Kegerator runs at 25 degrees

[David_Trucks]

I bought a mid sized, homemade (converted) kegerator off craigslist for pretty cheap. It gets really cold, but the thermostat doesn't seem to be working and it runs almost constantly from what I can tell. I threw a thermometer in there, and it says it's 25 degrees. Will that affect how my beer pours? (I haven't used it yet, but plan to fill the keg tomorrow). Note: I keep beer bottles in there right now and they don't freeze.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Your beer lines will probably freeze at that temperature. I'm surprised the bottles don't.

 

[David_Trucks]

Your beer lines will probably freeze at that temperature. I'm surprised the bottles don't.

Yeah, I didn't even think about the lines freezing. That sucks. Weird that the beer doesn't- it's just ice cold.

Anyone know of an easy/cheap fix? I'm not handy and it may not be worth the trouble, but who knows.

 

[doug293cz]

Plug the keggerator into an InkBird ITC-308 or similar controller.

Brew on

 

[mongoose33]

Plug the keggerator into an InkBird ITC-308 or similar controller.

Brew on

Check this link for 20 percent off an Inkbird 308 from Amazon.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=584717

I have two of them.

 

[David_Trucks]

Was hoping not to have to buy a temp controller just for this, but I may have to.

 

[FatDragon]

Was hoping not to have to buy a temp controller just for this, but I may have to.

Why not? It's an inexpensive, easy-to-use accessory that will solve your problem without any fuss.

 

[David_Trucks]

Why not? It's an inexpensive, easy-to-use accessory that will solve your problem without any fuss.

I'm very very cheap. I ended up throwing the keg in there a bit ago and turned it up to 30 PSI. We will see how it goes. I put a water bottle in there earlier and it didn't freeze so maybe my therm is off...

 

[kh54s10]

I'm very very cheap. I ended up throwing the keg in there a bit ago and turned it up to 30 PSI. We will see how it goes. I put a water bottle in there earlier and it didn't freeze so maybe my therm is off...

If water doesn't freeze at 25 degrees Fahrenheit then your thermometer is wrong.......

 

[filthyastronaut]

One upside of temp control is that you can serve your beer, bottles and from the keg, at proper serving temperatures. Ice cold isn't gonna do any favors for the flavor and aroma of your beer.

 

[David_Trucks]

I'll do another test tomorrow, to try and find out the real temp since my therm is apparently off. I still believe the kegerator is colder than it should be.

Thanks for the responses all, I'll keep updating.

 

[David_Trucks]

Calibrated my thermometer using ice water this morning and its correct. I guess I'll know if my beer line freezes on a few days, when I set it up fully.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I have temp controllers on both my keezer and my fermentation chamber. Dual stage for fermentation to allow adding heat as well as cooling. Single stage for the keezer. Chest freezers are great devices for home brewing, but we are using them for something they weren't designed for. They're meant to keep all contents frozen. IMHO the built in thermostats aren't that sophisticated or useful. A temp controller allows you to adjust the freezer to YOUR needs.

 

[mongoose33]

If you're really cheap, as you seem to insist you are, you could take a whack at building your own controller. You're trading time for money at that point.

But with an Inkbird at about $32, I don't know how well that trade would work for you. Sometimes, frugality is not sensible--and if you're going to all this trouble to brew beer, pay for ingredients, invest your time in that process, it seems to me that controlling the environment in which your output lives is a sensible thing to do. If you ruin a batch of beer, how much will that have cost you?

 

[David_Trucks]

If you're really cheap, as you seem to insist you are, you could take a whack at building your own controller. You're trading time for money at that point.

But with an Inkbird at about $32, I don't know how well that trade would work for you. Sometimes, frugality is not sensible--and if you're going to all this trouble to brew beer, pay for ingredients, invest your time in that process, it seems to me that controlling the environment in which your output lives is a sensible thing to do. If you ruin a batch of beer, how much will that have cost you?

I am slowly working toward a ferm chamber, but for now am stuck with what I have. As for the kegerator, I figure I'll see if it works as is. If not, I'll grab the ink bird. If so, I've managed to not spend more money.

If it were just up to me, I'd have all the gadgets, but with a family, spending additional money on brewing equipment is a slow process. I'll get there in time.

 

[stonebrewer]

The person you bought it from likely mucked with the temperature adjustment. Figure out the model number and look through the forums for where that adjustment is. On mine, it had a fine and a gross adjustment. I had the opposite issue where the beer was serving a bit warmer than I liked. I found the adjustment and tweaked it over time until I got my kegged beer to be about 38-40F instead of the 48ish it was prior to adjusting...

 

[David_Trucks]

The person you bought it from likely mucked with the temperature adjustment. Figure out the model number and look through the forums for where that adjustment it. On mine, it had a fine and a gross adjustment. I had the opposite issue where the beer was serving a bit warmer than I liked. I found the adjustment and tweaked it over time until I got my kegged beer to be about 38-40F instead of the 48ish it was prior to adjusting...

Good thinking, I'll look into that

 

[drgonzo2k2]

I ended up throwing the keg in there a bit ago and turned it up to 30 PSI

Unless that's a nitro keg, you're serving soda, or you have REALLY long beer lines that pressure is way overkill, going to overcarb your beer, and turn your faucet into something like a fire hose.

 

[David_Trucks]

Unless that's a nitro keg, you're serving soda, or you have REALLY long beer lines that pressure is way overkill, going to overcarb your beer, and turn your faucet into something like a fire hose.

Trying the force carbing method- 30 PSI for 24 hours, just turned it down to 12 PSI. Will be using 12' of 3/16 hose, which is appropriate if I've been reading things right. Now if I can just get all the hose to fit all the connectors correctly...

 

[doug293cz]

Trying the force carbing method- 30 PSI for 24 hours, just turned it down to 12 PSI. Will be using 12' of 3/16 hose, which is appropriate if I've been reading things right. Now if I can just get all the hose to fit all the connectors correctly...

Sticking the tube ends in boiling water for 30 - 60 seconds will make it easier to push them over barbs, especially if you are putting 3/16" tubing on a 1/4" barb.

Brew on

 

[Aleman]

You may be able to move the thermostat of the fridge to a lower spot. I have a Danby that wasn't getting as cold as I liked so I just raised mine up. 5min job��

 

[David_Trucks]

Well. That was an adventure. I got all the lines, connectors and everything put together. It took a lot of finesse, cussing, two beer showers and clean up, but I got it all together. Hot damn. Cheers to all who continue to provide advice; I am officially a kegger. Here's a pic of the first beer- a pale ale featuring calypso.

Only thing so far to complain about (other than the two beer showers) is that it isn't cold enough. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1466654537.946399.jpg

 

[David_Trucks]

I should also note that it's not fully carbonated yet, but that was expected.