Chest Freezer Specs and Layouts

thadius856 said:

From PM (posted here for additional input):



Looks like power to operate a light in the lid.

Doesn't look terribly complex of a situation. From what I can tell in the pictures, that's a standard 3-wire appliance cord. Three options here:

1) You can probably disconnect the cord entirely and just lose the light. If it has any feature like shut off the motor when the door is open (very doubtful) that would be lost as well.

2) You can cut the appliance cord anywhere along its length and splice a length of additional cord. This would require you to strip the sheathing, strip each wire, nut them together, and then secure the splices in two junction boxes or similar.

3) Unlatch the harness. If it can be unclipped and the wires replaced, then you could do the same as above but with one less junction point.

Bigger pictures would help, particularly where the cord enters the lid and where the cord splices into the wiring harness by the compressor.

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Thanks all. There was a white connection piece at the base of that cord. Was able to disconnect that and move forward.

doublebogey10 said:

Thanks all. There was a white connection piece at the base of that cord. Was able to disconnect that and move forward.

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I'm curious to know more about this, as I noted the white connection piece on my own. Have you ascertained whether the freezer loses any functions without this connection in place? Is it just the light?

SemperFermentis said:

I'm curious to know more about this, as I noted the white connection piece on my own. Have you ascertained whether the freezer loses any functions without this connection in place? Is it just the light?

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Not sure of anything beyond the light. I disconnected it and then plugged in the freezer and it turned on. Didn't think much beyond that and I unplugged it. Planning to start build this weekend.

If you can, plug it in with the lid disconnected. Open the lid. does the compressor stay on?

The cord is just an "always on" AC source to the lid lamp, which in turn either uses an integrated gravity operated (mercury?) switch in the bulb holder, or a mechanical switch located near one of the hinges.

I've owned two (soon a third) chest freezers and there's nothing else going on there. The rest of the freezer doesn't have a clue there's a lid, never mind a lamp. As long as you don't actually short out that cord, that is

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

The cord is just an "always on" AC source to the lid lamp, which in turn either uses an integrated gravity operated (mercury?) switch in the bulb holder, or a mechanical switch located near one of the hinges.

I've owned two (soon a third) chest freezers and there's nothing else going on there. The rest of the freezer doesn't have a clue there's a lid, never mind a lamp. As long as you don't actually short out that cord, that is

Cheers!

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I unplugged mine as well, and no ill effects. I had to cut the cord at the grommet of the lid to get it out of the way.

thadius856 said:

Kenmore 24.6 cu ft 16582

Reserved.

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Anyone had any issues using a temperature controller with this freezer and the fact that it has an automatic temperature control already built in?

bboyeruga said:

Anyone had any issues using a temperature controller with this freezer and the fact that it has an automatic temperature control already built in?

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I don't know anything about this unit, but it shouldn't matter. Just crank the freezer up to its coldest setting, and proceed as tho the internal controller doesn't exist and you should be fine.

bboyeruga said:

Anyone had any issues using a temperature controller with this freezer and the fact that it has an automatic temperature control already built in?

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At the risk of sounding snarky, don't all refrigeration units have thermal controls on them? What we do is like Thadeus said, turn it full cold and connect to a Johnson control, or if you're a DIY dude like myself, build an STC-1000 digital control unit. Lots of "how to" threads on that here.

ResumeMan said:

I don't know anything about this unit, but it shouldn't matter. Just crank the freezer up to its coldest setting, and proceed as tho the internal controller doesn't exist and you should be fine.

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BeerGrylls said:

At the risk of sounding snarky, don't all refrigeration units have thermal controls on them? What we do is like Thadeus said, turn it full cold and connect to a Johnson control, or if you're a DIY dude like myself, build an STC-1000 digital control unit. Lots of "how to" threads on that here.

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Yep. These.

Go full cold on the freezer thermostat, then plug the controller in between the freezer and the wall.

The motor only has two states: ON and OFF. Setting it to the coldest setting won't incur any extra wear and tear, nor cost you more money.

Just make sure you have a recirc fan so you're not overshooting temps or short cycling.

I just received my tall skinny 7# co2 tank from beverage elements today, $40 shipped : ) Anyways I have the 7.0 cuft Magic Chef which will most definitely fit six ball locks with no room for the normal co2 tank, but I found this one which fits GREAT!!!

Here it is outside the keezer. It obviously needs a collar, hopefully I can build it soon.

I am looking for a freezer for a fermentation chamber, I currently have the Frigidaire 8.8 cu ft which I will turn into my keezer. I do 3 gallon batches in better bottles and I can't keep up with 6 fermenting at the same time. The depth I need is the restriction that keeps me from just going out to get one this afternoon. I need a 16 inch depth, the bottles are 7.5 inch square and I use 1 inch insulation between the bottles.

