Adler/Barbour Circuit Board

[ElizabethG]

Hey Guys,

My 2004 350 has the Adler/Barbour refrigerator / freezer. I believe it's the ColdMachine CU100.

Does anyone know of a source for the circuit board for that unit?

Bill Williams
Atlanta, GA
Hull # 193

[KenKrawford]

Bill, it's been a long time since I've visited his web site but Richard Kollmann is a treasure trove of information regarding marine refrigeration systems. A visit to his web site showed that the message boards have been dead for a while. In the past he has sold parts for all the major refrigerator manufacturers.
Give this a try and see what happens - http://www.kollmann-marine.com/modules.aspx

[ElizabethG]

Hi Ken,

Yeah, I found that site earlier today. GREAT info.

I printed a ton of his documentation for troubleshooting.

Can't wait to get back to the boat and give it a go.

Thanks for the reply.

Bill
Atlanta

[Richard Kollmann]

Bill, I am still around after 84 years. After 20,000 spam messages last year I stopped anyone from registering on my forum but it is still readable by anyone.

The CU100 and 200 Adler Barbour printed circuit board was not engineered strong enough for the marine environment. There are three failures of this board, 15 amp fuse holder overheating, ground printed circuit burnout and phone plug in thermostat poor connection. The only place where these circuit boards are sold is from Indel. I would not purchase a new board unless they have improved it. I have information on my web page covering this problem.
See TECH TIP #1. Most boaters are removing or bypassing this circuit board. If you need more info email me.

[ElizabethG]

Hi Richard,

Great to hear from you!!!

I spent a couple of hours on your site yesterday. A plethora of great A/B information for the community!!!

Yep, I think you nailed the problem. The 15 amp fuse was blown and the socket was scorched.

When I head back to the boat in a couple of weeks (Charleston, SC), I plan to pull the circuit board and repair. If I'm lucky, I'll plug in a new ATC 15 amp and be back in business. If not, I'll remove, or bypass, per your tech tip.

Thanks for all your help and a great website!

Bill
Atlanta, GA
Hull #193

[Richard Kollmann]

Bill, Repairing or replacing a circuit board that is not designed to handle compressor starting loads of momentary amps of less than 15 amps. is a mistake.
I suggest you remove 15 amp fuse.
Then place a by pass 10 gauge jumper from wire from main power terminal on front of stainless box.
The other end of jumper wire go around outside of stainless steel box and connect it Danfoss control module large + terminal along with power wire already there from circuit board.
Now you have done away with the internal fuse and back fed power to trouble LED and cooling fan and applied correct volume of current to Danfoss compressor module.

WARRING you must make sure the circuit breaker for this circuit is 15 amps and no larger sense the circuit board fuse is now missing.

The type circuit breakers used on pleasure boats are not of a good quality or in most cases are not designed to switch loads on and off. Anytime this breaker feels warm I would replace it with a $20 breaker.

[ElizabethG]

Hi Richard,

Your suggestion makes good sense and should be easier than repairing the board.

I hope to be back at the boat in about two weeks.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Many thanks!

Bill
Atlanta, GA
#193

[ElizabethG]

Hi Richard,

I was at the boat this weekend and I jumped the power on the board per your suggestion. I took it one step further and installed an in-line 15 amp fuse just for added protection. The compressor and fan came back to life.

I set the analog thermostat to it's highest (coldest) setting.

For a few hours, the evaporator started to slightly frost and all looked well. Had a beer and went to bed.

The next morning, the evaporator was wet and cool. Temp inside the box was in the mid to upper 30s. Compressor and fan were running continuously.

Any thoughts on next steps?

Thanks,

Bill
Atlanta, GA
# 193

[Richard Kollmann]

OK, compressor is now running. Twenty minutes after compressor start up there will be a very thin layer of frost covering 80% of evaporator's surface this will confirm quantity of of refrigerant is close to where it should be. Because the layer of frost is so thin it can be detected by dragging finger nail over evaporator's surface.

If as you report frost goes away later and evaporator instead of frost has very cold condensate moisture no mater how long compressor runs this indicates there is moisture mixed in with refrigerant. This condition generally occurs after someone tampers with refrigerant or has connected a gauge to service port. Removal of moisture with these new systems is very difficult requiring a super dehydration process.

To confirm that there is moisture freezing and thawing in capillary tube run system till it reverts to only condensate on plate. Now open box lid and listen for a hissing sound in evaporator when refrigerant is flowing and then silence every 5 to 10 minutes confirming tube is temperately frozen shut. This cycling of freezing and thawing acts as a thermostat keeping evaporator just above 33 degree F.

[ElizabethG]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the quick response!

I live in Atlanta, but my boat is in Charleston, SC. I hope to be back there the week after next.

I am the third owner of the boat, so I don't know if any work has ever been done on the system. I don't see any notes in the maintenance log.

I'll let you know what find regarding a hissing noise.

Again, thanks for all your help!

Bill
Atlanta, GA
#193

[Richard Kollmann]

I assumed your evaporator was a thin aluminum plate and not a stainless steel plate. If plate is a Adler Barbour stainless Power Plate it will be much slower in frosting over. But with either plate moisture freezing and thawing in refrigerant flow control capillary tube will keep evaporator temperature above 33 degrees F. Unfortunately correct refrigerant charge is not easy to determine with the power plate so there is still a question about loss of refrigerant only if this is a power plate system. The cycling of flow confirmed by either the hissing sound or changes in amperage both can confirm blockage or a loss of refrigerant.

[ElizabethG]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is the thin aluminum plate which is painted white.

I'll report back in about 2 weeks.

Thanks,

Bill
Atlanta, GA
#193

[KenKrawford]

The plate is definitely aluminum. I've known people to easily plunge an ice pick through one when defrosting!

[Richard Kollmann]

Polyester oil now used with 134a refrigerant absorbs moisture quickly and unlike previously used wax free Mineral oil refuses to release or boil off moisture to a gas that can be removed. There are technicians that will say dehydrating moisture from Ester oil can not be done. I have found that keeping complete system at around 100 degrees F and vacuuming with a two stage pump for 4 hours can clean out moisture. If a micron meter is available vacuum till meter reaches 200 micron.