i have a dixie narco 501E and recently found out it is not cooling. i hear the compressor going and i can feel a cool "wind" from the bottom of the refrigeration deck, but sodas won't cool. it did freeze over once before last year but worked ok after that. i don't know how long it's been like this because it's in our mobile home park and the pool is only open during the summer months and that's where it is. any idea what it could be? every tech i call local wants to charge just to come out and look at it. I just need to know where to start.
DN501E not cooling and summer is upon us! help!
Started by nhouston79, Jun 06 2013 10:42 AM
DN501E warm sodas
4 replies to this topic
#2
AZVendor
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Posted 06 June 2013 - 11:07 AM
All of your local techs need to be paid for their time. It is hard to say what is wrong with the compressor without looking at the machine as there could be several things wrong.
If the evaporator froze in the past you might have had low freon, but I also know how much humidity you have in Houston, so the ice could have been caused by an air leak into the cabinet. At this time, if you can feel the hot bell housing of the compressor (do this with the machine unplugged and feel the top of the bell housing from the back of the machine - nothing else) meaning it's running, and you have good airflow out the back of the machine, then you probably have low freon. The machine should have been left turned off over the winter when the pool is closed. It is common for a compressor to lose small amounts of gas over a long period of time. Sometimes a machine still cools even though the freon is low. This is because the compressor only needs to drop cold machine temperature from 44 deg. to 35 deg. (a normal cooling cycle). But when you let the machine get warm from sitting unused, there won't be enough freon left to cool from 85 deg. down to 35 deg.
Pay the money and get an experienced vending service tech, not an AC guy out to check it out. You'll be glad you did as you can then sell some soda.
#3
nhouston79
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Posted 06 June 2013 - 11:45 AM
actually, I'm in southern california. It's hot, dry, and windy. I did have one guy come out who does AC units and he said the freon was at a negative reading, but he doesn't do vending machines so that's all he could check.
#4
AZVendor
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Posted 06 June 2013 - 12:02 PM
That's why you need a vending repair tech who knows those systems. The good news is that your compressor is running or it wouldn't have had a negative reading (in a vacuum). The low side should be running at 18 to 20 lbs when properly charged. At least you now know that the tech will not just be telling you that the compressor is bad but they'll actually be able to charge it up. If you have a Betson distributor in your area, call them for the service call. They are a vending machine and amusements distributor who also does service work.