I noticed that you don't have a drawing set for the Haier 7.1cf HCM071AW and I think it is the same as the Idylis 7-cu ft Chest Freezer. I read the spec and it has a depth of 23 which typically means it is 16 inches deep. I am going to lowes this afternoon to measure it and wonder if you would like the measurements? I need 16x16 inches on the floor, I hope I can make this one work or I'm not sure what I will do. I've seen them as low as 180.

raymadigan said:

I am looking for a freezer for a fermentation chamber, I currently have the Frigidaire 8.8 cu ft which I will turn into my keezer. I do 3 gallon batches in better bottles and I can't keep up with 6 fermenting at the same time. The depth I need is the restriction that keeps me from just going out to get one this afternoon. I need a 16 inch depth, the bottles are 7.5 inch square and I use 1 inch insulation between the bottles.

I noticed that you don't have a drawing set for the Haier 7.1cf HCM071AW and I think it is the same as the Idylis 7-cu ft Chest Freezer. I read the spec and it has a depth of 23 which typically means it is 16 inches deep. I am going to lowes this afternoon to measure it and wonder if you would like the measurements? I need 16x16 inches on the floor, I hope I can make this one work or I'm not sure what I will do. I've seen them as low as 180.

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Would love measurements! See Post #2 for details on what I'd need specifically.

It won't work for me, it is only 15.25 inches deep, I guess they used a bigger hinge or something because the depth of the unit is only 21 inches.

The dimensions of the inside are

width: 31.5 inches
depth: 15.25 inches. There is a little plastic lip on both sides at the top it is 15 inches
height: 27 inches

the hump measurements are

width: 7.5 inches
height: 9.5 inches

The floor is 24x15.25

It seems all of the smaller freezers have a smaller depth, argh. The only one that would have worked is the Frigidaire 7.2 cu ft that is out of production for some reason.

Yep, that's what I figured.

The Danby 8.8 is approximately the same width as the 7 cf class, but wider.

Using the 1/2 bbl keg count as a guideline might help. It's 15.75" dia, IIRC (too lazy to look it up right now).

I guess I never posted here to give an update. Oh well.

I used to ferment two 6.5 gal buckets in my GE 7.0 FCM7SUWW. Then I went to stacking two layers of buckets, for a total of 20 gallons fermenting. With a 1x10 collar, the top row has to use

However, that freezer (and many others) are capable of much, much larger volumes, rivaling conicals in capacity. Here's how I fit 40 gallons of fermentation space into this 7 cu ft freezer.

First, build a platform. This is important both to be able to utilize the hump and to raise the fermenters up (more on this later). Since the hump in this model is 9.25", I built a lattice of 2x10, screwed it together, and tossed a piece of plywood all the way across the freezer.

Then I bought two 80# Vittles Vault containers. These are growing in popularity as fermenters. Here's how one fits (picture taken before the platform was lowered in).



You need to be able to get the beer out without having to lift all that weight out of the keezer. How? Siphon it out. A hands free method is best, such as this.

Acquire a 1/4" MFL bulkhead, some swivel nuts, nylon gas washers, etc. Drill a hole, install it, and use diptube o-rings for gaskets.





To siphon out, build a T-siphon (Google or search this forum for a $3 build thread). Connect the t-siphon to the outside of the lid. On the inside, connect a Cask Widge with an appropriate length of tubing. Open the lid slightly to prevent a vacuum, and start the siphon. I siphon directly into corny kegs.

This is ideal for me because I can cold crash for 2 days before kegging and siphon directly off, hands-free, with no chance of accidentally stirring up yeast or trub.

You'll need the freezer on a platform or wheels so that the bottom of the "shelf" you built is taller than the 5-gallon mark on a corny keg, otherwise the siphon will stop before the fermenter is empty.

There you have it. 40 gallons of fermenter space in a 7 cu ft freezer.

BTW, I use a 15.5" collar on the freezer now. Just had the guy at Home Depot slice it into 15.5" strips, then cut it to length and assembled it at home.

Edit: More pictures, this time the siphoning that's going on as I type this.





Yeah they say two thousand, zero zero, party over, oops, out of sight.

fyi, I recently replaced a 10cf chest freezer with the Frigidaire 13.0 cu ft LFCH13M2MW (also found as FFCH13M2MW) and found that without a collar it will hold 7 ball lock kegs comfortably, but it's just the tiniest bit too tight to fit the eighth. Looking at the top-down "no collar" view in the database either one of the middle kegs will fit, but not both.

Not a problem for me as I have a six faucet t-style tower which is plenty, and I have a separate 4-keg cold conditioning/carbonation fridge. But for anyone looking for 8 kegs on the floor without a collar you'll need to go up to the next larger class chest freezer to make that work.

Also, fwiw, the energy usage metered over a week with a Kil-O-Watt works out to 11 cents per day @ 15 cents/KWH...

Cheers!

thadius856 said:

Kenmore 8.8 cu ft 16922

Download this specification sheet and layout as a high-resolution printable PDF at Dropbox.

