wine cooler control

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iwire said:
Worth a check but usually there is a low pressure cut out.
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My guess is not so likely on residential grade self contained units. OP never really clarified what he has - just said wine cooler. Most are assuming the typical under the counter refrigerator - likely with a glass door. You pay extra for the glass door, and maybe different shelves/racks the rest is about same thing as any other compact refrigerator.
 
kwired said:
My guess is not so likely on residential grade self contained units. OP never really clarified what he has - just said wine cooler. Most are assuming the typical under the counter refrigerator - likely with a glass door. You pay extra for the glass door, and maybe different shelves/racks the rest is about same thing as any other compact refrigerator.
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OP said a large wine cooler in the first sentence.
 
ActionDave said:
OP said a large wine cooler in the first sentence.
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So does that mean self contained (a specialty "refrigerator") unit or a walk in? A thermostat like Bob posted would be typical for the walk in, so would a low pressure cut off.

I am still on the side of the fence that says if the thing "runs continuously" it is not a thermostat problem, with the condition that if it ran continuously because the thermostat was faulty, it should get colder then desired. We haven't been told what the temp is like inside. Maybe it is cold enough but never quite reaches setpoint? With no more details then we have so far I am still leaning toward a refrigeration issue more then an electrical issue, regardless of what type of unit it is.
 
kwired said:
So does that mean self contained (a specialty "refrigerator") unit or a walk in? A thermostat like Bob posted would be typical for the walk in, so would a low pressure cut off.

I am still on the side of the fence that says if the thing "runs continuously" it is not a thermostat problem, with the condition that if it ran continuously because the thermostat was faulty, it should get colder then desired. We haven't been told what the temp is like inside. Maybe it is cold enough but never quite reaches setpoint? With no more details then we have so far I am still leaning toward a refrigeration issue more then an electrical issue, regardless of what type of unit it is.
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I must have missed the posts recommending ignoring other issues. :p
 
edward said:
I have a client that has a large wine cooler. The thermostat control is not working anymore and the cooler keeps running. The company who made it is out of business. So I am thinking I can install a thermometer inside to control a relay to turn the power off/on when it gets to a certain temperature.
Where can I find a thermometer/relay combo that is prewired for this set up and it is plug & play. Otherwise I would have to get the separate parts and set it up myself.

Thanks for your replies.
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Make and model of the evaporator and condenser units if separate would be helpful, or just the make and model if it is a self-contained appliance.
 
Went in today and saw the unit. It is a small built in wine cooler 48"x96"x24". With a plug in type refrigeration unit. The coils were really dirty so I vacuumed and made sure they were clean. It seemed to be working much cooler after the clean up, but after running the whole day apparently it still had not stopped. Either the client has not noticed the ON/OFF cycle or the cleaning did not do anything.

I found one of these basic controls on amazon that I will try.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FTNL4DE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A197YPAPAP8V04

The one posted by Bob, (thank you by the way) is for hardwire so because of the tight space it may not work.
 
edward said:
Went in today and saw the unit. It is a small built in wine cooler 48"x96"x24". With a plug in type refrigeration unit. The coils were really dirty so I vacuumed and made sure they were clean. It seemed to be working much cooler after the clean up, but after running the whole day apparently it still had not stopped. Either the client has not noticed the ON/OFF cycle or the cleaning did not do anything.

I found one of these basic controls on amazon that I will try.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FTNL4DE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A197YPAPAP8V04

The one posted by Bob, (thank you by the way) is for hardwire so because of the tight space it may not work.
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If it got cooler after cleaning the coils but still doesn't cycle off in a reasonable time, that pretty much diagnoses it as a refrigeration problem, not electrical.
 
mpoulton said:
If it got cooler after cleaning the coils but still doesn't cycle off in a reasonable time, that pretty much diagnoses it as a refrigeration problem, not electrical.
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If the thermostat is defective it will not shut the unit off, wont it?
At the same time, if the unit cools after cleaning does it not mean the refrigeration side works fine?
 
edward said:
If the thermostat is defective it will not shut the unit off, wont it?
At the same time, if the unit cools after cleaning does it not mean the refrigeration side works fine?
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It depends on how cold it gets.

If it gets below the set point of the thermostat and still does not turn off there is a problem with the thermostat.

If it does not get that cold while running continuously then there is a problem with the refrigeration.

mobile
 
If the refrigeration was working properly, and it ran continuously, those bottles would be frozen. He needs a refrigeration guy.
 
Jraef said:
It's not something to be taken lightly. You need to have the proper "hysteresis" in the on and off range of the temperature controller, otherwise you can short-cycle the compressor and burn it up.

I'd root around and find the dead component, then take it to a Refrigeration / HVAC supply house and get a direct replacement part. They are good at that.

Here's a good supply chain I use a lot in the West, but your profile doesn't say where you are.
http://www.rsd.net/locations.php
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This. ^ Newer systems often have a time delay so it won't slug (short cycle) the compressor, but the older ones didn't.

Also, it could be possible that it measures humidity as well.

I used to use these guys for HVAC & refrigeration controls: https://www.johnstonesupply.com/storefront/index.ep
 
Wine cooler don't get that cold. So if the thermostat is broken, it would be in 30s or frozen. Come on guys. This is kind of common sense.

You wouldn't happen to have defrost heater stuck on and continuously fighting it, would you? This is pretty common with fridges. But if it's iced over, this wouldn't be the cause.
 
Electric-Light said:
Wine cooler don't get that cold. So if the thermostat is broken, it would be in 30s or frozen. Come on guys. This is kind of common sense.

You wouldn't happen to have defrost heater stuck on and continuously fighting it, would you? This is pretty common with fridges. But if it's iced over, this wouldn't be the cause.
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something that wasn't intended to cool to below freezing temps probably doesn't have a defrost heater. Antifog heater on a glass door maybe - but those typically run all the time anyway.
 
ShockedMonkey said:
Because it's wine specific, it might have a low-limit temp cut out switch to prevent frozen bottle$

I'll quit guessing. Last time I had a refer apart scroll compressors were 'new'
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A low temp switch should shut down the compressor, or it will just continue to get colder.

OP's unit runs all the time or at least nearly all the time, and apparently is not getting too cold though we haven't really confirmed that.
 
kwired said:
A low temp switch should shut down the compressor, or it will just continue to get colder.

OP's unit runs all the time or at least nearly all the time, and apparently is not getting too cold though we haven't really confirmed that.
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Misread OP

In that case I'd guess 1. freon leak 2. iced up coil (bad defrost heater or low freon) 3. defrost heater staying on all the time; bad controller 4. door's open ;)

If it's half modern it might just be a bad circuit board.
 
ShockedMonkey said:
Misread OP

In that case I'd guess 1. freon leak 2. iced up coil (bad defrost heater or low freon) 3. defrost heater staying on all the time; bad controller 4. door's open ;)

If it's half modern it might just be a bad circuit board.
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Other than turning on the defrost heater, I do not see any way the control board could leave the compressor running but not cooling. There would have to be another problem too.

mobile
 
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