Building my first keezer and have a few ?'s

[sak1134]

For xmas the Mrs. launched me on the homebrew path and one of the early decisions I made was that bottling wasn't something I wanted to do. I'm fortunate enough to have a Fridgadaire commercial frost free upright freezer sitting in the garage that we used to use to store raw dog food (don't ask). This wonderful box with built in fan and thermostat is about to become my first keezer.

I've bought the parts for a double CO2 setup and a single nitrogen tap. At the moment my plan is to store the tanks and kegs internal (There should be plenty of room for 3 kegs and 2 bottles. Now my questions.

1.I purchased a Johnson Controls digital thermostat (Not realizing my freezer had one). Should I use it as it should have greater accuracy or just stick with the freezer control - last I checked however 1 thru 7 was not a temperature

2.If I use the thermostat, where can I safely penetrate the side of the freezer without hitting anything important?

Thanks - Steve

 

[brandonhagen1]

with the johnson you should be able to plug the freezer into it then plug the controler into the wall you dont need to cut or drill anything

 

[sak1134]

I need to have a hole for the temperature probe.

 

[brandonhagen1]

Can't u just put it in the door

 

[day_trippr]

It's unlikely that the built-in thermostat - digital or otherwise - will allow setting the unit to a temperature suitable for holding and serving beer. Even Bud Ice You can give it a try but be prepared to implement an alternative - like plugging the freezer into your controller.

As for the probe, your freezer likely has a floor drain you may be able to use to snake the probe inside.

Otherwise, if you have the make and model of the freezer handy, you can dig into an online parts supplier and often find an exploded parts diagram that will show where the cooling and condensate lines run. The safest place (aside from the door) will depend on whether your freezer has an external condenser, has it under the unit (usually with a small blower) or has it buried under the sheet metal...

Cheers!