The "Whine" Fridge, Plus Hack-Job Repair!
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- Опубликовано: 22 мар 2019
- Originally recorded March 12, 2019.
I was given this wine fridge/cooler a few years ago as a gift. Not anything I was looking for to start with, but still nifty. Most of these use Peltier junctions to cool the inside, rather than an actual compressor that can get the job done properly. Of course the Peltier ones are much less expensive than the way-overpriced compressor-cooled ones. The buyer of this unit wouldn't have known the difference anyway.
Well, as it turns out, these have fans in the back to cool the heatsinks. That can collect dust. The manual for it SPECIFICALLY STATES to remove the back and use a vacuum to clean up the dust every once and again.
I did just that last summer. Upon plugging it back in, the bottom compartment no longer got cold. No reason, no explanation, just China'd out. After a harrowing hold time, I got someone on the phone who told me the circuit board I needed could be ordered on their website, and couldn't provide me with much more information than that. Thoroughly dissatisfied with this company and now even more dissatisfied, I begrudgingly paid my $50 for the circuit board that shouldn't have gone bad in the first place.
Some time later, it arrived, and was promptly misplaced. It just happened to come at the wrong time and the project was put on the back burner.
Recently, the board was found again, so with a fresh mind I set out to fix it. Well, that should have all gone well but for some reason I can't explain, they decided to directly solder the wires for the Peltier junction to the circuit board instead of socketing them! Undeterred, I cooked up the iron, and soldered the wires to the new board. The solder joints I made looked tons better than factory.
With everything reconnected and ready to go, I plugged it in, to find that now the bottom compartment works, but the top decided to China out at that very moment! I was ready to smash the thing!
I certainly wasn't going to throw another $50 into this junker. So I decided to give it a last chance. I bypassed all the Chinaness and wired it the right way, ON. China limited the cooling of the bottom compartment to 54°. The was probably so they could get away with using the same Peltier junction as the top, while claiming that red wine should be kept at a warmer temperature.
I wasn't having any of that crap any more! I did a very crude wiring job with "twist and tape technology" because I was so angry at this point. I connected both Peltiers and both sets of fans to the same board. This bypassed the temp display on the front that was useless anyway, and forced everything to run at full power constantly.
Obviously, I'm pulling way more power from the single board than it was designed for so I know it will crap out sooner. When that happens, I'll rig an external power supply in the form of a computer power supply up to it, and it will continue to run at full power until one of the Peltiers dies, at which point I'll get rid of the whole thing. Problem solved through redneck engineering! 
Хобби
You know God bless you have the patience to try to fix this thing. I found when I was getting one of these for a friend of mine nothing beats the compressor style units these just can’t compete in a very hot room they just can’t bring the temperature down enough. I guess there might be some exceptions but they are not worth the money spent.
Oh exactly. Like I said this was a gift; if I were buying one it would HAVE to be a compressor-based one, there's absolutely no comparison. Point is, I'm not buying one nor was I looking to get one to begin with. It was a gift, so I figured I'd make use of it.
Now that it died, and thoroughly angered me in the process, I had to get my revenge, and that I did!
Very nice!
I had a similar situation with my workshop ac unit. The chinatronics failed, just after the warranty ran out, of course, rendering the entire unit useless. Contacting the company was useless too. One by one I figured out what each wire coming off the control board controlled. My initial test was to twist all the appropriate wires together, plug it in, and it worked. Then my solution was to get a heat pump thermostat, thermostat wire, 24 volt transformer, and three 24 volt controlled relays. One for the faen, one for the compressor, and one for the reversing valve. Also threw in a time delay for the compressor to protect in the event of a short cycle situation. I proceeded to rip out all the unnecessary circuitry, wired it up like a central hvac system, and it's worked flawlessly since 2015.
I have a similar story! Years ago when we had our apartment I found this A/C thrown out, it was a GE 10,000 BTU unit. Had Chinamatronic controls also. Apparently the circuit board got water damaged somehow and there was white stuff on the board, it was totally dead.
