How to repair a cooling system in whynter chc-122bd

[BasicTek]

My cooler is just over a month old and the cooling stopped working. Whynter is sending me another one and said I can dispose of the broken one. It seems a waste to throw it out. I think I found the part for $30 I'm just wondering if anyone has actually fixed one of these before.

 

[BradMc]

Put a battery operated fan in , buy a package for Boveda packs and use it ...
I unplug my Winador a couple years ago and it still works as good and not as much fluctuation on inside temp ......

 

[BasicTek]

Put a battery operated fan in , buy a package for Boveda packs and use it ...
I unplug my Winador a couple years ago and it still works as good and not as much fluctuation on inside temp ......

I would but my interior temp is 75-77 so I really need the cooling

 

[Verdict]

What is the actual part that I broken?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[redneck_toy]

My Whynter's cooling took a crap about three years ago. Set at the highest temp (68* I believe), it still cools to 55. Unplugged it, added some boveda and havent looked back. Thought about adding a timer to start it up every 20 minutes or so, but never got past the thinking about it stage.
Let us know what exactly was wrong and the details on fixing it

 

[BasicTek]

Ok mine stopped cooling all together but electronically it seems fine. Whynter suspects the heat synch and main control board

I found the heat synch for $27. I don't think there is anything with the main board as all the electronics seem fine. I have an EE degree so I will take a shot at it. Already found youtubes for similar models and it looks pretty simple to swap it out.

Just wanted to post here to see if anyone actually did it.

 

[Bondo 440]

Ok mine stopped cooling all together but electronically it seems fine. Whynter suspects the heat synch and main control board

I found the heat synch for $27. I don't think there is anything with the main board as all the electronics seem fine. I have an EE degree so I will take a shot at it. Already found youtubes for similar models and it looks pretty simple to swap it out.

Just wanted to post here to see if anyone actually did it.

This won't help much, but if you get frustrated, If this is thermo-cooled, I have my story.

Mine was a non- working Hayer (tall) wine cooler that I got at a yard sale .
On mine , the heat sink is a block of tin. Why that's being replaced, I have no idea. It's controller or power.
I had an upper zone, and a lower zone. Both were 12VDC boards driving glorified heat sinks and computer fans. (board logic voltage obviously would step down to 5v)
The lower board also had the thermostat controller. What I found most peculiar, was both pc boards had A/D converters on them, requiring 120VAC to both upper and lower boards.

Since everything was dead, I threw the boards away, but kept the fans and heat sinks mounted. I took a simple 12VDC wall transformer, and secured it inside the unit. I drove the 12 volts in parallel to both fans.
All I needed from there was to interrupt the ground.
I got a 12vdc thermostat off ebay for $10. I put it inside the cooler, with it's temp sensor. I drove it with the same 12 vdc supply.
The thing is programmable, and you tell it when to trigger. On the back were two terminals. I connected the negative from the fans to one terminal, the other to the 12vdc transformer.
When the temp fell to a certain temp, the switch would trigger and the fans would start. You can set the temp desgnation for the switch to re-open and the fans shut off..

 

[Bondo 440]

Eventually I moved the cooler to the bedroom. Soon after that, I just unplugged the unit and use silica litter and Bodeva.
Edit / just googled your unit. You've got that embedded top LED panel.
If the controller doesn't work, I'd go with @redneck_toy 's idea and just go Bodeva.
You may just have clogged or dead fans.

 

[BasicTek]

On mine the unit has the correct temp, is turning on to cool but the air coming out of the fan simply isn't cold anymore. I thought I could replace the "cooling kit" similar to this video.

Our house is central AC and the master bedroom I cool separate at night so it drops under 70 but during the day the whole house is generally around 75-77 which is why I got the coolers in the 1st place. I will have a replacement soon, but it seems a shame to throw out the current 1 month old unit if a part can be replaced to fix it.

@Bondo 440 I appreciate the alternative solution, but for all that effort I'd probably just toss the unit or use it like you did in the bedroom but not for CC's and high end NC's I really want to keep them under 70 all the time.

 

[redneck_toy]

Thank you bondo for the (somewhat) layman's version. Seems to me, and I'm far from an EE, these units are all made in China, and susceptible to failure. My unit has never gotten too warm. My windows have foil over them thanks to me working funky hours. ( They are all on the back side of the house, btw). I've read about a ton of units failing, and have decided to keep my long term storage in a 3 day cooler in the closet. Worst comes to worst, I claim a loss with the homeowners insurance against the the loss of $2500 worth of tobacco.
I have never seen my humi over 67* in three years. If the AC took a shit, I'd know before it became a problem unless I'm on vacation.
Sorry for the long winded reply, but I feel it's a tad bit of over analysis. Not storing my retirement in the humi....
To each his own though.

EDIT: It'd be no different if I owned a badass wooden humidor, except my wineador is already insulated....

 

[redneck_toy]

Not trying to knock the OP for trying to replace the control unit. I'm sorry if it seems like I hijacked the thread. Not my intention at all. More of just thinking out loud. Don't ever take anything I post seriously......

 

[Bondo 440]

Not trying to knock the OP for trying to replace the control unit. I'm sorry if it seems like I hijacked the thread. Not my intention at all. More of just thinking out loud. Don't ever take anything I post seriously......

