[LessTalkMoreRoc]

I know this is not a cooking question but, most chefs at one point or another has had to preform maintanance on some broken equipment.

I have a 2 door pop fridge that will not cool. The fan is still working and you can hear the compressor is on. I had a friend that use to clean the coils and it would cool again but does anyone have any other options that I can try before calling in the dreaded repair man?

[foodpump]

Is the compressor running continiously?

If it isn't cooling, then either you have a gas leak/low gas pressure or a shot compressor. Either way, it'll cost. Best thing to do now is to unplug it.

If and when you do call, make sure you give the repair guy the model and serial # along with the gas type. This should be stated on a metal plate inside the fridge cabinet, and tell him about not keeping temp. but the compressor running.

[OregonYeti]

Sorry to bust in on a pro thread, but I am an air conditioning tech and I have refrigeration education.

There might not be a simple solution, but here's one thing to try: make sure the air circulation is ok in there. If it's crowded with stuff, it can't cool it all--not so much because of the amount of stuff, but because the cool air won't reach every part of the fridge. Also because the temperature control is only reading the temperature in one certain location, and if all's cool there, it won't turn on the cooling.

Make sure the cooling from the evaporator coil (the inside coil) is not blocked off from the rest of the fridge somehow.

Also, make sure the doors are sealing well.

There are other things that could be happening, of course, but I'd suggest checking these out.

Hey, we're not gangsters

[rat]

Check the obvious as well, is the fan spinning in front of the condenser coils?
Are the coils blocked with someones kitchen towel stash or dust?
Are the evaporator coils inside the fridge clear as well?

Is the pipe coming out of the compressor cold? it should be. if not you may need a charge.

I think 90% of refridgeration problems come from lack of maintanance, you definitely need to blow out or brush out the coils 3-4 times a year, definitely don't overload the fridge and always like the previous poster said try to keep airflow inside free.
A good HVAC guy or girl can be your best friend, if you find good one take care of them, offer them something to drink send them home with cookies, a little kindness goes a long way.

[ED BUCHANAN]

It needs a charge of Freon Gas call a fridge man.

[LessTalkMoreRoc]

it seem s I have a crack in one of the copper tubes and it leaked the frion. Looks like there's no easy solution and I have to fix it. I just wish the repair man would take me out for dinner before he %$#@&^ me.

[rat]

A crack cab be easily braised, much better than a new compressor.

[OregonYeti]

The compressor might have overheated and been damaged from lack of refrigerant to cool it. Hopefully not.

If the compressor's ok, the system will need repair for the crack, pressurizing the system and making sure it holds pressure (a leak test), system evacuation to a vacuum of about 700 microns Hg, and then recharging with new refrigerant. That takes a while to do.

Either way it's not going to be a cheap repair.

It's a good idea to try to prevent an "oops" happening with the copper tubing. I'm not saying you didn't, since sometimes it just happens. I'm just saying that in general it's a good idea to try to keep them out of places where they might easily get banged by accident.