I dragged it back to my dad's house and opened it up. I traced the wires and rigged it up, the compressor and faen ran and it made cold. In the circuit board box, I wired up a 12-volt wall wart transformer, just put wires through the holes in the plug prongs and soldered and heat-shrunk the connections. Also in there was a 12 volt relay that has 30 amp contacts, more than plenty. Had a bunch of those on hand since I used so many for my old Chevy. After all was said and done, there was just a pair of wires sticking out the side of the unit. Tied those in to an old-school Honeywell round thermostat and that did the trick.
Never had a use for it, gave it to xjoe81x, he used it for a few years at an apartment he had. He grew tired of it and wasted money on either an 8-or 10,000 BTU standalone unit that sits on the floor and vents out the window. A year or so later he was out of there. He's still got it, it'll never be used since he has central now in his house.
Meanwhile, he gave the 10,000 BTU GE unit back to me. For whatever reason the fan rubs on the case. It rode around in the trunk of Old Clanky for awhile and eventually made its way into my garage where it sits now. That A/C actually made a cameo appearance in my Harbor Freight generator video years ago, rubbing fan blades and all! Always kept it for the thought that if one day the central went out upstairs, I could pop that in the window to at least get something. Now that it's so many years later, I probably can't lift it because of my back, so it'll sit there until one day it has to go, at which point I'll probably steal the compressor out of it before junking it.
Those stand alone units don't seem to be able to get the job done as well as a good old window unit. I certainly wouldn't waste money on one!
I'm sure I watched that video! Did you demo the Honeywell Round controller with a light? I seem to recall seeing it, or at least hearing about it. Imagine how many units with perfectly good faens, and refrigeration systems, but bad control boards ended up in the landfill, rather than cobbling something together to make them work.
A long time ago I made a video of my workshop HVAC. I need to find that file, and upload. I also have this homemade unit out there I assembled back when I was around 18, or 19. At the church I used to work for, they had a 1981 Manitowoc ice machine. It took a lot of persuasion to keep the ol girl running. A tech suggested to empty all the ice periodically, and clean the nickel plated evaporator. There was several hundred pounds of ice, just going to waste. That's why I built this unit for cooling, to make use of the discarded ice. Worked out awesome as long as I had access to all the free ice I wanted! Now I'll go buy 4-5 bags of ice once during the summer, to give it a run. It outputs 53 degrees air, and will keep the workshop in the mid 70's during a mid 90's outside day. Not bad for a homemade unit! The cold water loop goes through about 10 pounds of ice per hour during continuous operation. Run time varies on cooler size. I have it connected to a 10 gallon cooler now, and it will run about 4 hours on a "charge." Not really practical, but kind of cool to play with once in a while.
Yeah I know. There was nothing wrong with that GE A/C, but he just felt the need to buy 2 more and throw all 3 out. Basically for no reason.
I have a similar setup of the Honeywell thermostat with an outlet, anything can be plugged into that one. Here are the links:
Harbor Freight Generator:
ruclips.net/video/KcOMBfsHi2w/видео.html
Thermostatically Controlled Outlet:
ruclips.net/video/1-7nHAQa5TA/видео.html
Nowadays it's probably good that the boards go and people throw these things out before they EXPLODE! But yes, back in the day, when they still had non-explosive refrigerant, there were tons (pun intended) of refrigeration units thrown out!
I'd love to see that video if you find the file!
I played around with a "heater" using hot water from some cobbled parts. Left in the house from the previous owner was a couple of aquarium pumps and heaters. My dad replaced the heater core in one of his cars, because the outlet pipes were PLASTIC and cracked. Wouldn't work int he car anymore but there was still enough meat for me to play with it so he gave it to me.
Next thing you know I had the aquarium pump recirculating water I put in an old pineapple juice can, heater core on top. I had a 120mm 120VAC fan with METAL BLADES on it. It worked great for a while, then the can started rusting pretty bad. It was just something to play with; I never made a video of it. I think I still have the heater core; if I had some tubing I could rig it up again for fun. That 120mm fan was hungry one day and BIT my finger pretty good, those metal blades hurt! I had my hand wrapped up for a few days. That was fun. It was nothing compared to the time my mandolin slicer got hungry--that wasn't fun at all!
