7cu ft freezer sale starting tomorrow

[muench1]

Bought one of these and played with the thermostat. Just thought I'd let people know that using the adjustment technique from this thread I was able to get the stock thermostat to hold temps a few degrees above freezing. Had to crank it all the way in clockwise. It took a lot of turns, and stopped firmly when I hit the bottom, so just keep spinning the screw until you can't any more.

It may end up too cold for my taste... I'll have to assess that later and maybe get a controller.

 

[limulus]

Bought one of these and played with the thermostat. Just thought I'd let people know that using the adjustment technique from this thread I was able to get the stock thermostat to hold temps a few degrees above freezing. Had to crank it all the way in clockwise. It took a lot of turns, and stopped firmly when I hit the bottom, so just keep spinning the screw until you can't any more.

It may end up too cold for my taste... I'll have to assess that later and maybe get a controller.

So here is something I haven't given a lot of thought to. What are most of you setting this knob to when you use an external thermostat? I have two STC-1000 controllers I bought from Amazon for $49 coming.

 

[J-Pizzel]

So here is something I haven't given a lot of thought to. What are most of you setting this knob to when you use an external thermostat? I have two STC-1000 controllers I bought from Amazon for $49 coming.

As I understand it, it really shouldn't matter what the knob is set too. As its "parameters" will be overridden with an external thermostat.

 

[zeg]

I just picked up a chest freezer for $158+tax. Not the one here, but Menard's has their house brand 7 cu ft model for the same price until Dec 2.

I have been planning to do a bunch of lagers over the next couple months, with the first to go into lagering today or tomorrow. Around 1am this morning, I woke up and realized that it's not nearly cold enough to just let ambient garage temperatures do the lagering or hold a good fermentation temperature for the next batch. Panicked, I scoured the internet and found this deal, but went to bed thinking I was screwed because there's no way my wife would go for me buying another fridge for brewing so soon after putting together a temp controller for the refrigerator in our garage... Plus, we only have one outlet out there and it's already loaded to the limit of my comfort.

Anyway, when I woke up, I mentioned the freezer idly and she lit up and was not only going to put up with buying it, she was excited about it and volunteered that we could put it in the living room if we need to. (We ended up putting it in a study/storage room instead.)

There's a catch, though. If our other "homebrewing" projects go according to our hopes, the freezer is only mine for 9-10 more months, at which time its primary role will transition to breast milk storage...... I'll just leave it at that.

But for now, I think I'm going to switch the temp regulator over to the freezer and lager in the garage at its coldest setting. It looks like I can fit a couple carboys in this one, possibly even with airlocks without having to go to the trouble of building a collar.

The safety valve blew out. Luckily, I was in the left lane of a 4-lane road with a 45 MPH speed. I could not see nor breath and I was able to get into the center turning lane and get out. It took me a couple of hours to breathe normally.

Holy cow, you are lucky not to have blacked out. It only takes a couple breaths of oxygen-depleted "air" to cause a blackout. It's a major safety concern in labs... I'd say even at 45 mph, blacking out would be a problem! Glad your story ended with you posting about it on the Internet many years later!

 

[limulus]

Holy cow, you are lucky not to have blacked out. It only takes a couple breaths of oxygen-depleted "air" to cause a blackout. It's a major safety concern in labs... I'd say even at 45 mph, blacking out would be a problem! Glad your story ended with you posting about it on the Internet many years later!

Yeah, it's something I'll never forget. I'm just glad my daughter was not in there at the time. She's 20 now and a Junior at the university and I'm proud to say she'll be attending Oxford University in England next year.

 

[passedpawn]

Anyway, when I woke up, I mentioned the freezer idly and she lit up and was not only going to put up with buying it, she was excited about it and volunteered that we could put it in the living room if we need to.

Hmmm, very suspicious. Watch out for retaliatory spending. She's up to something.

WRT baby, get all the building and brewing and spending done before the baby arrives. Not only will your hobby time and budget shrink appreciably, her tolerance for your little hobbies will shrink as well.

Also, I built a collar for mine in about 2 hours. Not too hard. Just made it last night and caulked it into the freezer today. Breeze.

 

[zeg]

Thanks for the tips, but I'm well aware of this. The hypothetical milk consumer would be our third...

As long as I make her a stout every few brews, she's happy to support the hobby!

 

[limulus]

Thanks for the tips, but I'm well aware of this. The hypothetical milk consumer would be our third...

As long as I make her a stout every few brews, she's happy to support the hobby!

Well, my first daughter was Lactose intolerant. We used soy milk for her...no refrigeration needed

 

[zeg]

Well, my first daughter was Lactose intolerant. We used soy milk for her...no refrigeration needed

Our first is allergic to milk, eggs, wheat, and nuts. My poor but devoted wife cut all those out of her own diet until he weaned!

 

[Twang]

Purchased one of the HMCF7W from Home Depot the other day. It has been plugged in, set to "7" and the lights are on. I can here a low hum but it is not cooling at all. I suppose I will try to exchange it which is a pain since I have to borrow a truck from someone as it wont fit in my car.

Anyone have any trouble with theirs?

