"Non" Frostless Freezer = Keezer?

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atimmerman88

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My FIL mentioned that I can have his still operational, 28 yr old up right freezer to do with what I like to make this 'homemade beer' stuff I always bring to his house.

It's a 'regular' ?? freezer in that it lacks the 'frost-less' feature that modern units have, that's the prime reason he's getting rid of it.

It's not overly huge, maybe 5' tall so I thought I'd make a nice keezer.

I'm nearly confident that with temperature control for a keezer, the lack of 'frost-less' won't be an issue.

Any one care to shed some light???

PS--had a hard time searching since I can't think of the right words to describe 'non-frost-free'
 
Shouldn't be an issue with frost since you will keep the freezer above freezing temperatures. I read about this tool to remove moisture (here on HBT) and so far it appears to be working very effectively in my keezer. The bigger issue will be the electricity usage with an older unit compared to new (not sure how much...my new one is estimated at $38 per year)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H0XFD2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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Basically it lacks an auto-defrost option. Edit: derp obviously you won't be frosting up because you will be maintaining refrigerator temps. It should work well as long as it cools!
 
Just be careful and take note where the cooling coils are. In many (most?) upright freezers, the cooling elements run through the shelves, not just in the walls like a chest style freezer if I remember correctly.
 
It certainly cools...it's packed full of wild game currently....

As for power usage....Maybe I'll have to get a watt-hr meter on it and check.

Any ball parks on run time to maintain serving temps in say a 65 degree climate ?
 
It certainly cools...it's packed full of wild game currently....

As for power usage....Maybe I'll have to get a watt-hr meter on it and check.

Any ball parks on run time to maintain serving temps in say a 65 degree climate ?

No just use this formula: Volts X Amps = Watts X Hours run (average is 4) X Days in a year = Total Watts / (divided) 1000 = Kw X your cost per Kw = cost to run per year. Works on any electrical device
 
My FIL mentioned that I can have his still operational, 28 yr old up right freezer to do with what I like to make this 'homemade beer' stuff I always bring to his house.

It's a 'regular' ?? freezer in that it lacks the 'frost-less' feature that modern units have, that's the prime reason he's getting rid of it.

It's not overly huge, maybe 5' tall so I thought I'd make a nice keezer.

I'm nearly confident that with temperature control for a keezer, the lack of 'frost-less' won't be an issue.

Any one care to shed some light???

PS--had a hard time searching since I can't think of the right words to describe 'non-frost-free'


I'm a little confused. You want to make a Keezer out of an upright freezer? An ebay control would work just fine but you can't lay the unit down on its back or side. That will plug up the system and kill the compressor.

If it is a manual defrost unit then the cooling coils are a part of the shelves and generally cannot be moved easily. The tubing in the coils is made of aluminum and is very thin. It can kink and tear easily. I'm not trying to discourage you just make sure that you approach those coils carefully. You may be able to fold them back against the wall to allow space for your kegs.
 
It certainly cools...it's packed full of wild game currently....

As for power usage....Maybe I'll have to get a watt-hr meter on it and check.

Any ball parks on run time to maintain serving temps in say a 65 degree climate ?

run time depends on too many variables to accurately predict usage (insulation factor, amount of dead space - that will change as you add or remove kegs and even when pulling beer from a keg, ambient temp, etc). If you really want to know, get one of these http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...eyword=kill+a+watt&storeId=10051#.URmuumfld8E . They work! It saved my setup from getting scraped by SWMBO. I run a 52 cu ft commercial fridge, and she was absolutely convinced that it was using over $100 a month in electricity! Thanks Mr. Kill-A-Watt, WE now know it uses on average $12 a month, and apparently that is good enough to be "allowed" to keep it.....
 
The shelves are galvanized steel but the coil mounted to the shelves is aluminium. Steel doesn't have the necessary heat transfer property to cool efficiently.
 
static said:
The shelves are galvanized steel but the coil mounted to the shelves is aluminium. Steel doesn't have the necessary heat transfer property to cool efficiently.

My magnet says otherwise a lot of older fridges/freezers use steel inside as well as outside heat transfer is also a condition of the refrigerant being used.
 
I'm a little confused. You want to make a Keezer out of an upright freezer? An ebay control would work just fine but you can't lay the unit down on its back or side. That will plug up the system and kill the compressor.

If it is a manual defrost unit then the cooling coils are a part of the shelves and generally cannot be moved easily. The tubing in the coils is made of aluminum and is very thin. It can kink and tear easily. I'm not trying to discourage you just make sure that you approach those coils carefully. You may be able to fold them back against the wall to allow space for your kegs.

Plan to use it upright as it currently is.
 
I'm pretty sure it has the cooling lines in the shelves, I've read on here about folks bending them 90 to parallel the outside walls. I've got access to small pipe benders as well so that thought had cross my mind. Depending on the geometry of the shelves, might be an option.
 
Depending on a few factors, there is still a potential for frost even if you're keeping the temperature above freezing. The air around the coils will cool faster than everything else, so depending on where your thermocouple is, how efficient the cooling is, the thermal mass of everything inside, and how often you open the door, it's quite possible to build up some frost.

I've experienced this in one fridge and one mini fridge, both of them probably from the late 1980s. I discovered it with the mini fridge when I first used it for lagering. I put the PID's thermocouple down a thermowell inside the carboy, so there was a lengthy lag for the temperature of the wort to catch up to the fridge's temperature, and in the meantime frost build up around the coil. As everything equalized, the frost melted and created a nice pool of water. I doubt this will be a problem for you, but something to keep in mind.

Separately, my kegerator (not PID controlled) has a constant layer of frost around the coil despite the temperature being above freezing. It's not an issue to me as it stays frozen, but it's still there.
 
my 5' upright converted freezer's coils are steel.
I currently use it as a ferm/lager chamber, but i plan on sticking a keg in there once i start kegging.
It should comfortably hold 2 pin locks if you pipe in your gas from outside. maybe 3 if you gut the door. ebay temp controller and a fan wired in to circulate the air when the freezer is running, and your golden. You wont have any frost issues at 42 degrees. As long as your not opening the door a lot moisture wont be a big deal either.
 

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