As to why you are popular. What separates you from a lot of us who do technical and engineering work is your ability to narrate your work in a cohesive manner, and in a way that does not overwhelm. Your manner is friendly and sometimes frustrated, and that makes you quite relatable in the videos. I can't begin to count the number of times I have run into complications on (electronic) machines that don't make sense, and how many times I have had to think and fix my way through a series of problems to track down the bug.

@HVACRVIDEOS

Жыл бұрын

That is a very nice comment thank you very much!!

A heavy equipment mechanic here who stumbled upon this channel. I now find myself interested in every video with no way of turning away.

@demonknight7965

Жыл бұрын

Average joe who's too curios for his own good did the same.

@CorDawgYT

Жыл бұрын

Used to repair forklifts, got my industrial refrigeration ticket and now run ammonia refrigeration plants (did CO2 for a year too). Still interested in every video!

@Darkside-te7zi

Жыл бұрын

HAHA same here!

@SedatedByLife

Жыл бұрын

Lol I'm a computer geek who dabbles in household repairs and I got stuck on it. I've learned a ton and now I've learned to do some basic HVAC and refrigerant stuff lol

@hasteandfury2424

Жыл бұрын

Same here.

Having grub screws with torque specs and a flat head bitting should be freaking illegal. It is so very annoying. All screws with torque specs should be hex or torx bitted.

@strawbemily3182

Жыл бұрын

THANK YOUUUU. fuck, hex and torx are the best screws imo. flatheads suck ass, and cross heads while better, always strip

@GeminiSeven43

Жыл бұрын

Did he say those were aluminum screws???? Wow Mega F"d for both straight blade and screw material.

@radzer0966

Жыл бұрын

Flat blades should be gone completely unless used as a backup to a Torx.

@Klokopf52

Жыл бұрын

If you go full nerdgasm on it you will realize that it actually is :) At least here in Germany. Flat Head screws have a much lower torque rating than torx, even if the material and thread are identical, simply because flat heads aren't designed to transmit that sort of torque. Unfortunately the people in the component sourcing department usually don't give a crap about things like that and will change screw heads after the fact to save half a penny per unit. And that's literally how little it is. 10k M8x40mm screws with Torx head are only 1,2% more expensive than the same screw as flat head... It's even less if you go higher quantity.

@cliveramsbotty6077

Жыл бұрын

do you see many pozidrive screw heads in america? very common in uk

This is why I don't get ice in my drinks. I know how disgusting these things get.

@brucejones2354

Жыл бұрын

I ALWAYS get ice in my drink! Things like this just help keep the immune system strong.

@coryhull9328

Жыл бұрын

That's y I get lite ice cuz I know restaurants don't like to do PM and yea Bruce u are correct but for those with poor immune system that's terrible so disgusting

@TheRealObamagaming

Жыл бұрын

why dont u want the extra protein??

@coryhull9328

Жыл бұрын

@@TheRealObamagaming aww man that wrong I'm good on the extra I would rather pay for the extra protein

@XeonProductions

Жыл бұрын

I must have the immune system of the hulk by now, i've been getting ice my whole life.

Fridays are for little pictures. Big picture is monday's problem. Can't agree more.

There should be a law that you're required to report this to a health inspector. This is utterly disgusting.

@markae0

Жыл бұрын

Then the restaurant would not call for help.

@Yousoundvaxxed

Жыл бұрын

Then you’re out of business. I typically inform them that it’s against health code and it’ll make customers sick(when there’s mold salmonella and nasty stuff)

@tomoliver8498

Жыл бұрын

If the slime and goo that accumulates in ice machines was harmful to humans there would be no ice machines.

@Yousoundvaxxed

Жыл бұрын

@@tomoliver8498 it’s just disgusting and should be cleaned.

@xorinzor

Жыл бұрын

@@tomoliver8498 there's really no excuse for it. The calcium buildup, whatever. But the maggots are clearly indicative of them not cleaning it properly. And if they don't even clean their ice maker, you just know there's more that they haven't cleaned

electrician from Florida, those smaller lug screws are always a problem and tend to need the largest size flat head that can fit into the slots, and if the a/c unit wiring going to the load size of the disconnect is the fine strand type i would not recommend tightening up all the way or the lug can cut through some of the finer strands and can cause overheating issues at the lugs and connecting bus bars. also for future repair and warranty i would recommend a small thing of Anti-oxidant compound and use it on all of the Alum lugs and on fuse holders to prevent overheating.

Always get excited when I see you post ice machine videos. I have a love hate relationship with them. I love working on em.

