I've been digging around on the forums and looking for general online repair discussions about the Brewbuilt Icemaster Max 4 chiller and so far there is not a lot of information. So, since one of my two Max4's has started to have issues, I'm going to try and post information here that might be useful for others who could eventually run into some of the same issues.
I've been running two Max 4's for about 2 years, handling four 1 BBL fermenters on one unit and two 1 BBL fermenters and one 1 BBL brite tank on the other. I run the chillers at -6C (21F), even though the recommened lowest temp is -2C, as that temp seems to be able to handle what I need in these Texas summers. I run a 60/30 blend of water to glycol so I don't have any icing issues.
Yesterday I found one of the chillers was not cooling as it should. I have two active fermentations going on, one was set to cold crash at 38F and the other is at a diacetyl rest at 75F. The temp reading on the main controller was at 10C and while the one fermenter was reading 75F where it should, the other was reading 55F, when the day before it had been at 38F. So the unit appears to be cooling, just not at the level it should be.
I've read about some issues online that point to the chiller controller or the temp probe, but that doesn't seem to be my issue (although I'm just now starting to troubleshoot). So this is where my unit is before I start digging into it to see what is wrong:
The compressor seems to be running (it is hot to the touch and feels like it is running)
The compressor fan is running and blowing hot air across the coils.
The coils do look a bit dirty, but not plugged.
The internal coolant feels cool, but not cold.
I'll update this thread as I proceed through steps to try and figure out what is wrong (hoping it isn't low refrigerant or the compressor)
I've been running two Max 4's for about 2 years, handling four 1 BBL fermenters on one unit and two 1 BBL fermenters and one 1 BBL brite tank on the other. I run the chillers at -6C (21F), even though the recommened lowest temp is -2C, as that temp seems to be able to handle what I need in these Texas summers. I run a 60/30 blend of water to glycol so I don't have any icing issues.
Yesterday I found one of the chillers was not cooling as it should. I have two active fermentations going on, one was set to cold crash at 38F and the other is at a diacetyl rest at 75F. The temp reading on the main controller was at 10C and while the one fermenter was reading 75F where it should, the other was reading 55F, when the day before it had been at 38F. So the unit appears to be cooling, just not at the level it should be.
I've read about some issues online that point to the chiller controller or the temp probe, but that doesn't seem to be my issue (although I'm just now starting to troubleshoot). So this is where my unit is before I start digging into it to see what is wrong:
The compressor seems to be running (it is hot to the touch and feels like it is running)
The compressor fan is running and blowing hot air across the coils.
The coils do look a bit dirty, but not plugged.
The internal coolant feels cool, but not cold.
I'll update this thread as I proceed through steps to try and figure out what is wrong (hoping it isn't low refrigerant or the compressor)