Not cooling on 120 V0lts

Evaporation fridges are normally reliable and have the advantage of being silent. There is no compressor but there is a heating element that should cause the gas to circulate. Under normal circumstances the fridge thermostat should switch off the heating element when the interior is cold enough and the subsequent heating cycles will be so short the heat will not disrupt the fridge operation.

If the fridge is not cooling the thermostat will not switch off the heater and eventually it will begin to warm the interior.

It will not cool if there is insufficient refrigerant.
It will not cool if there is no refrigerant gas.
In this case it will be because a leak has allowed it to escape.

It will not cool if the refrigerant has settled away from the heating element. This happens sometimes if the fridge has been unused for a time or transported in a non-upright way.

It sounds odd but years ago we had a large American Electrolux evaporation type fridge that was unused for a while and would not work. We were told to take it outside and to spend an hour tipping it over and over. We did this and when we plugged it in it began to work like a brand new fridge even though at that time it was nearly 30 years old...

It was still working when we gave it away five years later.

How can "fridge quit cooling" but later you say "but fridge does cool" of course this absorption cycle system gets hot on the outside, heat is the "driver" of the system rather than an electrically driven compressor in the normal fridge. Is this a homework problem?

Hi,
Check your heating element..
A bad heating element causes many problems in dishwashers...

Dishwasher Problems The Heating Element not Working
How to Replace the Dishwasher Heating Element
Dishwasher Maintenance

heatman101

Asker's Testimonial " explanation very clear. will give it a go and seehow simple it was. thanks Ronnie " - ronnieshomes

Sounds like maybe your element for Heating when on hydro may be faulty. A voltage check at spades on board connected to element will confirm. If power to element but no heat felt at element should confirm it's faulty. Remember, if stack is already hot from propane, element will also feel hot, so it has to be out or fridge cooled down at back first.(off)

Unplug hydro plug to fridge. Remove cover on circuit board. Follow wires from heating element, to terminals on circuit board. ( probably J7 and J8 ) . With an AC volt meter or multimeter set to AC voltage, turn fridge on hydro, and leave door open on fridge so that it calls for cooling. To be sure it's calling for cool, try gas first, when it's starts, you know it's calling for cool, then switch to AC operation. Now test for voltage at the 2 terminals that the heating element were/are attached to. If you get 100-120 VAC, then replace the heating element. If not get back to me and I'll walk you through a couple more tests.

Good chance element is faulty. If you have a multimeter, carefully remove cover on circuit board and check voltage at terminals where element connects for 120Volt AC (hydro). The element is the round rod that slides in side of your stack and 2 black wires go from it back to circuit board. Make sure you have door open and fridge is calling for cool, otherwise you won't get voltage reading there. Best way to make sure it's calling for cool, is to open door, switch to propane, then when it lights on propane, you know it's calling for cool, then switch to AC (hydro) operation to test. If you get voltage reading from spades on board, and element isn't getting hot to touch within 10 minutes, replace element.

Are you familiar with the location of your heating element for 110-120 VAC.
DO you have a multimeter, or AC voltmeter, and know how to use it?

Possible bad thermistor in the unit. Open the front fridge door and view the cooling fins across the back. On the right hand side is a clip with a wire going to it. Slide that up the cooling fins towards the top and see if that fixes the problem. If it does not, then access the rear panel and check the ohm resistance in the thermistor. Remove the cover of control board and unplug the two wire plug (white). Ohm resistance should be present on the thermistor.

this sounds like a compressor problem. if the outside coils are getting hot (and properly ventilated) but the inside of the unit is not getting cold then the heat is coming from the compressor.