Oh yes, that's the video I was thinking of the thermostatically controlled outlet!
I forgot about the new and improved exploding refrigerant! You're probably right on getting them out, _before_ they explode.
Wow! A 120mm fan with metal blades, that I've never seen. Yep, that heater sounds like some of the same things I cobbled together back in the younger days!
I did find all the video clips pertaining to the homemade portion of the workshop HVAC, so I'll be working on editing that together pretty soon. It has heat capabilities as well, not mentioned in the video. My original plan was to revisit the heater portion during the winter. I suppose I can do that now. I used it all winter, almost exclusively, even forgot to turn it off at night a couple times. One morning it was 20 degrees outside, and it held steady at 70 degrees inside with no problem. The video will be a bit on the potato side, but not too terribly bad. I'll film the other unit I had to de-china to make operational. Cool, now I have three videos to create!
I had a video on that fan, I forget if this one bit me or another one:
ruclips.net/video/usyNk9jgT8Y/видео.html
Glad to hear you have some more videos coming, I'm looking forward to them!
Good fun, good info!
Thank you.
Great video, had me laughing!
Thanks Brad!
Take a shot every time Jay says circuit board.
Oh, we're doing shots now? I was on the "whine" hard!
I rigged one of these once, hooked up a computer power supply and it lasted 2 years until I replaced it because I hated it. It had a separate board for the temperature controls that also ran on 12 volts so it had every function it originally had except it had wires coming out the back going to an external power supply.
Nice. Would have been nice if this had separate boards for temperature control, but it doesn't. Never liked the gaudy China blue LED display anyway, _really_ doesn't fit with the dining room.
@@jaykay18 The blue displays can look nice as long as they're not that cheap China blue, which I am sure it is on that thing.
Yep, that's exactly what it was.
I got the same wine cooler! Lmao! Same issues and "THANK GOD" I found your video.
I'll have a new series on this thing, going out to the curb, someday in the next few months.
These peltier systems are so complicated compared to compressor cooled systems, and they don't cool very well either. I have a mini fridge in storage that was given to me with peltier junctions, the thing ran nonstop and only got down to about 55°. If I ever bought a mini fridge or anything like that, I would only buy a compressor cooled unit, although now you lose either way because if it leaks it could explode with the flammable refrigerant.
Well the circuit board is complex, but the Peltier junction just needs 12 volts of very stable power. I once had one of those tiny Peltier fridges, the kind that fit like 6 soda cans. Same thing with that, it was a gift, and it never got decently cold enough. I actually added a little 40mm fan inside the fridge to help circulate the air inside better. Ended up giving it away.
I'd only ever buy a compressor-based model, and yes, I know that they have flammable refrigerant in them. This started 3 or 4 years ago when I had to replace the fridge outside, it had a yellow and black triangular warning sticker with a picture of fire on it. At that time I never realized what that meant, but it's clear it's got flammable refrigerant in it.
Hey I was just wondering just checked out your video on this wine cooler I have the exact same one and it is doing the same thing I was thinking about doing exactly would you done just was wondering how did yours turn out
It ran for about a year and a half just fine, then it died. Although I haven't looked at it yet, I'm 100% certain it's a bad power supply board, the one left that works. I'm going to rewire it again, this time using a computer power supply on the 12 volt rail, and see how long that lasts.
hooked mine up like this. lasted 1 day. going to hook up a computer power supply as everywhere i call they say it is obsolete.
This ran about a year this way. It has since died. Need to hook a computer power supply up to mine as well.
haha I was very pissed by discovering my similar fridge crapped out few days ago. now I started checking around on whats wrong with it and after watching your video I got a nice relief. as if it was me swearing all of the negative emotions out :D my bottom section started growing temperature since some days and I noticed inner fan runs very slow and the back fan sometimes even stops spinnng, but if I spin it up by hand it spins for some time after, but very slow. peltier element doesnt feel like getting warm at all, or barely, so may be its the thing that is faulty. still debating wether I want to troubleshoot this or not... thanks for the video :)
I have a complete 4-part series on this "whine fridge", I suggest you see that series for my troubleshooting and ultimate replacement of the unit.