You're the normal dude turning on a camera that teaches me, and many others, what to do and not to do. I appreciate everything you do. Helps me be a better tech. We can all learn. No matter how old you are, you can ALWAYS learn something. Like my boss says, always read the instructions. You may have done this a thousand times, but ya know what, maybe they changed something.

thanks for reminding me to not get ice. Especially as I recover from bronchitis.

At 20:07 you can see it spike up from 15 amps up to 35amps which probably explains why the fuse was blown.

@tdog1104

Жыл бұрын

Saw that too

@norcal715

Жыл бұрын

I saw 48.11 amps at 20:08 just as it left the camera view

This is why I never get ice in my drinks. The only restaurant I've ever gotten ice in was the one my buddy and I ran together. I knew it was clean because he and I did it ourselves. That's also why I'm so surprised at how filthy some of these restaurants you have to go into are. Our kitchen stayed immaculate because all of my back of house staff and myself took a great amount of pride in it unlike some other businesses.

"Know what I mean, Vern?" Loved the Ernest reference. I'm not in HVACR but love watching people problem solve and fix things. Keep it up!

@HVACRVIDEOS

Жыл бұрын

I loved Ernest growing up! Thanks for watching!!

Even though the disconnect turned out not to be the cause of the problem, I wouldn't feel too bad about replacing it. It was in poor condition, and likely would have caused problems in the future.

@markae0

Жыл бұрын

The metal surface that contacted the fuse was all oxidized and a very poor conductor IMO, it needed to be sand blasted clean at a minimum. in a new one, grease on top to stop oxygen from reacting with the metal.

Great advice about bleach and ice machine cleaner getting mixed. Bleach reacts with Phosphoric acid to produce Chlorine gas, which is obviously very toxic and also corrosive. Unfortunately, there have been instances of people dying from accidentally mixing them. Luckily, you reacted swiftly in your story and saved yourself. Many people wouldn't even consider that they could become mixed inside the sewage line.

@beachrider21

Жыл бұрын

If chlorine gas was coming out of all the drains there must have been dry p-traps or the drain line wasn't vented correctly.

@1nm1

Жыл бұрын

@@beachrider21 Could the drain line have a partial blockage that would keep the pipe partly filled with ice machine cleaner long enough for the bleach to enter the system and interact with it?

@beachrider21

Жыл бұрын

@@1nm1 I'd think you'd have to have a pretty violent reaction to blow the water out of all the p-traps and overwhelm the vent line. No telling really.

So THAT'S why restaurant ice has flavour.....

watching these ice machine repairs make me want to bring my own ice at any place i go ...

Health Department must love them..........................

@HVACRVIDEOS

Жыл бұрын

Health department doesn't care about ice machines.... they never open them up, I mean never.... it's really messed up they don't check them

@Tigerhawk1981

Жыл бұрын

@@HVACRVIDEOS wow, they need to given how bad that one was, that's just wrong.

Great video! You're absolutely right about the bleach. Mixing it (hypochlorite) with acids in most cases will liberate chlorine gas. I'm glad the incident didn't end badly! (Source: I'm a graduate chemist)

This would be a great place for a thermal camera to watch for hot spots in the disconnect. Great videos and always interesting stuff to learn even for someone not in the trade. Thanks so much.

@itsmemsti

Жыл бұрын

Yes. For any tech, if you're suspecting the fusing, feeds, wire, etc...let it run and shoot it with your IR thermometer or camera and verify it. Beats saying 'maybe'

@paradieshenne

Жыл бұрын

I guess a thermal camera is a good tool for a "cooling-technician" in general. If I understood correctly, they sometimes have to deal with temperatures

In the 1960's-'70's, ice machines were one of the more interesting things I helped my dad repair. Most were Scotsman machines with a rotating spray arm that sprayed up into a freezing mold with cylindrical ice cups. At harvest time, the refrigeration would reverse cycle and the ice cylinders would fall onto a tray where the same rotating spray arm swept them out to the storage bin. Those cylindrical Scotsman ice "cubes" were quite distinctive and much larger than modern machine-made ice. I haven't seen it in a bar or restaurant for many years, but some old timers may remember what I'm talking about. Scotsman also made a similar looking machine that continuously pushed out shaved ice - I remember dad changing the worm & ring gears in the ice shaver mechanism. There was another freaky non-Scotsman machine that made batches of ice blocks which were chopped into cubes at harvest. When I was really little, they were still making ice in the ammonia plant my dad kept running - but that's another story.

