Raritan Icer-ette

nitro115 · Post by **nitro115** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 5:41 pm

Hi folks! Does anyone know what kind of refrigerant the Icer-ette uses?

I've noticed that lately the cubes froze to each other, but now there isn't enough cooling. I haven't pulled the ice maker yet due to lack of time. I can hear the compressor running and it cools a little, but not enough. The coil at the bottom is not dusty/clogged. I'm not sure that this ice maker is original, although it looks like. I can get the piercing valve, leak detector, refrigerant (whatever it is), so I'll try to fix it. A new unit costs 800+ dollars and it seems too much for ice cubes.

Thanks in advance!

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:11 pm

Possibly R-22. Such was used for older a/c units. Check with Raritan to be sure.

nitro115 · Post by **nitro115** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:43 pm

Thanks a lot! That would be awesome, I work with R22 daily.

reelfishin · Post by **reelfishin** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 3:47 pm

Is there a fan that should be working and is not? Check for that before you try putting refrigerant in. That is a conderser fan and it should be on the outside of the cooling compartment. Not inside the unit.

nitro115 · Post by **nitro115** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 6:50 am

Thanks Reelfishin! I'll check it out, haven't pulled the unit yet. Although it seemed like everything was running, but I base that on what I heard. Will pull the unit this weekend and look.

reelfishin · Post by **reelfishin** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 12:34 pm

Our freezer at home have this fan and it normally is located under the freezer toward the back. If it should not work the freezer will not freeze the food. A temporary fix is to set a 20 inch fan in front of the freezer and aim it toward the bottom of the freezer. Turn it on and it will do the job until you can by the fan motor. We had a freezer with a bottom V coil. I had to clean it every so often to keep it from clogging up.

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 2:00 pm

reelfishin wrote:Is there a fan that should be working and is not? Check for that before you try putting refrigerant in. That is a conderser fan and it should be on the outside of the cooling compartment. Not inside the unit.

I had to replace the fan in my icemaker. I was able to get it At Granger.(http://www.granger.com) (I don't remember the item number but it's on page 50 of their on line catalog) (Maybe 4m073) I also bought a new fan blade, the old on was slipping on the shaft. (Maybe # 5c172, 5c173,or 5c174)

nitro115 · Post by **nitro115** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 4:15 pm

Thanks for all the tips! At work I have all kinds of motors for freezers, and fan blades too. For just a "listening" test everything sounded okay. Also checked the coil at the bottom, it's clean, no sign of any dirt. I'll have to check the cold control too, that can be a problem as well. In the meantime I've found out that the ice maker uses R12 refrigerant. I'd have to buy an adapter kit to charge, plus the piercing valve, etc. Shouldn't be a big deal.
The problem started about 1.5 years ago... the cooling got worse and worse. But, still made ice. This winter we hadn't been down, but twice and just noticed that now cooling is very weak, not enough to freeze the water. This coming weekend we'll be down there, so I'll be able to check it out more thoroughly. Thanks for all the ideas and tips, they're most welcomed!

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 10:16 pm

nitro115 wrote:In the meantime I've found out that the ice maker uses R12 refrigerant. I'd have to buy an adapter kit to charge, plus the piercing valve, etc. Shouldn't be a big deal.

Do you convert to R34 or is there away to go to R22?

I'm not sure, but I think I have a Raritan ice maker on my boat that may need a recharge. Is that what you have? Mine will still get cold ,but doesn't make ice like it use to. In hot weather it doesn't make ice until I air condition the cabin.

nitro115 · Post by **nitro115** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 6:56 am

I'm not sure if it can be converted to R22, actually most likely it cannot be. I've found out that my compressor runs and the fan in the front of the coil as well. The cold control seems to work too, but cannot get the temp. any lower than 34 degrees. The complete set of refrigerant, meter, leak detector, etc. costs about $150, including the piercing valve. I'm seriously thinking about getting two ice cube trays, after all we don't use ice a lot and have a full size fridge with a freezer

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 10:00 am

nitro115 wrote:I'm not sure if it can be converted to R22, actually most likely it cannot be. I've found out that my compressor runs and the fan in the front of the coil as well. The cold control seems to work too, but cannot get the temp. any lower than 34 degrees. The complete set of refrigerant, meter, leak detector, etc. costs about $150, including the piercing valve. I'm seriously thinking about getting two ice cube trays, after all we don't use ice a lot and have a full size fridge with a freezer

I've been using trays for a couple of years now. When I need more I buy a bag.