Cleaning the Refrigeration Deck

Cleaning the Refrigeration Deck

If you are selling refrigerated products, maintaining the refrigeration deck (also called the cooling deck) can greatly increase the longevity of the unit and keep you selling cool products for years! This means regularly cleaning the intake vent on the unit to ensure there is no buildup of dust, dirt, or other detritus which could be sucked into the machine, clogging the lines and eventually seizing the compressor. Failure to properly maintain the deck can result in damage to it, requiring parts to be purchased to resolve the issue.

The cooling deck must be cleaned at least once every 6 months of operation, or before turning the machine on if it has not been in operation for longer than one month. If the location the machine is operating in has an above average amount of particulate matter moving through the air, such as the lint in a laundromat, dirt blown in from the front entrance of a building, or sawdust from an area where construction occurs, the cooling deck must instead be cleaned at least every 3 months of operation.

The cooling deck must be cleaned even if it does not appear dirty. Any particulate on the fins of the intake vent past a very small threshold will be sucked into the unit, so it is critical to prevent any buildup from occurring at all.

The way to access the intake vent depends on if the machine has an elevator or not, and both types will be discussed below.

Accessing the Cooling Deck: No Elevator


Access the Cooling Deck

Turn the vending machine off before moving to clean the cooling deck.

In order to access the cooling deck, the product bin must be removed. Locate the holding pins on the inside of the file folder-shaped holes on the back of the product bin (please note the pins may be flipped up and not immediately visible through these holes).

Once located, rotate the pins so the angled portion points down (as shown in the right hole in the above picture). Pull the pin towards the center of the machine, and rotate it so that angled part hooks onto the top catch of the file folder-shaped hole. 

Once both holding pins are pulled and held out of place, the product bin can be removed. Pull the bin down and forward to loosen it, then lift it up and out of the machine. 

Clean the Cooling Deck

Once the intake vent for the refrigeration deck is located (pictured above), it can then be properly cleaned. These intake fins must be cleaned regularly even if they do not appear dirty, as any excess dirt or dust is sucked into the unit and could damage it.

The fins can be cleaned with any tool that can remove the dust and dirt from the intake fins without bending them. This can include a washcloth, vacuum, toilet brush, etc. Do not apply enough force to the fins while cleaning them to bend or damage them. 

While cleaning, do not touch the temperature probe on the front of the fins (the small wire coming from the bottom-right corner of the vents. Touching the temperature sensor or causing the temperature sensor to make direct contact with metal can cause it to short, which will prevent the cooling deck from working properly.

Once the refrigeration deck has been cleaned, the product bin will need to be put back onto the machine. Start by lining up the two pins on the bottom of the product bin with the matching holes on the bottom front edge of the vending machine with the product bin leaning forward. Then push the product bin back into the machine (adjusting the glass door to allow the bin to be pushed cleanly may be necessary) and unhook the pins from the top part of the file folder-shaped holes and allow them to snap back into place. The vending machine can then be powered back on.

Accessing the Cooling Deck: Elevator


Access the Cooling Deck

In order to access the cooling deck, the elevator and diaphragm must be moved out of the way. Refer to the appropriate elevator guide for your machine to move the elevator:
Green Motherboard with No Touchscree​​​​n
Green Motherboard with a Touchscreen​​​​
Red Motherboard
(Note: the machine must be turned off once the elevator is in the desired position in order to easily access the cooling deck).

Once the elevator and diaphragm are out of the way, the black metal guard plate in front of the cooling deck must be removed. There are two Phillip's head screws on either side of this plate. They only need to be loosened in order to pull the plate up and out of the way of the refrigeration deck for servicing. The vending machine should be powered off if it isn't already before moving to clean the intake fins.

Clean the Cooling Deck

Once the intake vent for the refrigeration deck is located (pictured above), it can then be properly cleaned. Note: The Duravend 54BE and OMNI Fit cooling decks are sideways compared to the above picture; their intake vents are still accessible to the side.

The fins can be cleaned with any tool that can remove the dust and dirt from the intake fins without bending them. This can include a washcloth, vacuum, toilet brush, etc. Do not apply enough force to the fins while cleaning them to bend or damage them. 

While cleaning, do not touch the temperature probe on the front of the fins (the small wire coming from the bottom-right corner of the vents. Touching the temperature sensor or causing the temperature sensor to make direct contact with metal can cause it to short, which will prevent the cooling deck from working properly.

Once the refrigeration deck is cleaned, the guard plate will need to be placed back into the machine, and the screws holding it in place tightened again. The elevator and diaphragm can then be returned to their original position by turning the machine back on, which will engage the machine's self-check and reset all necessary components.

Note: If the machine times out and does not lower the elevator all the way back to the home position, power the vending machine off again, wait 30 seconds, and power it back on to allow the elevator to return the rest of the way to the bottom of the machine.

Didn't find what you were looking for?

Feel free to reach out to our esteemed technical support department to answer any questions you may have over the phone at (719)-301-4648 or over email at tech@remarcvending.com or you can fill out a support ticket to the right.