Help with Capsule Pak Walk-in

P

pcuezze

New member
I have a used Norlake Walk-in that is serviceable. When I first got it, I had an issue with the temperature fluctuating wildly - it would go as low as 20 degrees then up to 41. A repairman came out a couple times and said he adjusted the pressure to force the cooler above freezing regardless of the thermostat.

I now have 2 problems:
  1. The walkin leaks water like crazy from the fan. I climbed on top and the pan that houses the water is full. The coil that (I guess) evaporates the water is very hot I just think it’s getting overwhelmed…
  2. It hovers dangerously close to 40 degrees all the time.
Is the pressure something I can adjust myself? Any thoughts on why it’s dripping water?

Thanks in advance.

Patrick Cuezze
 
Last edited:
I can’t speak to walk-ins in general, as mine is the only one I have experience with, but mine has a drain line for the condensation water.
 
Last edited:
Hi Patrick:

The item below will work for your sample table:

Hi patrick:

Nor Lake walk ins use a refrigeration system that evaporates the condensate rather then running a drain line as many other makers do.

Condensate evaporators work OK in low humidity locations but can falter in high humidity situations.

You may be able to put a condensate pump in the condensate pan and rig it to pump the water to a drain.

George Mills
 
Last edited:
Thanks George. The entire capsule pack is in the plenum so I bet you are correct about the humidity. I’ll look into a pump.
 
Last edited:
We also have a norlake. Our coolers are outside.

The humidity here has been crazy high…temps have been reaching well into high 90’s even 100. We have been experiencing the same thing the last few weeks.

The repairman checked the defrost cyle which was out of whack for some reason made some changes.

Still experienced water and high temp…

Came out again and changed the pressure which has worked but still some water. BTW we do have a drain line.

Our water is pretty minimal but before the drain line it was ALOT of water. Wish I knew more specifics.

Kris
 
Last edited:
One more question - my contractor installed the ceiling panel with the cutout closest to the wall (there are 5 ceiling panels so it could have gone in the middle. Further, the fans and the “diffusor” grate are pointed at the wall and not to the center of the cooler. Having never installed one of these before, I have no idea if this is proper or not. Nor-Lake does not have the install guide on their website…

Any thoughts?

Patrick
 
Last edited:
48.png
pcuezze:
One more question - my contractor installed the ceiling panel with the cutout closest to the wall (there are 5 ceiling panels so it could have gone in the middle. Further, the fans and the “diffusor” grate are pointed at the wall and not to the center of the cooler. Having never installed one of these before, I have no idea if this is proper or not. Nor-Lake does not have the install guide on their website…

Any thoughts?

Patrick
Click to expand...
I have mine installed exactly like you posted above and I greatly regret it. I have to get a contortionist to clean the coils on the thing, and heaven help us if it ever needs a repair. If the manufacturer says it’s OK, I would rearrange it so you have better access and airflow.
 
Last edited:
Hi pcuezze

You system should defiantly be blowing out into the cooler not against a wall.

You did not indicate the size of your cooler. Your unit is most probably designed to blow in only one direction.That’s the usual configuration for the average cooler

On quite large coolers we use a multi directional condenser located in the center ceiling panel for efficient distribution of cooling.

George Mills
 
Last edited:
Thanks George. It’s an 8x10 walkin with a floor. The capsule pak is a 5/8th horsepower (115v). I had norlake send me the manual. I’m going to have my contractor come out and re-arrange the ceiling panels so the unit blows out to the middle. It has two fans that both point in the same direction. I climbed up and noticed a couple things:
  1. The manual calls for a 15 minute defrost every 3 hours and mine was set for a 60 minute defrost every 6 hours.
  2. The coil (I’m gonna plead ignorance here) that the fans blow on is (and has been) covered in a layer of ice. I’m assuming this is related to #1. How do I remove the ice? Hair dryer? Hot water?
Thanks again for your help!
 
Last edited:
Hi pcuezze »

Best to advance your timer and put unit into defrost cycle. It should do no harm to assist the defrost with a hair dryer. Once you clear the ice, set the defrost cycle to the factory specs and check frequently.

George Mills
 
Last edited:
I think that is similiar to our defrost cycle. I know it goes on the long defrost at 3:00 am… something they just recently change.

I asked hubby about the pressure and he (who follows the techs around so we learn how to do repairs in the future) said changing the pressure is worth checking into by a professional (He said they have all the gauges and such) But he first asked if you have cleaned your condenser? After reading your recent additions you may want to triple check they are clean. I know for us we have cotton trees and the condenser gets awful…quickly.

I would have a pro come do the pressure. For us it would be 120 bucks for the call and of course they look it all over. We found a great company in illnois/missouri. Been using them for years. We have not had a problem since.

Kris
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top