I have stoelting sf144-38I soft serve running in an ice cream truck. It is running for ever without going into “SERVE” MODE. The soft serve doesn’t come out firm either. The temperature outside here in sacramento is around 100 degrees and inside the tru

[fixbear]

Air or water cooled?

 

If air cooled, check you condenser to be;

1, clean and clear inturnal of the fins/coills

2, That the cooling fan is running and at speed

3.  The cabinet vents are clear and have enough unobstructed space around the machine.

 

Beyond that you will need a refrigeration tech.

[yabousoftserve]

It is air-cooled. I removed and cleaned the filter and vacuumed the condenser. The instruction stated to blow the dust from inside but the inside is too cramped to put in anything that can blow the air out so I used a portable vacuum to suck the dust out from the right side of the machine.

Can any refrigeration technician charge the refrigerant or it has to be stoelting certified technician?

[fixbear]

As long as he / she is a experienced tech and knows that this machine has to have a precise weight charge and has both a Evaporator pressure control  (EPR)  and a hot gas bypass control (HGB)  they will know what to look for.  Just in case, I have included a service manual that explains it here;

https://www.partstown.com/modelManual/STOE-SF144_spm.pdf

 

The refrigeration cycle and system is one of the more complex ones we run into. Due to the fact that it is both a TXV and cap tube triple system on one compressor. This makes for a lot of valving  (11)  and electrical possible problems that can be miss-interpreted.. 

[fixbear]

Slight follow up, you said they told you the machine was made to run at 122F.  What I find is 100F ambient incoming air.

[yabousoftserve]

I have ample space on both sides and I even put a dry ice in a container and face a small fan to it so it can blow cold air to the right of the stoelting sf144-38i  but still the machines feels so hot to touch and takes long to get the product ready. Do you recommend I jst install an Air conditioner on the truck?

[olivero]

Did the machine ever work properly inside this food truck?

 

You have to look for what’s changed, not outmaneuver the problem, solve the problem.

[yabousoftserve]

Here is what I found,, with a frostline soft serve mix, it takes forever to get a good product consistency. I used this mix on one hopper for a while and it wasn’t freezing well. The second hopper meanwhile freezes another type of smoothie mix very well. I now use the second hopper with the frostline soft serve mix and it is not freezing well. This second hopper hasn’t been adjusted or tampered with. Any recommendation on a good soft serve mix? I want to rule out the mix option then install the AC if the problem persist.What are your thoughts Olivero, on the use of soft serve machines on food trucks?

[fixbear]

I’ve seen that before with Dole-mix.  We had to readjust the machine to use it and it was a problem.  Vendor finally scrapped the idea.   Mixes are available from 8% to 16% butterfat.  Most all the operators in my area use Crowley 12%.  It is the most consistant and has a great mouth feel.  Bringing back repeat customers. Talk to you local soft serve venders for what they use is problably your best bet to find a good mix.  Do not shop on price alone as you can find some real problem mixes out their.

[olivero]

I don’t have any experience with the machine you are using, but that shouldn’t matter too much, I also don’t know anything about the product you are trying to do.

 

We are trying to figure out your problem, did you recently change something? Did you switch to a different batch recently? Relocate to a warmer area?

 

Trick is to go back to where it was working well, then what did you change from then to now and find where it went wrong.

 

Let’s rule out operator error before we talk technical.