Kegerator not getting cold enough

I have done a bit of research but I would like to get some opinions from the board here. I bought my Haier Kegerator in February. Everything has been great up until friday. Since I started using it, I have seen temps as low as 32 degrees on the lowest setting up to about 42 degrees on the normal setting.

I noticed on friday that the temp inside was at 45, so I lowered the thermostat. The temp hasn't really gone down at all. And it seems to be cycling as normal. Ambient temperature has not gotten above 70 degrees. On Sunday, I did have it open for a while as I was cleaning the lines and putting in a a new corny keg. The temperature has yet to go below 45, which is not helping my force carbing at all.

As of right now, I have 1 sixtel, 1 corny keg, and various bottles inside. I have done this before and not had a temperature issue. I have noticed that there is some ice buildup on the rear shield. Do you think there could be too many items inside? Or is this possibly another problem?


Thanks in advance,

Joe

Ice buildup will slow cooling considerably- ice and snow are insulators in air. After all, that's why igloos don't freeze their occupants...

The new keg is probably the other issue- water holds a LOT of energy. Break off some ice if you can, or stash the kegs in another fridge and defrost if that's an option.
Remember, sooner you fix the issue, sooner it'll get back to chilling... I'd want it done before the weekend if it was mine.

Can I "chip" the ice off the rear shield or do I have to defrost the whole thing? I do not have extra cold storage for 2 sixtels.

JoeSpartaNJ said:

Can I "chip" the ice off the rear shield or do I have to defrost the whole thing? I do not have extra cold storage for 2 sixtels.

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As long as you don't break anything... that's the issue. Those mini-fridges are sometimes not exactly built to take a beating, and if you kink a line, or worse- break it open, you can seriously damage the fridge.

Maybe take out the kegs, wrap in a blanket, unplug, and douse the ice with salt to speed up the melt process? Cleanup will be extra important...

All just ideas- I take no responsibility if you decide to pack your fridge in salt bricks and go at it with a chainsaw.

Maybe I will use a hair dryer. If I chip it, I was going to use a hand held scraper for the car.....and go lightly.

JoeSpartaNJ said:

Maybe I will use a hair dryer. If I chip it, I was going to use a hand held scraper for the car.....and go lightly.

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Both of those sound reasonable to me.

I did not have to chip the ice. It just came off as I grabbed it. It was 4 to 5 inches up from the bottom.

It seems to be cycling like normal, just have to wait and see about the temperature.

You might have to open the internal thermostat and adjust the coarse adjust screw.

It's pretty easy, it just takes a little trial and error.

Details here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/guide-set-internal-chest-freezer-thermostat-32f-eliminate-external-control-249612/

There is only an external thermostat on this unit. The temp inside has settled to around 39/40 degrees. I do not think it will go any lower with 2 kegs and assorted bottles in there without changing the thermostat. I should be able to get one pretty cheap. Working for an HVAC company has it's benefits I suppose.

Take the thermostat off of the back. Remove the 2 female ended wires, black and white. Get a piece of wire, I used 2,1 inch brass tacks with heads removed, and connect the 2 female plugs. This causes the compressor to work continuously. Now you need a timer between the power source and the unit plug. Turn the whole unit off for 3 hrs a day at first. The time you set off depends on when you think you will not be using the keg. The coldplate will defrost daily, eliminating the ice buidup problem. This will work for those of you who just have the ice buildup problem too. Then adjust the time off period on your timer to get the beer temp where you want it. This may take a few days , but what is time to a labor of love?