T-Fal and Krups Beer Tender Repair 

My fan seemed to need lubrication, and the power supply dies again. I found a 60W (12VDC, 5A) unit on Amazon that is supposed to power LEDs for $10. It would not fit inside, so it looks like a laptop charger. It is currently powering my Beer Tender. It does get warmer than I would like (notice I used the word "warm" not "hot". I tried some smaller 12V supplies, and they were getting too hot for my comfort. The one I bought has a "CE" stamp, so I hope it is safe. This was last week, so I am monitoring it closely to assess whether I think it is safe. I need to look for a PC fan that will fit since the fan sucks too.

@@teesalmon Did you hard wire rhe fan only or did you tap into the thermostat display board too?

@@flotilla9-4franklinlockpao51 I can't remember, but I would ave tried to keep it "original'. The fan does not need to run all the time, but they are low power and it wouldn't hurt. Unfortunately, i don't have this any longer or I would check for you.

What kind of shop did you take it to? I’m realizing I don’t have the necessary skills either...

Check the voltage with a voltmeter. I actually bought a power supply that looked like a laptop charger on eBay and stuffed in inside. Just make sure it have the correct voltage and enough amperage. You could also leave the power supply external.

Yes the fan should run. The bearings can go bad. If u are careful you can take apart the fan and lube the bearings for medium term fix. You might also purchase a cheap pc fan at micro center. Note I had to wire tie mine in place, and vibration noise might be an issue you will need to solve.

Thanks!

You should be able to feel a little airflow out of the side vents. The fan is fairly quiet. as long as it is spinning freely and not making noise you are probably OK. It can take hours to get the temp to the target. If the heat sink is 99 degrees, then you are transferring heat as long as the surroundings are less than 99. If the fan totally fails, the beer will actually get warmed.

I have a friend that has a more practical knowledge of thermoelectric cooling I can discuss this with. However, the beer tender is a thermoelectric device. These devices can move heat in either direction depending on the polarity of the voltage. I believe there are two wires going to the thermoelectric cooling chip. I would make sure the chip is getting voltage. I don't know how to check the chip, but I suppose it could have failed. I don't know if this is rare or common. These chips can be purchased, but I have not tried to determine how they are mounted to the beer tender and how they are bonded to the aluminum plate which is basically a heat sink. Heat is moved from the beer side of the chip, to the heat sink (aluminum plate) side. If the fan were not there to remove the heat from the heat sink, the cooling effect is reduced until the point where everything gets hot including the beer. The chips are relatively inexpensive (less than $10).

There should be a capacitor value on the side, just order one of similar size from Digi-Key or eBay. Probably not super critical if the match is exact.

@@teesalmon thanks.

As I said in another comment, I don't have this any longer. However, I seem to remember that the large circuit board was basically a power supply, and the thermoelectric heat pump or cooler is simply switched on or off with 12volts. So the only thing complicated is the power supply. If that is not a blown/swollen capacitor I would just change the entire power supply. In terms of current on the 12V side, i would use a 10Amp fuse. You could probably try 5A, but after a quick look, some of those thermoelectric devices might draw close to 6A, so that is why I would try a 10A.