icing up

[bpoe1321]

hello, new to the forum. just bought me what seems to be an early 80's uss-8-64.  besides not finding a good place for parts like replacement front marque signs and such,  the machine cools to about 40-42 degrees and that is with the knob on 2 out of the coldest,10.  if i move it to 3 or 4 to get a little cooler, it ices up. does that indicate something small or major.

[briandr1]

sounds like it needs a charge, is ike evap fan running inside the machine?

[johnieG]

depends on what is Icing up, if the evaporator coil's icing over, then maybe its fan-motor has stopped circulating the air, this would cause the coils to ice over & the temperature in the box to stay on in the range you've stated.

[bpoe1321]

Is this too much freon or too little?

also added a few pics.  I paid $350 for it locally, didn't have to go get it or have it delivered.  I don't know if that is good or not, but I'm happy with it, even if I have to put a little $ into it.

[90grad]

Is the fan running inside where the sodas are?  When you open the door, you should hear the fan running and air circulating.  The fan where the sodas are (the evaporator fan) will run 24/7.  The fan by the compressor (condensor fan) will only run when the compressor is on.

[bpoe1321]

Well crap !  the small 5" long and 1" diameter device (starter or capacitor) attached to the comprssor, blew up.  Large white cloud of smoke and a little blue flame.  What the heck, is that part replacable?  Does this mean something worse?

[mznb1u]

Welcome aboard!  I will leave the wiring issue to the experts but I am sure it can be fixed.  I am sure that johnieg and/or Eric will chime in.  The USS 64 is a great everyday user machine as it can vend just about anything and you got a decent deal on it.

These guys will have you up and running in no time but it would be helpful if you post pictures of what blew up!

  Tim

[johnieG]

Yep, I've already gave him a suggestion to check on the icing, (check the evap' fan & door seals) this newbie seems a bit on the jumpy side of posting,      so I'd say check one thing at a time & you'll find your problem.


Now the capacitor popping is a tad more on the serious side either it blew out because of a stuck start/run relay issue, ( the relay got stuck in the "start" position & the cap' over heated due to the excessively long startup/current draw trough it & vented /blew out & arced & flamed out) if he just replaces it & doesn't tend to the start run relay, the new one may blow too. I'd replace the whole mess with a combo 3-in-1 start/booster & be done with it.   the other reason it may have popped is because it was dried up & couldn't handle the current anymore.

[bpoe1321]

Had a customer of mine that is in the appliance repair industry, check it out today.  The compressor is shot.  I solved the issue by ordering all new guts.  evap system, compressor, the whole nine yards.  Lets face it, all the stuff in it was 30-40 years old anyway. I'll remove the existing guts in it now and keep it for the next machine, which I am realizing will happen sooner rather than lateer, just in case I need one of its working parts. This coke machine intrest takes off fast.  The guy I bought this one from has an older 1940's dr pepper machine, all original.  He said I would buy a second machine within a year.  I laughed and said I doubt it.  I see now, why he said that.