Refrigeration Problem

[Alohman]

We have an Alder Bal. cold machine.  It has been working fine until last two boat trips.  It will work okay for the first 12 - 24 hours then it will make a high pitched beep, cycle on and then off.  As time goes by, the interval between the beep/cycling gets shorter until it happens about every 30 seconds.  We checked to make sure the unit was not overheating, and we beleive that it is only the fan cycling and not the compressor.

If we turn the unit completely off from the circuit panel and leave it off for a few minutes, then turn it back on, the problem goes away for a least a day or two.  

Called AB and they seemed to think it was a bad control module, cost $395.  Obviously they have expertise, but before spending $395 I wanted to see if anyone else had heard of this problem before?  Also, the unit is about 12 years old, should I invest $395 into that vintage or bite the bullet and invest in a new unit altogether?

[Stu Jackson]

Alan

I had pretty much the same problem recently.  I checked out AB's board on the catalinaowners.com website, did the forensics, and found it to be a faulty fan.  Maybe I was lucky, and it wasn't the module.

In any event, replacing the entire unit is much harder than just slapping in a new module, and much more expensive.  Since your unit is so old, it most likely uses R12 refrigerant, no longer available.  And you shouldn't mix the older and newer types of refrigerants, so don't figure on getting a new compressor unit and attaching it to the old evaporator (in the box).

If the unit is still cooling, that means your refrigerant charge is still OK.

I would first check the fan, then if necessary, bite the bullet and put in the new module.

If you check the AB forum at catalinaowners.com, I believe there is an alternative module that may cost less.

[calewis]

I had a similar problem with the Cold Machine unit shutting down for no apparent reason. It acted like the voltage was to low at times. I finally traced the problem to a fuse. The fuse would allow plenty of power at times but not all the time.

As a General contractor we run into old knob and tube wiring that is just worn out. As an atic gets hot it ads to the resistance and voltage becomes low. The lights start to dim and all the appliances work funny.

Chris Lewisê