Modify frdge to get just a little colder?

I just completed making a soda water dispenser using a dedicated refridgerator.
The system is working perfectly.

However, even set at it's coldest temperature, 40 degrees is as cold as it will get.
From what I understand, that's a good cold temperature for a refridgerator and they are not designed to run colder than that.

However, I wan't my dispensed soda water to be as cold as possible. I'd like to get that temperature to almost freezing. Maybe 35 or 36 or so.

Has anyone ever tried to modify a fridge somehow to allow it to get a little colder? Does anyone know if this can be done and how to go about it without risking damage?

The refridgerator is a (new) 2012 model Whirlpool with a top freezer. I got it at a heck of deal at a scratch and dent sale place and it was really cheap because all of the shelves were missing.

I use a freezer with a temp control on it to get those temps. You could always try one of them. You can build your own using a STC-1000 from ebay. They are cheap (like $20) and easy to wire. Or you can buy a completed one.

DIY option...https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/

Or store bought... http://www.midwestsupplies.com/johnson-digital-temperature-controller.html

Thanks for the info and links.

I like the ease of that johnson controller for just 80 bucks.

Since mine is a refrigerator/freezer with a defrost cycle, I'm not sure how that complicates the hookup for this. Plus it seems the fridge's internal control would have to be modified so as to be always on

I'll have to give more thought to this. I just got this system going late yesderday. This morning when I opened the fridge, the temperature was 38. (I've got a dial thermometer in a glass of water.)

I did a little other searching last night and had read where placing a small circulating fan inside the fridge can make it run colder. It might be something I could try for cheap before looking more at that Johnson model.

Of course, I'm not sure now how much gain I really need as I'm not sure I'd notice the difference getting it down just a few more degrees than 38.

I'm going to take some photos of what I did for this system and start a new thread and post them here. It was my own design. I searched and searched and I couldn't find where anyone has done what I did to build this soda machine. It's soda water only with no syrup capablitiy but that's exactly what I wanted.

Yes stupid me.... not thinking... still too early. A temp control won't work to get the Fridge colder.

I did a quick search for you and I found this.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5336265_make-refrigerator-freezer.html

It looks like it should work for you. Good Luck!

njs170 said:

Yes stupid me.... not thinking... still too early. A temp control won't work to get the Fridge colder.

I did a quick search for you and I found this.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5336265_make-refrigerator-freezer.html

It looks like it should work for you. Good Luck!

Click to expand...

Now that I've been running this a couple of days, I think the 38 degrees is fine. I'm putting it in a cup right over ice and I don't think the 38 is making me lose any carbonation.
In fact, the carbonation seems a little too much. I just lowered the CO2 pressure from 100 to 90. I might even go lower. The McCann carbonator instructions say that 100 psi is normal and to reduce to 80 to 90 psi if you have too much foam. However, those instructions are assuming that you are mixing in a percentage of syrup which I'm not doing. I may need to go lower even lower than 80 psi. With straight soda water, foaming isn't an issue at all.

Thanks for your help.
Did you see my build thread?

I just looked it up. That is an impressive build! Best of luck to you!