Cellar cooling problem

[Jenise]

So long ago, my husband put his Masters in mechanical engineering to use buying cheap Chinese air conditioners and disabling the low temperature barrier (70F) so we could burn it out over 2-3 years at 60F in our wine cellar. These things cost about $100, and he knew each time that down the road he'd have to replace it again, but it was cheaper than the fancy stuff.

The last time, however, he decided to go upscale and he bought the black Koolr (tm) unit you see in upper portion of this picture:

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view ... ajaxserp=0

This is all I know or remember about it. I have no idea where he bought it. A few months ago when all things maintenance fell on my shoulders, I was in the cellar on a cold day and wondered why the hell we're wasting electricity to keep the cellar the same temperature as the then-cold ambient garage temperature. Couldn't find an on/off button so I unplugged it.

Last week I plugged it back in, and it is only delivering the warmer ambient temperature air we have now; there's no cooling happening.

Now what do I do?

Call a repairman.

The most likely problem is that all the coolant has escaped. A repairman will come with a bottle of whatever-it-is that replaces CFCs, recharge the device, and away you go.

It is also possible that the thermostat is busted so it does not know what temperature to aim for.

If it's anything more than that, then you need a real technician because it is more seriously broken. It might need a new pump, it might need a new motherboard, it may need its duct-work examined, yada yada.

[Jenise]

Okay, well I have a real technician coming. It's a local company that I call on for everything mechanical in my house, including furnace and AC. They're willing to look at it--worth it to me even if all it needs is more freon.

[David M. Bueker]

Interesting. I only say that because my mom shut off the system in my dad’s cellar during this past winter, and it too no longer worked when we tried to turn it back on in the spring. Luckily I was able to replace the thermostat.

A friend of mine bought a house with a wine cellar already installed. His problem was that the A/C never turned off, no matter how cold it got in there. After several visits, the technician figured out that the thing had never been installed properly in the first place; and it was all better after he fixed it.

[Jenise]

Question ends up being what kind of a technician is needed. I would presume not someone trained on this exact model of thing, just someone with a reasonable understanding of things mechanical and how they generally work, right? There probably aren't that many of this kind of thing in town.

Sounds like a sensor issue. My Whisperkool only runs when the temp exceeds the set point and that isn't that often - depends on how well insulated the space to be cooled is. No point turning a cooling unit off in winter - it won't be running much at all assuming there is at least some insulation in the room (don't recall how well you cellar is insulated)

Any decent refrigeration repair service should be able to check it out and get it running again.

I'm somewhat familiar with the KoolR unit in your photo. Many years ago I bought a ca. 100 bottle wine cabinet made by KoolSpace (I think that was their name at the time). This product was made in Canada and had a fairly heavy metal cased cooling unit that did its job for probably 10+ years. Eventually, it stopped cooling properly and I removed the unit and had a look inside. From what I could tell, condensate from the cold side of the unit had collected in the bottom, eventually corroding a copper tube running along the bottom, leading to a coolant leak.

Going to the web, I found that the company still existed but was now using the KoolR unit you have. After explaining my problem, they offered me a new unit at an attractive price (around $300 IIRC). When I received the unit it was much lighter, with a plastic case and made in China. I was able to use the unit for a year or two before it died, and I judged it not worth bothering to fix. Getting a refrigeration tech to fix that thing will probably cost you more than it is worth.

[Jenise]

No point turning a cooling unit off in winter - it won't be running much at all assuming there is at least some insulation in the room (don't recall how well you cellar is insulated)

But it was running all the time when the ambient temp was about 55F, and that's why I unplugged it. It was/is set to 57. The ambient temp in the space it's drawing air from was 68F yesterday.

And Joe, you could end up being right about it not being worth it. But I don't think I have any choice but to try.

Running all the time a couple of degrees below the set temperature says to me that there's a thermostat problem. Either the thermostat is broken or it's placed in a hot part of the room. Any good HVAC outfit should be able to sort it out.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

It's installed in the wall, Paul. It's a separate insulated room 10x10 within the garage that vents to the rest of the garage.

So I got a phone call from one AC guy who said "we don't work on those" but my favorite mechanical people mentioned earlier said "we'll try". So we'll see what happens on Thursday.

But let's presume its the thermostat. Is there a generic thermostat we can buy at a Lowe's or something or do I have to get the right one from Koolr? David, what did you do?