@johnbell6956

Жыл бұрын

Kold-Draft ice machines made 1 solid slab and dropped it onto a heated wire grid to cut the cubes

@brnmcc01

Жыл бұрын

@@johnbell6956 Yup! That jogged my memory, and I remember fixing a few of those machines. And I was able to find the individual wires, and fix one of the grids. What was happening was the slabs were stacking up, and the waitresses would beat on the grid with the ice scoop, and broke a few of those wires. The grid ran off a huge transformer, I think the secondary voltage was only like 7 volts but a ton of current. Those machines used a Tecumseh AE4440 R12 compressor, and about 18 ounces of R12. Replaced the compressor on one once. Restaurant never cleaned the little condenser coil, then let it run with a burned out condenser fan. Another machine was down, and turned out to be just a dead mouse stuck in the fan blade. Got rid of the mouse, blew out the condenser coil, and it started back up. This was back in the late 1980's, that restaurant closed end of 1993. The two machines I fixed were from 1979 and 1980.

@tomoliver8498

Жыл бұрын

Whirlpool and Frigidaire ice machines formed slabs of ice that slid down on to a heated wire grid to be cut into smaller cubes. Kold Draft sprayed water up into a evaporator that was horizontal and when it was in harvest a big "jaw" dropped down allowing the ice to slide into the bin. The cubes were formed in the evaporator with a small bridge between the individual cubes much like modern Manitowoc cubes.

@shawngray5787

Жыл бұрын

The Scotsman Super Cuber machines were very cool. I rebuilt one that I got for free when I was in high school in the early 80s.. the machine was probably from the 60s... Was air cooled with a huge Copeland semi hermetic compressor.. the freezer was a round spaceship type thing with a motor driven spray bar that sprayed into inverted cube molds (similar to the common Scotsman under counter cubers but bigger) It used a hot water reservoir with an electric element for harvest. They hadn't gotten to hot gas defrost by then... When it would go into harvest a big solenoid valve would kick in and dump the lower reservoir and drop the hot water on the upper part of the freezer to drop the cubes which would drain down and refill the sump and the spray arm would bat the cubes out into the bin. It sounded like a few buckets of golf balls tossed off the roof into a dumpster. It was an amazing piece of equipment... Over built... Relatively simple and made ice like nobody's business... I had that cuber and 2 Scotsman flakers of that era.. they were incredible machines. The people in Albert Lea Minnesota that made them were clearly hardcore 😝👍

8:40 - There's a distinct descending high-pitched squeal. It's almost at the top end of human hearing, you probably couldn't hear it but it IS there. Not sure if it's relevant, though. Hard to tell if the compressor failure snowballed into an issue with the disconnect, or if the disconnect failure snowballed into compressor damage. What I'm fairly certain of is that both issues are related. And, for that calcium buildup and drain sludge - obviously we're not following regular cleaning procedures or having proper PM done. And that's all I'm going to say there because I'm not in the mood to type out a massive rant when the responsible parties aren't even going to benefit from a good chewing-out.

Little Picture, lol. yep, know that feeling.

Learning a lot, even though I'll never do commercial HVAC myself. Still learning how to do at least some diagnostics that might apply to residential.

I really wish these manufacturers would put phase monitors in this equipment. I'm a commercial electrician, and I can't count the number of times we've had equipment fail due to a blown fuse single-phasing a compressor... We usually install phase monitors between the disconnect and contactor when we install new HVAC gear.

@paradieshenne

Жыл бұрын

In its easiest form, it would be a relay for each phase that cuts the coil voltage for the contactor. But I think the manufacturers rather like to earn on replacement parts than the machine costing a few bucks more

I learned something new today. Thank you. I know of a place that uses phosphoric acid to clean their shake machine. They pay an arm and a leg for it just to dilute it to clean the machine. After I talk to their head technician, I might bring up switching to diluted ice machine cleaner.

I wonder if, for those disconnects, you could buy better screws to put inside them? It would be a small additional charge, but it would hopefully prevent these disconnects from being a single-use component. If you ever needed to swap those wires out because one burnt, there's very little guarantee those screws will hold up.

When you tighten stranded wires first tighten, wiggle wire, then tighten some more. You’re welcome

A fun Thursday upload! Thanks, Chris!

now I'm going to have customers calling me that have already pre diagnosed their own machine and have their own parts xD parts is where my money is at. love the content !

One of your better videos. There is so much more to be learned from the 'non-homerun' cases.

Hello from New Zealand. Really enjoying your videos.

I would love to see some of your processes. Like union fitting, or wiring methods. You do great work and have a lot of great knowledge to share. Great problem solving and Diag.

Disconnect could have caused the compressor to go bad. Also, the compressor could have caused the disconnect to burn like that. Best to swap both in this case.