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First, thanks to you Thad for this incredible resource ... can't imagine how many people this has helped!!

In regards to this Kenmore 8.8 CF freezer, maybe it's just the crack I smoked earlier but it looks like the data summary doesn't match the CAD drawings. It's listed as allowing a max of 4 ball locks on the floor (with or w/o collar) but the CAD drawings show 6 on the floor. Am I missing something or has the long work week taken it's toll on my eyes and mind?

ajandrs said:

First, thanks to you Thad for this incredible resource ... can't imagine how many people this has helped!!

In regards to this Kenmore 8.8 CF freezer, maybe it's just the crack I smoked earlier but it looks like the data summary doesn't match the CAD drawings. It's listed as allowing a max of 4 ball locks on the floor (with or w/o collar) but the CAD drawings show 6 on the floor. Am I missing something or has the long work week taken it's toll on my eyes and mind?

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This was pointed out in a previous post. It's a typo. 6 fit on the floor.

4-on-the-floor is a 7 cu ft class.

Just saw this freezer at Costco for a great price. A little bigger than the Danby spec'ed above.

Inside dimensions -34 1/4 w X 15 d X 25 h
Hump - 9 h X 8 w

Is this enough additional room to allow 4 pinlocks and a 5# CO2 tank?

Puddlethumper said:

Just saw this freezer at Costco for a great price. A little bigger than the Danby spec'ed above.

Inside dimensions -34 1/4 w X 15 d X 25 h
Hump - 9 h X 8 w

Is this enough additional room to allow 4 pinlocks and a 5# CO2 tank?

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Are you sure you looked at the spec sheet for the Danby posted?

Hint: only one dimension is different, well within measuring error.

thadius856 said:

Are you sure you looked at the spec sheet for the Danby posted?

Hint: only one dimension is different, well within measuring error.

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Oops! Sorry about that. I must have inadvertently drawn the screen down or up one unit. My apology for the error.

thadius856 said:

Magic Chef 7.0cf HMCF7W

Download this specification sheet and layout as a high-resolution printable PDF at Dropbox.

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Home Depot is blowing these Chest Freezers out (in WI) for $128 thru today 2/5/14 (Leftovers from Black Friday) (5 Year Warranty on Compressor / 1 Year on Parts Labor) - Normally $198

Does anyone know anything about the new Igloo 10.0 cu ft chest freezers they are selling at Best Buy? They are huge and only $250 shipped! Also have the refrigerator mode on them which is a huge plus in my opinion.

jcorn said:

Does anyone know anything about the new Igloo 10.0 cu ft chest freezers they are selling at Best Buy? They are huge and only $250 shipped! Also have the refrigerator mode on them which is a huge plus in my opinion.

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Interested to see what people say as I'm thinking about picking one up too


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Best Buy shows that Igloo's width as 40-1/4", which can't possibly be right for a 10 cu ft class model. Heck, my GE 7.0's are wider than that. For reference, the Danby is about 49" wide. The depth and height are very similar to the Danby, though.

You need a ~17" interior depth to fit two rows of ball locks without staggering. The 10 cu ft Danby has a 17-5/16" depth. On paper, the Igloo is 1/8" shallower than the Danby. So, I'm fairly confident that you could get two rows of ball locks in there without staggering. In other words, 8 ball locks on the floor would probably fit. This is assuming they didn't include the hinges in the measurement. Who knows.

Jus just bought one. Inside dimension is 37 5/8" x 18 1/2" and fits 6 ball locks without staggering and a 5 lbs co2.


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That's... super disappointing.

All of the 8.8 cu ft models can fit 6 ball locks and 5# CO2.

If you build a collar you could get 8 ball locks but no co2.


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If you'd be so kind as to post the rest of the dimensions in [post=4731040]Post #4[/post], I'll gladly add that model here.

bowman5150 said:

Jus just bought one. Inside dimension is 37 5/8" x 18 1/2" and fits 6 ball locks without staggering and a 5 lbs co2.


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Awesome! How many ball locks total you think it may hold with a collar and using the hump?

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8 total ball locks using the hump. The collar allows the extra 2. Co2 must be out side. You would need at least a 7 1/2" collar.


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That is awesome for $250 shipped! Count me in!

Don't forget that it includes the thermostat, so you can save yourself from buying and wiring a control.

The popular Johnson A419 is $80 pre-wired, so that's a pretty substantial savings.

I swear they had free shipping on that thing the other day. I may have read it wrong. It looks like shipping is $50 for me now. Im not sure I could fit it in my suv.

My thoughts exactly @Thadius856!


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32 5/8" x 24" was the box dimensions when we picked it up today in my avalanche.


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bowman5150 said:

32 5/8" x 24" was the box dimensions when we picked it up today in my avalanche.


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Thank you! Wait, the actual exterior dimensions listed (40 1/4" x 33 1/2") are larger than the overall box dimensions you listed. Either way it will fit in my Jeep Commander but am I missing something here? lol