 

[J-Pizzel]

has anyone ordered a kegerator kit for one of these yet? I've been eyeballing Keg Cowboy & Keg Connections. They're both pretty convenient for upgrades since I already have my kegs and CO2 tank/regulator. I'm just looking for the best bang for my buck...

 

[bknifefight]

I ordered a 4 tap system from KegConnection. It was a fair price and it came quickly.

 

[pdxbg]

Ordered a 2 tap, dual reg system from kegcowboy yesterday. Will be expanding to 4 later. Keg connection seemed to be a little bit higher in price when I was looking on my phone.

 

[digi2k]

has anyone ordered a kegerator kit for one of these yet? I've been eyeballing Keg Cowboy & Keg Connections. They're both pretty convenient for upgrades since I already have my kegs and CO2 tank/regulator. I'm just looking for the best bang for my buck...

I ordered my setup last year and just checked my invoice, i paid $337 in June 2011 for the 4 keg complete kit from Midwest supplies and upgraded to a 10# tank ($30 of that was shipping). I shopped around for quite awhile looking for the best deal. It looks like the price went way up, but it still looks like midwest is cheaper than most...

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brew-logic-quadruple-tap-draft-system-with-4-way-gas-manifold.html

 

[J-Pizzel]

I've been piecing together everything I need for 4 taps with all of the various sites. I finally bit the bullet and ended up with Keg Connection, with 4 taps, upgraded to Perlick 575s (I wanted the 525s but they were sold out) and it all came out to approx 350. I already have my kegs, CO2 tank, and regulator. I'll have to sell the included regulator once it come in. STOKED!

 

[orion7144]

Is anyone else using the STC-1000 to regulate the temp while used as a keezer? I do not plan on hooking up a heat source I just want to keep it at a good serving temp. Or have you just adjusted the temp controller built into the unit? I will be picking mine up tonight and have the STC on order from a US ebay seller for $23. Also bought the two port setup from keg connection today since it was on sale for the black Friday weekend. So I will start my build next weekend.

 

[zeg]

I'm using the STC-1000 with the freezer I bought. I built a box similar to the one that Revvy describes somewhere (which he built based on someone else's design --- search the site for it), but without the always-on outlet. All parts considered (and I had to buy everything, including wires), it was about $75 for the box, I think.

I'm using it to hold lager fermentation temperatures at about 50°F. I've got a small ceramic space heater inside just in case it needs to warm up, but at the moment there's no need for that.

I don't think there's any way to hold a fridge like this at a beer serving temp without a temperature controller. You could do this by taking over the compressor directly rather than using a line power relay like the STC-1000, but it's essentially the same thing.

 

[barrooze]

has anyone ordered a kegerator kit for one of these yet? I've been eyeballing Keg Cowboy & Keg Connections. They're both pretty convenient for upgrades since I already have my kegs and CO2 tank/regulator. I'm just looking for the best bang for my buck...

I started my kegging adventures with a two tap system from Keg Cowboy when they were still in Houston. You can go all out and get everything you'll ever need for your keezer, but I went kind of barebones and now have a four tap (+1 in reserve) keezer with dual body regulator and all 525ss faucets. It's always fun to add more bling to your keezer.

 

[barrooze]

I'll have to sell the included regulator once it come in.

How much are you thinking? I'm looking for a spare for a mobile dispensing system. Also, I'm sure there are a bunch of kegging newbies here that might be interested.

 

[barrooze]

Is anyone else using the STC-1000 to regulate the temp while used as a keezer? I do not plan on hooking up a heat source I just want to keep it at a good serving temp. Or have you just adjusted the temp controller built into the unit? I will be picking mine up tonight and have the STC on order from a US ebay seller for $23. Also bought the two port setup from keg connection today since it was on sale for the black Friday weekend. So I will start my build next weekend.

Just make sure you use good wires (14Awg or better). In the STC-1000 build thread, the experts say with the current a freezer can draw may be too great for 16 or smaller. Just an FYI.

 

[zeg]

Just make sure you use good wires (14Awg or better). In the STC-1000 build thread, the experts say with the current a freezer can draw may be too great for 16 or smaller. Just an FYI.

This is important, but if you're being careful, the STC-1000 is only rated to 10A to begin with... In practice it's not likely to be a problem in either case because the peak draw is only for a short time during compressor start-up, then the steady-state current is much lower.

It doesn't hurt to use heavier gauges, though. For my STC-1000 box, I used 14 AWG and made sure all components were rated for 15A. I also installed an in-line fuse as additional insurance.

 

[orion7144]

I adjusted the thermostat all the way clockwise and my freezer is sitting on 32F with the dial set to 1. My little temp gauge is not the most accurate so I will borrow my fluke from work and test it. I like my beer nice and cold but not frozen lol.

 

[J-Pizzel]

I left mine at 1 over night. In the morning everything was frozen. The keg being force carbed leaked. Didn't adjust any of the internals of the thermostat. Ended up just hooking up an external thermostat.

 

[starman]

Picked up the menards version of a 7 because I had some rebate store credit kicking around. Can't beat $118 out of pocket. I want to use this primarily for hop storage but the VOC / plastic smell coming off the thing last night has me worried. Its a little better this morning now that its cold but definitely still present.