Amen on the safety with chemicals. We had a bottle of anhydrous ammonia (2100 psi welding bottle size beast) shoot its top off - fortunately it was located outside in a well ventilated area. I still got hit with a wall of pure ammonia and ran away about 50 yards to cleaner air. It soon dissipated, and, fortunately, was in an area that no one else was near. But it still was like being smacked in the chest by a 2 by 4, and I had to run for it without taking a breath.

As a hvac/r tech myself man this was something to see!!! My Lordy

It started working again when Chris got his hands on it. It knew it was in trouble!

Nice catch on the disco!

Kinda reminded me of Ed bassmaster when you said, "would you just look at this" lol.. great work always!!!

Just subbed, Love your content,Blessings🤗🤗

Love these vids!

Awesome video!

48.11 Amps is what I can see. 20:07

You’re a real life super hero.

Amazing how nasty a lot of the ice machines you work on are but then again it doesn't surprise me because most health departments don't inspect them

I am a simple man. I see a new HVACR video, I click.

If it was coming out of the floor drains is because those floor drains are not properly vented and that means that sewer gases are coming in as well. Unless the mixture of ice machine cleaner and bleach pressurizes the drain pipe to the point that ir overcomes the P-trap. Very Interesting situation. Thank you for this video.

On terminal torque, I have long observed the stripping of the head of terminal screws when screwed to proper torque. I have never used any tools to measure it or tightened to any standard, so I created my own of 'just before you strip out the head' which according to what you have been finding, appears to be about correct, if still slightly under torqued.

Another good one Chris! 2 weeks ago I changed out a evap coil on a non warranty system. .. 2 days ago the compressor locked up. It sucks but it happens. All we can do is be as diligent as possible and take pride in our work. The rest isn’t up to us. Keep up the great work bud

@crazyedo9979

Жыл бұрын

It's like old cars. If you install a new engine you still have an old car.😁

@boginator55

Жыл бұрын

For old units requiring major repairs I always forewarned the supervisor, "hey, this $2,000 part is definitely bad, and I can replace it, but there's no guarantee that another completely unrelated $2,000 part won't crap out on you 3 weeks later."

Every time I see videos like this I’m thankful that I’ve stopped eating out since the start of the pandemic.

And people wonder why I always request "no ice" with my drinks, even on the hottest of days... Yuck!!

I absolutely hate flat head screws. Out of all the screws I have screwed in or out, theses are by far the screws that I strip the most.

Been on call this week took until Saturday to have some time to sit down and watch your newest video. And i see the poop stick has made another appearance on a video......ole man poop stick.....you show up again and say hi.

@HVACRVIDEOS

Жыл бұрын

"howdy ho"

I've seen this in residential refrigerators where ground is bad and shorts out compressor because the wiring in the house is old.

Yumii Dinner 🍽

Hey dude, i really enjoy your videos. Wish you continued success. Your part of my arsenal and i study every evening. Getting back into Restaurant Refrigeration after years in Hvac, and now i remember why we're Top Shelf. I also have some chiller experience. Always learning and saying Yes its possible!

@JP-sd2cw

Жыл бұрын

What do you enjoy most, chillers, rtu’s / MUA, refrigeration like walk ins, reach ins or racks?

@resident_alien5253

Жыл бұрын

@@JP-sd2cw at the moment walk ins, because its where im shining, and also enjoy rtu's and ice machines. Racks is what i have the least experience in and im fine with that, lol.

I like your work. I hate your job, because of this situation.

The Manitowoc compressor has different discharge for harvest. Standard compressors will not harvest ice as well.

it is a little picture kind of a day, that's how everyday at work feels like lately..

I saw 48 amps on that meter just before it went out of frame. That compressor motor is toasted.

I like my dry climate! Our machines DO NOT get nasty like that. Just hard water deposits lol

@HVACRVIDEOS

Жыл бұрын

Umm this is the California desert.... our average is 10-20% relative humidity..... it doesn't get much more dry than this...

This is why i never get ice when i go out to eat!!

And that yellow stuff ends up in our drinks , apparently won’t kill us since we’ve been drinking it for decades lol

@paradieshenne

Жыл бұрын

That yellow stuff is just the minerals from the tap water that collected over time, like drip stone, as mineral containing water enters the machine but mostly mineral free water leaves (the minerals dont dissolve that good in the nearly froozen ice compared to the flowing water and accumulate)

@kaptaintrips

Жыл бұрын

@@paradieshenne what about the fruit fly maggots? Free protein?