.. as I was thinking out loud as well. They're called "discussion threads" for a reason. It's all topical. Maybe now one of us will answer the actual question

@BasicTek I get it now, That video looks fine. That's a somewhat tall unit. The insides of it look just like the Hayer 18 that I hotrodded. Jeeze. The inside boards and fans are probably all made by the same place across brands.
I didn't realize the fan looks like it's attached to the sink from manufacturer. You said the controller's good I'm going to imagine the fan is spinning as well.
Maybe that sink/fan component has a little copper freon tube sandwiched in there like the laptop CPU coolers.

 

[BasicTek]

@BasicTek I get it now, That video looks fine. That's a somewhat tall unit. The insides of it look just like the Hayer 18 that I hotrodded. Jeeze. The inside boards and fans are probably all made by the same place across brands.
I didn't realize the fan looks like it's attached to the sink from manufacturer. You said the controller's good I'm going to imagine the fan is spinning as well.
Maybe that sink/fan component has a little copper freon tube sandwiched in there like the laptop CPU coolers.

It's not the same unit as mine, I have a whynter that is a newair, but the part looking at the site selling them is the same. It could end up being the controller but since the unit does actually try to cool I'm hoping it's just this heatsink thing. Also I saw a few posts claiming theirs went out in the 1st year or after the 1st year (enough that I also bought the extended warranty which I rarely get).

We'll see for the price I can give it a shot, was hoping that maybe someone in the forum had the same issue but not yet...

 

[BasicTek]

@Bondo 440 I was looking and the controller board is only $30 too, so I can basically rebuild this thing for $60. I ordered the cooling unit and will try that 1st

 

[themaindude]

It has been several years but I wound up changing the controller board and peltier out on my vinotemp. They were apt to go on full cool on a power interruption so I wound up putting an external thermostat in with on and off set point. This additionally helped keep the condensation to a minimum. Back in those days I had it in my livingroom we did not have central air. During working hours ambient would climb into the eighties. Since then I have moved and have put my collection in the basement where it hits 68 at its highest. Now I just have a couple of fans running twice a day for about 20 minutes. I think having an external thermostat is a good idea to extend the life of the peltier. I will research and edit for Link to the tstat. It was kind of cludgy but you might be able to find something smaller.

 

[Bondo 440]

@Bondo 440 I was looking and the controller board is only $30 too, so I can basically rebuild this thing for $60. I ordered the cooling unit and will try that 1st

Yeah, you got that new fan and sink coming. So just install them and test it with the cover remaining off and see what's going on. If you still have trouble, get yourself the new controller.
Sounds like you got this. Let us know how it goes once the fan/heat sink assy is replaced.

Basic Troubleshooting Guide on the subject for anybody who cares.

Remove the trays. Inside the unit, locate the thermostat, or generally heat up the storage volume with a blow dryer on Low.
If the 12 volts is going to the fan, and the fan spins, suspect the heat sink
If the 12 volts is going to the fan ( use meter) and the fan never starts, it's the fan.
If the 12 volts never stops going to the fan, (after cooling period) it's the controller. That's also why your fan's dead.
If the 12 volts never starts going to the fan, (during heating period) it's the controller.

or
One can suspect the thermostat. But it would be pretty rare. It's a simple thermal switch. Of course if it was failing, I'd suspect the crimped wire terminals inside the connector. (if not soldered directly to the board.) I've seen this on other devices.

You could just identify the two thermostat leads , and short them at the controller for testing. You wouldn't need a blow dryer for testing, at that point. But you'd better be on the right two leads.

The aforementioned content is strictly for research purposes only. Never physically apply any of the suggestions above.
Bondo 440 and BOTL will he held harmless and free from liable for any injuries derived from content within the post.
Always seek advice from an electronic professional.

 

[BasicTek]

Hi all,
Here's an update...

Some bonus points for whynter, the replacement came last week, and it was brand new with all accessories (now I have extra drawer, and shelves, another analog hydrometer, etc). Worked like a champ so my cigars are under 70 once again.

I have the old one apart and waiting for the cooling kit. All I can tell from having it apart is these are extremely simple machines, there's only 2 parts, the control board and the cooling kit. The problem with my old one is the cooling kit fan is on when it's supposed to be but the fins on the heat sink simply aren't cool they are room temp. I supposed the problem could be both parts so apparently you can replace everything in one of these for about $70 including shipping (for those of us that need cooling).

adding a pic

 

[BasicTek]

Son of a gun!!! Replacing the heat sink fixed it ($26 + $10 shipping). Now I have 3 lol. My wife's not happy about that but I sure am.

 

[BasicTek]

If the 12 volts is going to the fan, and the fan spins, suspect the heat sink

I didn't test anything prior but once apart I could see the fan was clearly working and the problem appeared to be no cool air generated. the air blown was room temp, upon replacing the heat sing (which included both fans) the air is now cool and this unit works like new again.

Thanks for the help and tips. Hopefully if anyone ever has their unit fail outside of warranty they can find this thread and see it's a very simple job to replace either the controller or heat sink, soldering is not even necessary if you want to splice the wires (which I did because I didn't care to buy a soldering iron)

 

[Bondo 440]

HaHa ! That's great !
There's still a problem though ....
It's empty !