I posted this in another thread but I think it got lost in teh shuffle .. I have my kegerator up and running and everything is working fine. However I am experience some pretty big temp swings. I have my temp control probe against the side of a keg covered in 5-6 layers of bubble wrap. I have the temp set at 3 degrees C with a variable of 1 degree. The kegs are setting right on the floor of the keezer. Anyway the the compressor will kick on at 4 degrees. It will cool down to 3 degrees and kick off.....however the temp will keep falling all the way down to 1.6 degrees or so then slowly warm back up to 4 degrees where the compressor kicks on again. The compressor and temp probe are cycling and working just fine but the temp keeps dropping even after the freezer kicks off. Any ideas ?
keezer temp swings
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Mad_Milo
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Yes, that is normal. What is happening is the controller shuts down the compressor, but the lines are still very cold and it coasts downward.
Also, for your serving freezer, let the temp probe measure the air temp instead of the keg temp. This should help the overshoot, as the freezer won't be running as long to make 4-50 gallons of beer a degree cooler. The beer temp will average in the middle of your settings.
For example, set it at 3C with a 2C diff, and the beer should settle around 4C (40F).
Word of warning: widen that differential of 1C to 2C. I just had my serving and fermentation freezers die within 2 months of each other. They both were in service for a year with the new controllers off ebay and had 1C differentials. I suspect that I killed them.
Johnson controls are preset with a 3F differential.
Also, for your serving freezer, let the temp probe measure the air temp instead of the keg temp. This should help the overshoot, as the freezer won't be running as long to make 4-50 gallons of beer a degree cooler. The beer temp will average in the middle of your settings.
For example, set it at 3C with a 2C diff, and the beer should settle around 4C (40F).
Word of warning: widen that differential of 1C to 2C. I just had my serving and fermentation freezers die within 2 months of each other. They both were in service for a year with the new controllers off ebay and had 1C differentials. I suspect that I killed them.
Johnson controls are preset with a 3F differential.
Just backing up what Milo said. The reason the temperature keeps dropping after the compressor shuts off is because the coils are still full of cold freon. As that stuff boils off it's going to keep lowering the temperature in the freezer.
Get the probe off the keg and measure the air space. Your compressor might run five minutes to drop the air temp 2 C. It'll run for half an hour to drop the keg temp 2 C.
Also, fill as much of the space inside the freezer with jugs of water. That will help hold the temperature steady and you won't need to run your compressor as much.
I also like to put some wood or foam board insulation under the keg or carboy just so it's not in direct contact with the freezer walls.
Get the probe off the keg and measure the air space. Your compressor might run five minutes to drop the air temp 2 C. It'll run for half an hour to drop the keg temp 2 C.
Also, fill as much of the space inside the freezer with jugs of water. That will help hold the temperature steady and you won't need to run your compressor as much.
I also like to put some wood or foam board insulation under the keg or carboy just so it's not in direct contact with the freezer walls.
