Worries about my Keezer

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Arminius757

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So I have a small 5 cu ft freezer that I just built into a keezer buy building a collar for it. I built the collar out of 2x6 wood. I sealed it to the top using kitchen caulk on the bottom of the wood and both the inside and outside. I also have a fan running to circulate the air. I have noticed that the freezer runs a little more and gets hot... is the collar too big for the freezer? I have the freezer sitting in my garage and it has been rather hot lately (85+), could this be adding to the stress of the fridge operations? It is open on the back to allow ventilation. The freezer is also less than a year old, bought new from Lowe's. It is controlled by an STC1000 and just sits on the floor (I want to add casters soon). Should I be worried about putting it in an early grave?
 
Post a picture so we can see whats up.
It sounds like you didnt insulate the collar you made. Most wood 1.5" thick has an R value of 2 which is pretty awful in the cooling world.
Grab a sheet of foam insulation board (reflextic is less effective retaining the cold) and line the inside with a layer or two attached with liquid nails or something similar. That should help a bit I would think.

To address the questions
is the collar too big for the freezer?
-maybe, you did increase the volume of the space to be cooled and if not properly insulated it will be similar to leaving the door cracked open

it has been rather hot lately (85+), could this be adding to the stress of the fridge operations?
-most certainly. In the garage the freezer is working against the elements, the hotter it is the more the freezer will need to run to compete.

Should I be worried about putting it in an early grave?
-nope, unless you believe that the system has been tampered with and is leaking freon and working less efficiently I dont think you have done anything wrong.
Even with a larger volume to cool, your freezer should still be running less than if it were sitting in the garage keeping food cold.
 
Post a picture so we can see whats up.
It sounds like you didnt insulate the collar you made. Most wood 1.5" thick has an R value of 2 which is pretty awful in the cooling world.
Grab a sheet of foam insulation board (reflextic is less effective retaining the cold) and line the inside with a layer or two attached with liquid nails or something similar. That should help a bit I would think.

To address the questions
is the collar too big for the freezer?
-maybe, you did increase the volume of the space to be cooled and if not properly insulated it will be similar to leaving the door cracked open

it has been rather hot lately (85+), could this be adding to the stress of the fridge operations?
-most certainly. In the garage the freezer is working against the elements, the hotter it is the more the freezer will need to run to compete.

Should I be worried about putting it in an early grave?
-nope, unless you believe that the system has been tampered with and is leaking freon and working less efficiently I dont think you have done anything wrong.
Even with a larger volume to cool, your freezer should still be running less than if it were sitting in the garage keeping food cold.

Thanks for the reply. I had some lite insulation on it, but I will go by a thing of rigid foam board to put on it instead. Would you think some R5 is enough?
I just moved the freezer inside and I will see how that works. I will also add some more stuff to increase the thermal mass (got some bottles and cans I can store in there till I brew my next batch).
I can get some pictures later if the problem persists.
 
See if you can do two layers of the R5 material, it shouldn't interfere too much with operation.
My recent fermentation chamber has ~R10 and my minifridge hasnt had a problem keeping roughly 17 cu ft 10-14d cooler than my house's thermostat is set.
Moving your freezer inside will ikely have the biggest positive impact since it will instantly be 10+d cooler than outside and have a lot less work to do.
FWIW (and please someone more knowledgeable correct me if needed) I dont think that a larger thermal mass (more liquid volume) will help the keezer cool down if its struggling. What that WILL do is prevent temperature swings when you open the door (letting cool air out) or add/remove a FV.
I keep a milk crate of "cellar" beers in the back of my fermentation chamber after they have finished conditioning that way I can save a few bottles from each batch to try at 6mo, 1yr, etc. Also thermal mass, yay!
 
Where is the keezer operating? In a garage? Basement? Curious about why outside temp is a factor
 
Where is the keezer operating? In a garage? Basement? Curious about why outside temp is a factor

The freezer is sitting outside in my garage. It is normally 20+ degrees warmer outside, especially during the summer. We have been in a heat wave for a little while. My house has AC, so it normally sits at 75. The outside temp is a factor because of the low R value of the wood. This means that the cold air is gonna flow out of the collar quicker, because the collar will be much warmer than the walls of the fridge. Also, just that the ambient temperature is warmer, this means that the freezer wont benefit from any cool air flowing around the walls and various components. Thus, the freezer could get and stay hotter longer if overworked.
In short, make the heat transfer work in your favor.
 
Gotcha. Better picture now.

Definitely insulate inside of the collar with foam. May not be a bad idea to collar the outside with foam and make a sort of "hat" for it. Cover the lid and the outside of the 2x6 with a 1" foam layer that goes down past the original top of the keezer. Put a layer of pl;ywood on top of the hat just to make the surface usable without tearing up the insulation.
 
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