Bob F wrote:
I seem to be having my second failure of a chest freezer
used as beer cooler. The failure mode is that the unit runs
continuously but doesn't get the temp to drop more than
a few degrees. It also seems quieter when running after
failure

I have a few words to share on this subject but bare with me
it may be a bit long winded. You see, I went thru all this when I built
my own fridge to create a coolbox for my home built bar.

The space it is in in my basement is currently about 55F.
The temp controller is a mechanical thermostat with
the sensing bulb passing into the unit between the lid
gasket and the top of the chest wall. The thermostat controls
the power to the compressor through a relay. The temp is
usually set to 35-40F.


Now you suggested the ambient temp of the room is
around 55F which means you don't have far to go to achieve the set temp
of 35- 40F. This relay that you speak of may be an issue. What governs
this relay, does it have some other device it needs to satisfy other
than the thermostat? On my fridge I had to go out and buy a seperate
beverage thermostat that I could hardwire into the system. This allowed
the system to operate at "beverage temps" 32-51F.


Both units were obtained used for cheap or free, so maybe they
were just worn out. They seemed to work fine for awhile.
Each lasted a year or so.

As John suggested in another post Free doesn't
nessesarily mean that its "good". It could be that the former owner
discarded it because it failed on him.
Now I too obtained most of my equipment for free, compressor,
evaporator, fan assembly etc. at appliance junkyards and yardsale
giveaways yet upon assembly and an educated eye for detail you can
typicaly tell the good from the bad. Electrical componants need to be
new such as the defrost timer hardstart relays etc. Oh and check the
accuracy of your thermostat with thermometer and see how far off it is.
This can take out some of the mystery.


Has anyone else had similar problems? Is there something that
I am doing that is killing the freezers?

It's hard to pinpiont your problem without a bit more info.
What I did was rounded up anyone who had a working knowledge of
refrideration and would pump them for info, walking each through the
anatomy of your system and how your useing it. A guy that works in the
field will absorb all you can dish quickly and surmise were the problem
lies. Doing this I learned all I needed to troubleshoot my
frankenfridge and now four years or so later she's still working hard.
I still have to fiddle with the old girl now and again to make sure
she's still hummin the right tune but going through this will help you
in the long run. Hopfully you have a refridgeration guy to tap on for a
few detailed answers. Good luck and let us know how your progressing!


Steve