I cought that reference to Earnest, LOL! You're showing your age young man 😂

Hi Chris, I am your biggest fan, I like to watch your video, they are so inspiring and educational! My ice machine is Manitowoc, it has been acting up strange lately, it works sometimes, sometimes only water pump running, condenser fan and compressor are both off, what do you think the problem is? Is fan relay faulty? Or something else? Thanks !!

I officially don’t want ice in anything anymore

Little picture kind of a day 😂😂

Where you have fused disconnect and 3ph equipment why dont they fit a phase fail relay to the circuit? ie if a phase is lost it prevents the unit from restarting...

at 20:08 it shot way up to 48 amps

I'm guessing you don't have ice in your drinks when. You go to a resturant lol

damn .. I ain't getting ICE ever in any drink .

"Dead, dead dead, dead, dead, dead. We are dead." Unfortunate choice of words? 🤣 I noticed while you had the ammeter clamp on the compressor, that one line went up to 48 amps before it shut down. You didn't appear to notice it on the roof. That could have got interesting.

O M G, I thought that I had seen the worst on one of my service calls, but this one takes the prize............ ewwwwww!!!

Tasty ice...... 😱

fun fact: after working on ice machines i ALWAYS order my drinks without ice. want to take a guess why?

@atomstarfireproductions8695

Жыл бұрын

If it’s a drink that came from a soda machine, I honestly would assume the water pipes and nozzles are as nasty

Knife type disconnects are always failing

anyone else catch the meter hit 48.11 amps u have to pause it at 20:08 to see it its very quick because Chris is moving the camera up.

What do you think of the manitowoc icemachine cleaner, is it any good for monthly cleaning?

I'll never ever drink anything with ice at any restaurant

@paradieshenne

Жыл бұрын

You will never ever eat anything again after seeing the kitchen

They should be using Philips thread no flat head (or larger screws), funny thing is the bottom screws was Philips type

Can you put a breaker safety switch/disconnect switch on the outdoor unit?

I'll take a bottle of beer, thanks. No, no ice water.

Free bugs in your ice!

after seeing that im ordering my drinks with no ice no exeptions

I’ve always been told not to use bleach just to be safe with safety issues. I just use them on bin drains where slime is always visible

Hey what kind of mat do you use to kneel on?

By the way I think compressor is tight. I agree need’s to be replaced

Even though I think Manitowac is a great brand, I've seen so many calls that ended up being too much scale on harvest probe/sensor to get a reading as well.

You've officially made me never want to get ice from a restaurant again...

So there’s a big name refrigeration company getting ready to release their R290 Ice machine with a built in UV cleaner. Do you have any opinion on UV effectiveness when it comes to maintaining a clean unit??

@HVACRVIDEOS

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I heard they were coming out with it, do you know if it's American made? As far as the uv light other people have tried it and it helps but the customer has to keep up on the bulb replacements

@alexohare

Жыл бұрын

Yes it’s American made 👍 Wish more customers would have them installed then. I service a lot of fast food spots and the ice machines make me sick

@brucejones2354

Жыл бұрын

UV light will kill the bacteria, it won't keep the machine clean, that is on the people to do.

@Augdogfrogslog

Жыл бұрын

I have had success using a ozoneator

@alexohare

Жыл бұрын

@@brucejones2354 I appreciate that input 👍

12:30 for exemple, look like a broken white pigtailed command cable to me, outside the disconnect box, on the left...

Compressor taking a dump sucks...You're one of a few people who actually use a torque screwdriver... Most people including myself just torque till its tight as can be. Either way, its right but maybe you just need to apply more pushing force when torquing the lugs to avoid rounding the heads. Nice job in the end. 👍

We would take those screws out and apply some red grease on the threads then install and torque them with the largest flat blade that will fit the slot. I used to work in the food industry and would rather not think about how actually nasty restaurant equipment like ice machines are. Especially true when everyone is short staffed, using inexperienced employees, and just kind of skirting along doing the bare minimum or less on everything.

@paradieshenne

Жыл бұрын

I would argue that an ice machine is one of the cleanest things in a restaurant...

@kaptaintrips

Жыл бұрын

@@paradieshenne True and because it is, it shows how filthy and unsanitary most restaurants truly are... BARF

Hate flathead screws. Would it be that much more expensive to use hex or square head lugs?

The more I watch your videos the less I eat in restaurants.

They didn't dump that ice

Hey Vern!

@demonknight7965

Жыл бұрын

I giggled at that. I loved watching Enrest P. Whorl lol

It's the real world!!!

add automatic breaker instead of the disconnect switch

what are the sizes of the hats that you have for sale?