Anyone with a newer freezer speak to how quickly the smell dissipates?

Don't want the Simcoe to smell like 3 cats pissing on a pine tree outside of a tire factory.

 

[zeg]

Picked up the menards version of a 7 because I had some rebate store credit kicking around. Can't beat $118 out of pocket. I want to use this primarily for hop storage but the VOC / plastic smell coming off the thing last night has me worried. Its a little better this morning now that its cold but definitely still present.

Anyone with a newer freezer speak to how quickly the smell dissipates?

Don't want the Simcoe to smell like 3 cats pissing on a pine tree outside of a tire factory.

I have the same one, I think. It didn't smell too strongly for me, but I left it propped open (to be sure cats didn't get closed inside) overnight to be sure. Also remember to wait 24 hours before turning it on if you turned it on its side to transport it!

As long as your hops are well sealed, I don't think outgassing will affect them. After all, you don't want oxygen getting in there anyway!

 

[muench1]

I left mine at 1 over night. In the morning everything was frozen. The keg being force carbed leaked. Didn't adjust any of the internals of the thermostat. Ended up just hooking up an external thermostat.

I adjusted the thermostat all the way clockwise and my freezer is sitting on 32F with the dial set to 1. My little temp gauge is not the most accurate so I will borrow my fluke from work and test it. I like my beer nice and cold but not frozen lol.

If you guys are responding to my post, you need to follow the link I posted for it to work. It involves removing the service panel, unscrewing the thermostat enclosure screws from the inside, gently sliding out the thermostat unit and adjusting the tiny screw on the inside. No high voltage, no electrical changes, no coolant (but always unplug anyways!). Just a few screws in and out.

When I tried just setting it to the lowest external setting my cup of test water was icing over within an hour or so. The stock thermostat can hold temperatures above freezing, but only by the method from that link. Even cranked all the way to the highest temperature, using both the coarse and fine adjustments, the temperature it holds is a bit on the cold side(~37-38), but definitely above freezing.

My kegging setup isn't here yet, and I've got two batches sitting in my garage in extended secondary waiting for their new stainless homes. I may ultimately decide that the temps I'm getting from the stock thermostat are colder than I want my beer, but I'm not sure. I generally like to pour a big beer and start when it's really cold and finish as it gets almost too warm, so I can enjoy an entire temperature range. The nice thing is that until my return period from Home Depot runs out, I can keep shopping for other options

 

[orion7144]

If you guys are responding to my post, you need to follow the link I posted for it to work. It involves removing the service panel, unscrewing the thermostat enclosure screws from the inside, gently sliding out the thermostat unit and adjusting the tiny screw on the inside. No high voltage, no electrical changes, no coolant (but always unplug anyways!). Just a few screws in and out.

When I tried just setting it to the lowest external setting my cup of test water was icing over within an hour or so. The stock thermostat can hold temperatures above freezing, but only by the method from that link. Even cranked all the way to the highest temperature, using both the coarse and fine adjustments, the temperature it holds is a bit on the cold side(~37-38), but definitely above freezing.

My kegging setup isn't here yet, and I've got two batches sitting in my garage in extended secondary waiting for their new stainless homes. I may ultimately decide that the temps I'm getting from the stock thermostat are colder than I want my beer, but I'm not sure. I generally like to pour a big beer and start when it's really cold and finish as it gets almost too warm, so I can enjoy an entire temperature range. The nice thing is that until my return period from Home Depot runs out, I can keep shopping for other options

Guess I wasnt clear on my post but that is what I did. I have a 12 pack in there and it is not frozen.

 

[limulus]

The sale on these ended yesterday. I was in my HD last night and they were all gone. I was going to try buying another one last night. I was hoping the floor model would be sitting there with a scratch or a ding on it that would net me an additional discount...but nope. I'm glad I got mine when I did.

 

[pdxbg]

Ordered a 2 tap, dual reg system from kegcowboy yesterday. Will be expanding to 4 later. Keg connection seemed to be a little bit higher in price when I was looking on my phone.

I lied. Keg Connection is cheaper. Even if they were more expensive it would be worth it IMO to buy from them based on the stellar reviews of quick shipment and awesome customer service.

Keg Cowboy has returned none of my email's from when I ordered the 2 tap setup on the 18th. I emailed asking to upgrade my regulator to a dual body and got nothing. I emailed to confirm that they got that email and asking for an update on ETA for shipping yesterday as that was the 5th business day since I ordered. Nothing back. Called today and was told the Perlick 525SS and Taprite Regulator will be coming in to their store tomorrow and should be shipped out tomorrow afternoon. Ordering another 2 tap setup - CO2 tank, with 525SS faucets and a 4 way CO2 block plus a few other goodies sometime this week from KC.

 

[limulus]

I ordered a two tap system from birdman and upgraded everything to P525 SS and SS shanks. I also added two kegs and got it all in less than 5 days. Doing a head to head comparison, I found his pricing to be just a little better. We are having a wall removed and carpeting replaced with laminate in our basement, so all my stuff is still boxed and in my garage.