Hi all,
I've got some questions about a project I'm working on. I have this old fridge (pre-1990) that I'm re purposing as a temperature controlled fermentation chamber. I was originally just going to build my own using the Son of Fermentation Chamber design, but then an uncle gave the fridge to me. I thought I could use the compressor/evaporator coil to control the temperature inside the chamber but there are a few issues:
1. There is no fan or other means to circulate the air inside the fridge. Instead, the evaporator coil is quite literally just dangling from a hole in the back. (Picture included). So I'm worried about even cooling throughout the chamber.
2. The electronic components are quite old and the thermostat quite unreliable (according to my uncle). Plus I'd like to keep the cost of electricity for running this thing to a minimum, which might mean dumping the compressor/evaporator coil idea.
With these two issues in mind, I'm leaning towards wanting to simply use the fridge as an insulated box and apply the Son of Fermentation Chamber design to what I already have. There's one small issue with this route, though... The evaporator coil is welded to the line leading to the compressor. If I want to remove the coil, I'll have to cut the line. I'm not a big fan of releasing a bunch of CFCs into the atmosphere or of inhaling lots of refrigerant.
Suggestions?
I've got some questions about a project I'm working on. I have this old fridge (pre-1990) that I'm re purposing as a temperature controlled fermentation chamber. I was originally just going to build my own using the Son of Fermentation Chamber design, but then an uncle gave the fridge to me. I thought I could use the compressor/evaporator coil to control the temperature inside the chamber but there are a few issues:
1. There is no fan or other means to circulate the air inside the fridge. Instead, the evaporator coil is quite literally just dangling from a hole in the back. (Picture included). So I'm worried about even cooling throughout the chamber.
2. The electronic components are quite old and the thermostat quite unreliable (according to my uncle). Plus I'd like to keep the cost of electricity for running this thing to a minimum, which might mean dumping the compressor/evaporator coil idea.
With these two issues in mind, I'm leaning towards wanting to simply use the fridge as an insulated box and apply the Son of Fermentation Chamber design to what I already have. There's one small issue with this route, though... The evaporator coil is welded to the line leading to the compressor. If I want to remove the coil, I'll have to cut the line. I'm not a big fan of releasing a bunch of CFCs into the atmosphere or of inhaling lots of refrigerant.
Suggestions?