@@jaykay18 you know... few years ago I (for now reason) ordered a replacement fan for this cooler. so I simply tried replacing the one on the 'misbehaving' section and it works again it seems. I guess old fan had some issues that caused problem in my case. gonna may be order another one and replace second one too
@@kchrist The fans on mine never quit over the years, they always operated. Power supplies quit a few times. If you do have a fan that's failing, oftentimes oiling them in time will make them come back to life.
Bottom line is you can throw parts at this all day, do all the maintenance you want, and the best you will be left with is lackluster performance. These are built to a price.
For the life of me, I can not find any information about which way the inside fan should blow. Does it blow towards the heat sink or away from the heat sink and into the fridge?
Generally, fans like these have a sticker on one side. The side the sticker is on is the side the air blows out of. So, the fans on the back, because the sticker is NOT visible, blow INTO the heatsink. The fans inside the fridge, since you see the sticker, blow INTO the fridge.
Peltier are not supposed to have constant power because the cold side eventually starts getting hot and it has to be cut off for an hour and then turned back on in order for it to stay cold. Also having both of them connected the same 12 volt circuit only makes both of them inefficient because the heat transfers determined by voltage itself, So you would actually have to have 24 volts pumping through them if they are wired together in order to be as cold
That's why this was a hack job repair. I subsequently released a 4-part series on this fridge later on when it finally died. One of the Peltier junctions had failed, the other was just fine.
I go compressor all the way
In a later series on this thing, that's exactly what I did.
Did you ever find out what the whining noise is?
I have the same issue, but my cooler only has one board.
Thanks in advance.
Probably the power supply, and the fan, and everything else. It's junk.
@@jaykay18
Agreed.
I just wondered if you figured out what it was and the component to replace.
I am going to use mine as a Coolidor for cigars. So I think I’m going to just wire up a digital thermostat module to turn on the cooling and fans. It only has to stay at like 70° inside.
Thanks for the reply.
@@dstdrummer Mine ended up dying since I recorded this video, the power board that was remaining went out, and a Peltier junction failed! I have a 4-part series on tearing it apart and the replacement for it.
@@jaykay18
Oooooo….I’m going to check that out.
Many thanks.
HI,
have you got a daatasheet and the technical data of PCB50418E1?
No, but it's amazing what might happen if you just google that.
@@jaykay18
Sure, you wanna try?
@@umb_liccardo Who do you think I am, the designer of this board?
@@jaykay18
No, absolutely, how could you be?!
@@umb_liccardo That's why I don't have that info.
Every last word of this video is true! These units, sold under all type of names, are shiny worthless pieces of junk. Old unit died after yrs of service then I was gifted this junk. Your unit has 2 but my unit has only 1 TEC. The spot for the other was filled in with the insulation goop. Long story short I opened it to clean it due to poor functioning. Seemed better but that lasted only 2 more months. Reopened to see if we left dust. Not working. Take it apart. Unit has 2019 peltier module 1 terminal was burnt and the module was damp and mushy. Lo and behold we discover power supply is a 2005 board living out its retirement yrs in my 2019 unit. Heat sink on hot side is aluminum painted to look like copper. Unit was purchased new for 159.99 in 2019 or 2020. Peltier modules are $4 but the power supply board is $50-100. Of course 1 yr warranty. So we paid $75 to a year to chill wine with old chinese junk in a shiny new box. Putting whites in regular fridge compartment and reds on wooden rack at bottom of pantry. These are definitely do not buys.
Thanks very much! Absolute junk, just another product to clog up landfills. This unit lasted another few months after this, and I have a 4 part series on taking it apart and saving the "good" bits, as well as a proper replacement!
Come on Jay, all this work was too green! You were supposed to send this to take up more space in the landfill!
And let "the man" get one over on me? _Homey don't play that!_
@@jaykay18 homie*
Nope, Homey. I was referring specifically to Homey D. Clown from In Living Color. It was a sketch comedy series, and it had live people as actors, something unheard of in this day: ruclips.net/video/_QhuBIkPXn0/видео.html
where did you buy the power board?
