Commercial Refridgerator and Lagering

[paarman]

Hoping this finds someone well-versed in the electrical field. I have a commercial fridge I use for my kegs, which has worked fantastic at temps 34-40. The dial to adjust the temp seems a bit off if I try to raise it-once it hits 43 it’ll go up to around 66 on a hairline adjustment. The scale is 1-5 coldest to warmest; I keep it on 4 for my kegs and it will sit pretty consistently around 37*. I moved it to 5 and it was jumping all over the place, the best I could get it set to was around 43* but it would go down and up frequently.

I want to use this fridge to lager this Summer. Since I cannot get it to hit 48* accurately for the initial fermentation, I’m looking for a solution to do this. Would a temperature controller have negative effects kicking the compressor on and off frequently? I know many people use this solution on their keezers and kegerators without issue, but I know a fair share have had issues as well. Can you fill me in on the positives/negatives and/or throw some solutions my way? I’m no electrician, so just hoping there’s a simple solution but if not I’ll seek out an expert to assist if need be.

I basically just want to be able to set this at 48* for a few weeks, then step it down to lagering temp, which I plan to just keep at the temp I serve my kegs.

Thanks in advance for any help/ideas, and here are some visuals and specs if it helps.

 

[TechFanMD]

You can set the compressor delay on the temp controller to, say, 3 minutes to prevent cycling. In reality, if you put the probe on something with thermal mass, like taping it to the keg and insulating it, it is really unnecessary. I put a large rubber band around my keg and use it to hold the probe, then I put a folded paper towel between the band and the probe. This prevents swings that can cause short cycling. You can also put the probe in a cup of water, or tape it to a can of soda or something.

My other recommendation is to get a fan to circulate the air constantly. It really helps to maintain a stable temp throughout the unit if you keep the air moving. It also helps to cool down more quickly.

 

[501irishred]

Absolutely! Like TechFan pointed out, the controllers you mentioned are programmable for both compressor delay and temperature differential, and can be used just as safely as original equipment. Either replacing the existing analog control with the ITC-1000 or use the 308 as a plug and play. The only real advantage to direct replacement is the ability to continue running the evaporator fan continuously like I believe that model does currently to circulate the air all the time. Using the “plug in” style simply kills power between cycles, so it will kill the fan as well. If you go that route and find your temps are universal through the box, a small computer fan plugged in externally will help.

 

[paarman]

I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner, but thank you for the help. I went with the InkBird and it's worked fantastic. So far the temperature has remained fairly stable, and I'm happy with how easy it was to set up. Thanks again!