Keezer: Converting a GE 5.0Cu (Model # FCM5SUWW) using a Converter from AHS

When I was looking to do a conversion I wanted to know exactly what make fridge worked with which temp controls... hence this post.

Prelog... YMMV; I have had this working only a single night now... so any long term problems or damage will have to be addressed in later posts.

Playing with freezers/electricity can kill you, start fires and ruin good beer... I am not a certified electrician therefore copy at your own risk. bla bla bla

Ok to the fun stuff. (Make sure to read my 2nd post... having some problems with the temp controller)

- PARTS -
First the freezer:

GE 5.0 Cu. Ft. Manual Defrost Chest Freezer
Model # FCM5SUWW Internet/Catalog # 100598976
Store SKU # 146360 Store SO SKU # 146360
$168.00/EA-Each (at the Depot)

Second the controller:

Freezer to Refrigerator Converter (Thermostat) [05259]
$39.99 (at Austin Homebrew Supply)

- INSTALLATION -
(DO NOT IN ANY WAY HAVE THE FREEZER PLUGGED IN)
This is not a perfect drop in replacement. However, it was pretty easy, seemingly non destructive and appears to work.

1. Remove the side vent panel and front control panel. There are screws on the side panel; once that is open you can get to three clips at the top(inside) of the of control panel. Depress the clips and give a little wiggle and it should pop out with very little pressure.

2. Remove the existing control (without breaking it )
On the Control Panel pull the knob off of the temperature adjustment shaft. Once the knob is removed, you have access to the nut holding the shaft/control to the panel. I used a pair of needle nosed pliers, but an automotive (deep throated) socket wrench is prolly the correct tool. Remove the control from the panel and remove the three (red, black and green) wires from the control (they are not soldered, they just pull off). At this point you can now pull the probe and control out of the freezer. There was a wad of black putty around the probe where it went into the freezer.

I removed the white insulation/tubing from the existing probe, attached the nut and control knob back to the shaft, loosely coiled the probe and placed it out of the way in the back of the compartment (so I don't have to look for it should I need to make this back into a freezer)

3. Install the new control
I slowly uncoiled the new probe and put the white insulation, taken from the old probe, on to it. The new probe is a couple of inches shorter than the old probe, but there will still be bare probe sticking out of the end of the insulation once it is pulled on all the way.

Two of the three prongs on the new control were slightly larger than the old control. I modified sockets of the black and red wires by clipping the sheathing along the break in the socket, pealing it back to expose the socket and then using a tiny flat head, twisted open the socket a little to make them big enough to accept the plugs.

(this sounds more difficult than it actually was )

Then you gently insert the probe into the tube (there was a little lip inside of the tube so you have to play a little to get it started but once you get past the lip there is no resistance pushing the probe in.)

There is more probe than will fit, so I gently curled the probe and controller up to roughly where the original was placed. Connect the red and black plugs to the slightly larger prongs and connect the green to the correct sized grounding prong. Push the sheathing that you cut through back into place (and wrap it in a little bit of electricians tape if you have OCD)

I didn't attempt to secure the control to anything... it is just kinda being supported by the probe.

Reattach the front panel and the side panel and plug in.

- ADJUSTING -
The control seems to have the range of 30 - 65 degrees Fahrenheit... but I am still in the process of tweaking it. You have to remove the side panel to get at the control, but once you get it set correctly you will prolly never touch it again.

Well, Cheers! I hope this helps somebody out and if there are any problems with it, I'll respond to this thread

The controller seems to be a bit temperamental.

Possible Causes
1. I adjusted it too cold. (Currently I'm systematically stepping the controller back to see if that fixes the problem)

2. The probe of the new temperature controller is too short or not insulated enough and or in not meant to be in the compartment that it is in.

Meaning, this controller/probe just may not work being installed in the same location as the original controller/probe because of the probe is picking up the temperature of the compressor/ambient room temperature.

I installed the probe where the original was located, including sending the probe into the same port where the original was. However, in looking at the two controllers there was some exposed probe where it was mated to the control. I used some of the black *putty* that was wrapped around the port entrance for the probe to cover the exposed portion of the probe.

- SUMMARY -
First off if anybody has some advice please speak up.

I'm going to continue to slowly adjust the control to see if temperature will come back into normal levels and if those levels will stay constant during the different room temperatures durning the day.

If that doesn't work, I'm going to add extentions to the three wires and move the probe/controller to a different location (maybe completely inside the freezer compartment) ((hopefully, it won't come to this ))

If that doesn't work, I'm going back to AHS to see if I can replace it or return it and pick up a different controller

Cheers, I'll post no matter what happens

Played with the adjustment over the weekend and got it to stay at 38 deg Fahrenheit.

The controller is definitely touchy. I have it set to the highest temperature that I can. Also, it also appears to get a little colder during the day (when the room and probe are exposed to a little extra heat.

However... I'm happy. The only destructive change that I had to make was snipping a little tape at the power connections.

Now... onto the collar

Cheers,
Stephen

I'm looking at getting this model, but as I'll have to order it online I'm not sure my ball-lock kegs will fit heigh-wise without a collar. How do you kegs fit? Are you building a collar for tap handles, or because you need the extra height?

Currently, I have a single keg and a 5lbs. co2 tank with no collar. Height-wise the keg and the co2 fit if placed on the bottom. The co2 is off by about 1/4" if placed on the compressor hump.

My plan is to add a one foot collar and if my back on the napkin calculations are correct I will be able to get 3 kegs and the co2 in there.

Cheers,
Stephen

How did this project go? How many corny kegs can you fit in this guy? I see you only have a single keg... but how many can you cram in?

I switched to a digital control, and now it's playing a mixed role between cooling my primary fermenter and cooling the finished kegs. Without a collar it holds two corny kegs and a 5lb co2 bottle and I'm still pretty confident that I'm going to be able to fit a third keg once there is a collar.

Which digital controller are you using?

I ended up getting a basic Randco from AHB. However, the difference between it and the analog controller is like night and day. Definitely worth the little bit extra. Also right now I am just feeding the sensor though the door.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_40_366&products_id=10122