Chest Freezer/Temp Controller...Pics & Questions

[Ungoliant]

So I recently picked up an 8.8cu ft. Chest Freezer off of Craigslist for $100. It had some rust on the top, so I cleaned it up a bit (See pics below). I hit it with a wire brush, a sander, washed it up a bit and then Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy. It had previously been used to store deer carcasses, so it's got a residual odor. I sanitized the inside of the cooler, but there's still a smell...Tried leaving a bowl of coffee grounds and baking soda in it overnight and it still smells.

Anyway, I'm looking at converting this thing in to a fermentation cooler, so I picked up a Johnson a419 Temp controller. I've seen a lot on the forums about using a thermowell, taping the probe to the carboy and insulating it, etc...I've also seen a lot of folks having issues with temp consistency.

I was considering putting the probe in a bottle of water or something, setting the controller to stay within a 3 degree variance, and controlling the temps that way.

So here's my questions:
1. Any advice for getting rid of that odor?
2. Is that a decent set up for consistent temps?
3. Are there better methods and setups to keep consistent temps?
4. What sort of cable management options are out there, and is there a significant risk of the probe wire getting crimped under the lid?

 

[Black Island Brewer]

1) baking soda and time, or chlorine wipes.
2) I use a carboy cap, a crimped copper tube for a thermowell into the wort, and an stc 1000 probe in the thermowell. Use a low wattage heat source to avoid temp swings - a little heat goes a long ways.
3) Lots of opinions, I prefer the thermowell because fermenting wort generates heat that a bottle.of water won't.
4) If I am correct, a wire that is bent still sends a signal...

 

[Ungoliant]

So I guess the implied task there is to get a double-holed carboy plug?

 

[Stealthcruiser]

You can try some activated charcoal, and a fan moving the air around inside the closed up cabinet for a few days.
A fresh baking soda at the same time wouldn't hurt either.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

So I guess the implied task there is to get a double-holed carboy plug?

The carboy cap has two holes. I put the thermowell in the middle, and the blowoff tube/airlock in the side one.

 

[Riks62]

Charcoal briquets work. Use the non matchlight kind. I had a horrible smell in an old fridge and put in a bowl of baking soda, a bowl of coffee grounds and some kingsford briquets... In a few days it was all good. Id let it run too so the air moves around.

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

I've always seen a bowl of baking soda beside a bowl of white vinegar used as a odor eliminator. worked like a charm at work after a contractor unplugged one of our freezers full of meat for 3 months of summer construction. after about a week the smell of rotting death was pretty much gone altogether!

 

[Ungoliant]

Thanks for your help so far, folks!

What about cable management? It's sort of an OCD thing I picked up from building my own PCs.

This temp controller's got 3 pretty long wires, and I want to mount the temp controller on the front of the freezer, then route everything around the side and to the back. I got some flex tubing wire conduit to sort of keep them all together, and then I'll just route the cables where I need them. That way all the cable length stays together and covered, too.

I sort of just want to keep everything neat so it doesn't look like a bunch of crap hanging all over the garage. What sort of things have y'all done to clean up your cables?