how to keep the inside of a fridge warmer in cold weather???

hello all,

I have a beer fridge/keggerator in my unheated garage. the ambient air temp in the garage is about 32 and in the fridge is about 29. I would like the temp inside the fridge to be somewhere around 38 or maybe a little higher. I have considered a reptile heat rock or heat lamp, but a little worried about any electrical hazard. anybody have any experience with this or any other ideas? thanks.

First off, you'll either need a 2-stage temperature controller (preferred) or a single-stage temp controller that is switched over to heating mode.

Next, Williams Brewing sells a stick-on sheet that heats up. It's basically a really thin space heater. Called "the brewer's edge space heater." I use one for my fermentor in my basement in the winter months, but it would work nicely for a cramped kegerator / keezer. It will keep a small space up to 20° warmer than a surrounding area.

ok cool. and then the temp controller has a probe that stays in the fridge and turns off at a predetermined temp?

HOPSareKEY said:

ok cool. and then the temp controller has a probe that stays in the fridge and turns off at a predetermined temp?

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Yes indeedy.

thanks im reading about it now. sounds perfect

Save yourself some money.

Measure the outside diameter of your keg. Buy the appropriate length of heat tape.

Buy an extension cord cut off the plug, strip the wires and attach to the heat tape with these.

Wrap your keg with the tape and connect to your controller.

I have a 2-stage controller on my ferm chamber which sits in an unheated garage in Ohio. 2 ft of the 11 in tape easily keeps 5 gallons at 67° F.

jhoyda said:

Save yourself some money.

Measure the outside diameter of your keg. Buy the appropriate length of heat tape.

Buy an extension cord cut off the plug, strip the wires and attach to the heat tape with these.

Wrap your keg with the tape and connect to your controller.

I have a 2-stage controller on my ferm chamber which sits in an unheated garage in Ohio. 2 ft of the 11 in tape easily keeps 5 gallons at 67° F.

Click to expand...

I just ordered three heat tape units (4' each) from Reptile Basics for about $60 delivered. They will assemble them for you with a standard 120v plug for $3 a liner foot and $4 for the plug. Shipping is a pain but since it is also in lieu of sales tax so it helps a little. I know DIY is preferred but it's electricity and I didn't want to burn down my garage

http://www.reptilebasics.com/heat-tape

chadillac7819 said:

I just ordered three heat tape units (4' each) from Reptile Basics for about $60 delivered. They will assemble them for you with a standard 120v plug for $3 a liner foot and $4 for the plug. Shipping is a pain but since it is also in lieu of sales tax so it helps a little. I know DIY is preferred but it's electricity and I didn't want to burn down my garage

http://www.reptilebasics.com/heat-tape

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You think they have certified electricians putting them together on their end? Doubtful.

broadbill said:

You think they have certified electricians putting them together on their end? Doubtful.

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No, but they do have the $60 crimping tool and at least some previous experience building them. Wiring electricity can scare a lot of people off and I found this to be a great solution.

I put together one of these a couple of months ago and it works perfectly to keep my kegerator temp up to 38 when it's extra cold in the garage:

http://www.wortomatic.com/articles/Fermentation-Can-Heater

There are couple of pictures of my setup here:

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=296260#296260

I already had a dual stage controller so this was a quick, easy and inexpensive solution.

LandoLincoln said:

Next, Williams Brewing sells a stick-on sheet that heats up. It's basically a really thin space heater. Called "the brewer's edge space heater." I use one for my fermentor in my basement in the winter months, but it would work nicely for a cramped kegerator / keezer. It will keep a small space up to 20° warmer than a surrounding area.

Click to expand...

+1, I use this in my ferm chamber (7cf chest freezer) and it works awesome. It takes up zero space and I've found it outperforms the 20 degree claim. I used it on my dark saison a month ago when the highs were around 10F and it held the ferm chamber at 80F. Another good alternative is a battery warming pad...same principle but more wattage.