Paul may be right. I'd raise the setting a few degrees on the unit and see what that does to the duty cycle. If the thermostat has gone off then I'd look for a replacement - the refrigeration guy should be able to offer suggestions. Darned annoying when we are in an unusually hot period!

[Jenise]

I'll try that. Maybe 62?

I'll try that. Maybe 62?

I'd try it 3-5 F different than you have it now and see if there is any change. 60-65F is fine (I use 13 C, which is 55 F. but I am maybe looking at longer term storage. Hope It turns out to be just needing a new thermostat installed.

I doubt it is the thermostat, which is just an electronic circuit (no moving parts) built into the unit. My hunch is you had a coolant leak which would need to be fixed and then the unit recharged. The unit I had became less able to reach lower temperatures until it only blew room temperature air.

[Jenise]

Well, either way, I got a guy coming out who should, hopefully, be able to McGyver it. Joe, did you say they no longer make this? I couldn't find any new models.

Hopefully your guy can fix. Whether it's a cooling or thermostat problem should be easy to determine. Just take an instant read thermometer and check air temp at intake/return and from unit supply. With home AC should be 15-20 degrees, I'd assume wine cooler should be similar.

And Joe M it's great to see you posting here, don't think I've seen in a while.

Well, either way, I got a guy coming out who should, hopefully, be able to McGyver it. Joe, did you say they no longer make this? I couldn't find any new models.

I moved from NJ to the Washington DC area (guess I need to update my profile!) around 6 years ago and about that time my KoolR unit crapped out. Back then their website looked exactly like it does now, with everything "sold out": https://www.koolr.com/products/winekoolrunit , so I gave up on KoolR. The original Koolspace cooling unit I had was the same as the one in this cabinet (model = Tuscany): https://www.ebay.com/itm/124841917214

My new apartment had a ca. 50 bottle unit built into the kitchen, supplemented with a cheapo unit of similar size (using one for reds and the other for white). Not fond of the shelving (doesn't like fat bottles) in the cheap unit, but it is quiet and still working well. Good luck with the repairs.

Hi Dale! I occasionally look in on WLDG but got out of the habit of posting....

[Jenise]

I doubt it is the thermostat, which is just an electronic circuit (no moving parts) built into the unit. My hunch is you had a coolant leak which would need to be fixed and then the unit recharged. The unit I had became less able to reach lower temperatures until it only blew room temperature air.

The repairmen just left and this is the verdict. It's been recharged; but the leak is unknown and therefore unfixed. They potentially could do it but the cost of doing that at their hourly rate might exceed the cost of pure replacement. As it is, I'm good for awhile.

If the coolant leak is very slow your cheapest solution may be to simply have it recharged periodically.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Could be, but at $150/hr that's not going to work. I really miss Bob!!!! In a million ways, of course, but here's just one more. He'd take it apart, clean every part he could separate from the pack, and eventually find the leak. He loved doing that kind of thing. Hopefully this one gets through the next three months--hottest part of the year. I just don't want to have the same problem over and over again at $800ish a crack. It should have lasted longer.

The easiest way to detect a leak is by using a soapy water solution and looking for bubbles around joints etc., but that depends on accessibility of the bits you want to check. Might be worth taking a spray bottle of soapy water and giving a spray to whatever plumbing you can see and be on the lookout for bubbles. No need to pay excessive fees for that!

Leaks are most often found in the finned tubing. The pros have electronic leak detectors that can narrow it down pretty quickly.

Not to get too geeky, but if the leak is big enough to cause soap bubbles, recharging the unit will probably not work for even a few minutes. When troubleshooting a car A/C they sometime use a fluorescent dye that is introduced into the coolant and if there is a tiny leak it can be detected under a UV lamp. It doesn't seem like anyone is currently producing a reasonably priced cooling unit like the one Jenise has (there are some $2000+ ones...).

[Jenise]

The easiest way to detect a leak is by using a soapy water solution and looking for bubbles around joints etc., but that depends on accessibility of the bits you want to check. Might be worth taking a spray bottle of soapy water and giving a spray to whatever plumbing you can see and be on the lookout for bubbles. No need to pay excessive fees for that!

Leaks are most often found in the finned tubing. The pros have electronic leak detectors that can narrow it down pretty quickly.

Well, these guys didn't. Btw, who I hired was a major local plumbing/heating/AC company, not just some dude off the street. They know what they're doing but not used to tending little units like mine. Finding the actual leak wasn't in their wheelhouse. Probably be better off with a car mechanic. Not sure how to find someone to not pay excessive fees to.