaded the vendo_56_63_90_126_154 manual from the main page after Jim fixed my access (Thanks Jim).  Check out page 30 of the manual, Item 6.  It looks like the  thermostat tube is stretched across and clipped above the opening of the evaporator above the fan, and then curved slightly at the end.  So, does anyone have a Vendo or Vendorlator 56 with that setup?  Photos?

Don't get me wrong, my machine still gets really really cold, but I just want to see if anyone else has they thermostat tube setup over the evaporator?

[MoonDawg]

        Here is a 56 square top

[kdog]

Thanks MoonDawg.  Something to think about.

So i ran the fridge full for a 2nd 24 hours after it was already cooled. Running costs ran 3.93 cents per hour, 94.67 cents per day, $86.05 per quarter, and $344.27 per year.

So yeah, originally I honestly was afraid the running costs were going to be a lot more than they actually are. I know old fridges are notoriously inefficient compared to modern fridges, but as long as I stick $7-10 a week into a jar, I can absorb the running costs and not have to worry about a higher bill, therefore enjoying an ice cold Coca Cola guilt free.

[kdog]

Ok, so I dug up old photos of a few Vendo machines that over the years I looked at buying over the years, because someone a fellow use here recommended I make comparisons with Australian machines.  And I have loads of photos.

The first photo is of a Vendo 63 I looked at buying back in 2013.  Similar to MoonDawg's photo of the Vendo 56, the thermostat knob is on the evaporator, and this has the sensing wire running from it to the top of the evaporator where the fan blows out.  It is even curved at the end like the diagram in th Vendo 56/63 manual in the download section of soda-machines.com.


Click to view full size!

Ok, so you say that's a 63 with the thermostat on the evaporator, and mine is a 56 with the thermostat mounted next to the compressor fins.  OK, I hear you.

The 2nd and 3rd attached photos are of an Australian Vendo 56 square-top exactly like mine with the thermostat knob in the compressor area, and a green plastic insulted wire running from it up into the fridge  area and across the evaporator up to the top. Mine has the same insulated wire running from the thermostat knob up into the fridge area, but it leads int the area between the evaporator and under the bottle stack.


Click to view full size!  


Click to view full size!

Maybe he placement isn't all that important, and a Coke technician did it.  Or maybe a previous owner didn't like a wire sticking up in the air and tucked it away.  However, in a "Trouble Chart" in the Vendo manual  under the heading TROUBLE, it says that for "Temperature above normal"  that one possible CAUSE is that the "Temperature control sensor out of position", and that the SERVICE SUGGESTION is to "Check".

Now I've measured the temp, and it seems fine, but does can anyone definitively tell me if I should or shouldn't position the thermostat sensing tube tip above the evaporator air flow or not?   Maybe it would make a difference with the compressor running times, or maybe not.  Right now, I'm just curious.