I bought it here: www.edgestar.com/edgestar-parts-wine-and-beverage-cooler-parts-beverage-appliance-accessories-and-parts/TWR215ESSCB.html?ns=true
@@jaykay18 Thanks and holy crap 6-10 weeks for delivery? They must still have to order it from China.
@@ashzole And that's IF it even arrives. My repair in this video has since died. I'm going to replace these junky power boards with a computer power supply, and I'll see how long that lasts. Quite honestly, I'd just as soon get a regular fridge, I don't care if the wine bottles can be seen through the glass. A fridge would work way better.
@@jaykay18 they look impressive cause of the glass. you really have to be a wine enthusiast to stare at wine bottles , i don’t care to much about staring at a semi cold can of coke. once i repair my wine cooler and then it breaks down , i don’t know what else it could be used for , they do t get cold enough to keep food in them, build a computer inside..give it to a friend and let him eventually get frustrated over it
@@ashzole They truly are just another landfill-clogger.
I'm going to give it 24hrs, or it's going straight to the curb!
It WILL end up there.
$50 for a board that cost 5 cents to make. You can see the chinaness in the lack of build quality. The heatsinks are crooked and the fans don't line up with the heatsinks either. Such fine china.
Yeah they really have got some nerve! The whole thing sells for $159.
@@jaykay18 $100 for the 2 boards then $59 for everything else
Exactly, and that everything else includes the 2 Peltier junctions, 4 fans, 2 LED lights, a switch, and the entire casing of the machine, all hardware, and the glass in the door. SURE they cost $50.
The lengths they go through to add Completely unnecessary electronic circuitry to create EOL so most will go buy another one.
Funny thing is, this model is still sold on Amazon. I had a good mind to buy another one, swap the bits, and return it, but then I realized it's only going to suffer the same fate in the end.
When this remaining board dies and I swap over to a computer power supply, I ought to install one of those little 12v panel meters inside the fridge. People will look and say "12 degrees???" No, moron, the wine would be frozen and have exploded all over the inside if it were 12 degrees! 12 volts!
Are you going to put a computer power supply.
When the last remaining working board dies, yes, I will.
Ok you should put a small fan to cool down the power supply.
Not really worried about that remaining board dying, in fact I'm rather hoping for it. I've doubled the current load on that one board so it's probably handling way more current than it was designed for.
Them boards are nothing more than cheap modified LED power supplies. would have liked to see what causes the buzzing? Needs a BigClive dissection.
It seems like if something has been running for a long time, once it has power cut it never works again.
I still have the dead circuit board, you know, _just because,_ in case you wanted to look at it, or send it to BigClive.
I've found that after a power off that's usually true, though any power outages we've had, though very minor, hadn't killed it. Over my years I've often found that desktop computers usually do just fine as long as they're not disturbed. As long as they sit there, they will serve faithfully. As soon as it's bumped or jarred, all sorts of bad stuff can start happening.
@@jaykay18 You can send the board to me, maybe there is something the microscope can see!
OK, pester me next week!
@@RS-zz3wb Don't even bother. This thing is a total piece of crap. That replacement board has gone out yet again, lasted a bit over a year. $50 a year is not worth it. Just junk it and get a new one, or do the right thing and buy one that is 4 times the price that uses a compressor instead, and never have problems again.
Those boards are simple switching power supply, better to repair than replace with new board... If you don't know to repair such electronics then again, better find a person who does, otherwise, you just waste your time and money...
If those power supplies were so simple, they shouldn't fail.
@@jaykay18 they fail due of poor/low quality components and manufacture, but again , they are relative simple to fix and usually it is low cost component failure...
@@onlooker774 This entire unit was made of the lowest quality parts they could possibly get their hands on.
@@jaykay18 yes, I saw one of this, it is pure waste of money, bad enough there is no tech expertize before allowing such trash to be imported, they spent materials/energy and pump out people money which help only china economy... we are guilty on buying this trash hence supporting their effort for our destruction...
@@onlooker774 I know better than to buy one, this was given to me as a gift.
Thanks, your language is sad
Not sad, spicy!