How long does your fridge take to cool down?

[Greenhand]

We have a 12v Alder Barbour. It was checked out when the survey was done back in April, but since this is our first long weekend, we only today thought of turning it on. I left it running for about 2 hours and could barely tell the difference in temperature. I have bought a thermometer as we will attempt to torubleshoot this weekend.

So, how long should it normally take to cool down the fridge from ~80 degrees?

[Sailmonkey]

Ours goes from mid 90s to 42 in two to three hours.

[SimonV]

You should see frost on the cold plate within 15 min.

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[tomfl]

Originally Posted by SimonV

You should see frost on the cold plate within 15 min.

SNIP

Agree with this. But the experts I talk to say it takes a couple of days for the system to get stable.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Greenhand

So, how long should it normally take to cool down the fridge from ~80 degrees?

the plates should cool within 15-20 minutes, but depending on what you put it in it it could be a day

[cofc]

Put your hand on the evaporator while the system is running. If it's not cold then it's not working.

[Sandero]

I have an engine drive Grunnert and it cools down in an hr. It helps if your frig is packed with cold food rather than air! But the plate cools very quickly. Our plate is a freezer plate and can be brought down very cold... something we don't normally do because it freezes the milk or juice touching the plate!

[Richard Kollmann]

Originally Posted by Greenhand

We have a 12v Alder Barbour. It was checked out when the survey was done back in April, but since this is our first long weekend, we only today thought of turning it on. I left it running for about 2 hours and could barely tell the difference in temperature. I have bought a thermometer as we will attempt to torubleshoot this weekend.

So, how long should it normally take to cool down the fridge from ~80 degrees?

How long it takes for fridge to cool down box will vary based on box size and ambient temperatures as well as warm box interior with warm product in box. If box does not stabilize at desired temperature in 12 hours with less than a 50% compressor duty cycle its performance may be of concern. A big mistake would be to question refrigerant or let anyone tamper with refrigerant or even connect gauges to unit. The routine program for your Adler Barbour is to keep condenser inlet fins free of dust and hair. Good air flow is the secret to best performance while avoiding water cooled option on CU200 models..

Condition of refrigerant unit itself can be determined by frost formation on evaporator's surface area. Within one hour after system start up there will be a thin layer of frost on much of evaporators surface area. This beginning frost may be very thin but can be picked up under finger nail. At this point in time compressor may cycle off for a short time because thermostat is controlling evaporator temp not box temp as a means of conserving energy. In less than 4 hours evaporator’s surface area at least 90% ot 100% of it will be covered with frost. It is also important that frost is not present outside refrigerator on line returning towards compressor.

[hpeer]

I'm thinking ours has a controller problem, or an issue with the smart speed controller. It gets frost just fine but seems to run for hours before it kicks off. Then when it comes on again, like 12 hours later it will again run hard for four or five hours. It just doesn't cycle the way you think it should.

I got a spare controller but haven't the time to swap it out just yet.

Frigoboat with a 35 compressor.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Richard Kollmann;1577960SNIP

[COLOR=black

If box does not stabilize at desired temperature in 12 hours with less than a 50% compressor duty cycle its performance may be of concern.


SNIP[/COLOR]

I was told by the local guru when I installed my new Frigoboat with a 50 for an almost eight CF box to set the thermostat at thirty eight degrees and let it run for two days and see if the freezer section was making ice cubes. If it was not to reset the thermostat lower and wait two days before checking for ice cubes.

Your reputation precedes you and I would take your advice over almost anyone else. Could you explain how the 12 hour figure was reached and comment on waiting two days as opposed to half a day.

[onestepcsy37]

What richard kollman says. My adler barbour cu200, after a long shutdown, is stable in about half a day. I dont use the water cooling option.

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[colemj]

Originally Posted by tomfl

to set the thermostat at thirty eight degrees and let it run for two days and see if the freezer section was making ice cubes.

I don't see how it is possible to make ice at 38*F.

Mark

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by colemj

I don't see how it is possible to make ice at 38*F.

Mark

The Firgoboat evaporator plate I installed was the 250B which is shaped like a square tube with a plate in the bottom with dimensions of 10X11.5X6 and is installed in a ~9CF box with shelves on the opposite side from where the evaporator plate is installed. The thermostat is placed on the middle shelve in the middle of the fridge per installation instructions. It gets colder inside the evaporator plate box than the rest of the box, cold enough to freeze water when the thermostat is set somewhere around thirty eight degrees.

The exact temperature the thermostat needs to be set at to freeze water is a function of the distance the thermostat is from the evaporator and probably a few other variables as well. It takes a few tries by trial and error to determine the what temperature will both freeze water in the freezer and keep the temperature in the fridge at or below thirty eight degrees which is the suggested temperature to keep food safe.

Or at least that is what the book said and I bought in to it.

[colemj]

OK, I misunderstood your original post - now I understand that the temperature where the ice is being made is much lower.

Mark

[Richard Kollmann]

Originally Posted by tomfl

The Firgoboat evaporator plate I installed was the 250B which is shaped like a square tube with a plate in the bottom with dimensions of 10X11.5X6 and is installed in a ~9CF box with shelves on the opposite side from where the evaporator plate is installed. The thermostat is placed on the middle shelve in the middle of the fridge per installation instructions. It gets colder inside the evaporator plate box than the rest of the box, cold enough to freeze water when the thermostat is set somewhere around thirty eight degrees.

The exact temperature the thermostat needs to be set at to freeze water is a function of the distance the thermostat is from the evaporator and probably a few other variables as well. It takes a few tries by trial and error to determine the what temperature will both freeze water in the freezer and keep the temperature in the fridge at or below thirty eight degrees which is the suggested temperature to keep food safe.

Or at least that is what the book said and I bought in to it.

As I understand it you would like to lower the 250B chamber temperature to increase ice production without lowering refrigerator space temperature.

To adjust the temperature lower in freezing chamber to provide a an adequate Delta T difference from refrigerator area of box cover a portion of evaporator’s exterior with moisture resistant poor heat conducting material. I have seen ½ inch plastic board slid between chamber and back wall, as most of these evaporators are mounted ¾ of an inch off the wall. The bottom of these chamber evaporators can also be shielded reducing heat transfer. It is desirable for reasonable 12 hour ice production to maintain evaporator at 10 degrees F or less. Standard thermostats that control evaporator temperature will produce 10 degrees F inside chamber with control knob set on 3 to 4.
Insulating anywhere on evaporator’s exterior will increase the refrigerator’s area temp while lowering freezer area temps inside freezer chamber. The best ice production from a BD50 combination box is 4 pounds of cubes in 12 hours.