Kegerator help needed

Discussion in 'Home Bar' started by saatana, Sep 18, 2012.

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  1. saatana

    saatana Initiate (0) Jan 23, 2009 North Carolina

    I have a Haier kegerator and the cooling plate on the inside of the unit was punctured, which resulted in the freon all leaking out. What do I need to do to get this fixed and how much would it cost?

    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,023) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society

    sorry to say but you are screwed. a repair will cost you 1. the minimum service call + 2. the repair +3 the recharge.
    you may as well assume that a qualified tech will not show up at yout door for anyting less than $200+, and that is just to tell you that you need a few hundred dollars in parts and a recharge. if you can get out of this for less than $400, great.

    i suspect your repair will run over $500, and that just gets you a mediocre Haier kegerator. i could be wrong...
    there is a chance that the morons at the Home Depot will accept your warranty claim since they are trained to make the customer happy. just a guess that you bought this stuff at HD, just a guess that they will take it back. worth a try?
    Cheers.
     
  3. saatana

    saatana Initiate (0) Jan 23, 2009 North Carolina

    If that is the case, would it be a good deal to purchase a used Danby Millenium Kegerator for $300?
     
    jwb06 likes this.
  4. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,397) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    Many low end freezers are considered unrepairable. I assume this applies to low end kegerators, as well. They don't even have the connectors necessary to recharge them - the tube is crimped (and soldered?). In the case of freezers, the service call, alone could easily exceed the price of a new replacement. Again, I'm not saying this is necessarily the case with a kegerator, but it's something to consider. Pick up a $99 fridge (frequently at Sam's Club) and build your own.
     
    mcaulifww likes this.
  5. mcaulifww

    mcaulifww Initiate (0) Aug 18, 2011 Virginia

    I don't actually have a kegorator, but I've been looking into it a lot. I think you could just buy a new fridge for cheap and install your keg equiptment from the broken one into it. Not sure if that would work, but seems like in theory it should
     
  6. cubbyswans

    cubbyswans Zealot (623) Jun 10, 2008 Missouri

    Yes, basically all you would probably need, to do this, is get a new shank that is big enough to fit through the fridge door. The shank on a kegerator tower will be too short. A basic nipple shank would do the trick. A variety of on-line sites sell them.
     
  7. lionking

    lionking Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2006 Pennsylvania

    I would go the mini fridge route. You can drill a hole in the top and take off your Haier beer tower and use for the new fridge. Step by step instruction can be found online. I have a Haier and swapped out my original tower for a dual tower. Sold the old one on ebay for $30.00. Quite easy to do.
     
  8. saatana

    saatana Initiate (0) Jan 23, 2009 North Carolina

    I was able to repair the hole using JB Weld and then we drilled a hole in the copper line where it had been crimped to close the system and brazed a valve in place. Then I was able to recharge the system with R134a and has been humming away and cooling great for about 24 hours. Total cost to me was about $40. Definitely will be more careful from now on. The main upside to this route was that if the system ever needs R134a again, I can add however much it needs.
     
  9. IceAce

    IceAce Pooh-Bah (2,220) Jan 8, 2004 California
    Pooh-Bah Society


    Well done! Not many (if any!) of these units are brought back to life after flat-lining.

    Would you please take the time to keep us posted in, say, 30 days?
     
  10. saatana

    saatana Initiate (0) Jan 23, 2009 North Carolina

    I will do my best to report back in either 2 or 4 weeks and keep you guys posted.
     
    IceAce likes this.
  11. saatana

    saatana Initiate (0) Jan 23, 2009 North Carolina

    I have a quarter bbl of founders breakfast stout on tap now and the kegerator appears to be cooling better than ever.
     
    billandsuz likes this.
  12. IceAce

    IceAce Pooh-Bah (2,220) Jan 8, 2004 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Congratulations on your success!

    Even more, thank you for coming back and reporting your results. Too often, peeps who try to assist users in this forum are left in the dark by folks too lazy or self-absorbed to come back and report their findings.

    Cheers!
     
  13. Kadonny

    Kadonny Pooh-Bah (2,582) Sep 5, 2007 Florida
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Wow, great work. How's that FBS tasting? Love that beer.
     
  14. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,397) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    It's good to be handy. You experience is not much different than performing a $400 brake job in your driveway for $50 (with better quality parts to boot). The valve you added was much needed icing on the cake! Kind of makes you wonder just how thin the margin is on a $100 fridge when they universally leave this valve out.
     
  15. cubbyswans

    cubbyswans Zealot (623) Jun 10, 2008 Missouri

    The problem I have heard, from a few refrigeration people, is that the oils in the compressor can soak up humidity in the atmosphere like a sponge... so when you're freon leaks out, air gets in. While a repair such as adding a valve and recharging can be done, it is not guaranteed to be a long term fix.
     
  16. meigs3

    meigs3 Initiate (0) Nov 21, 2009 Florida

    My father repaired refrigerators and he all ways used a vacuum pump to pull a vacuum on the refrigerant line before he re-installed refrigerant.
     
  17. Johnrevis

    Johnrevis Initiate (0) Aug 26, 2014 New Jersey

    So...crazy resurrecting this one after 2 years, but I'm in the same boat. I really appreciate you posting the fix. Did you pull a vac before filling up the R134? How long did it hold out for? Thanks.
     
    #17 Johnrevis, Aug 26, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2014
  18. saatana

    saatana Initiate (0) Jan 23, 2009 North Carolina

    Yes I did have to pull a vac before filling it with R134. The kegerator is still running strong today with no issues.
     
  19. Johnrevis

    Johnrevis Initiate (0) Aug 26, 2014 New Jersey

    Awesome. Thank you for the information.
     
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