De-icing kegerator

[hendenburg2]

Okay, so I just moved a month ago. Before the move, I unplugged my kegerator (stand-up Haier twin-tap model) and let it defrost completely. Looking at it yesterday, I noticed that there was 1) significant ice buildup (fully covered, about 1/3" or so deep) on the refrigerant expansion line 2) the beer that came out of the tap seemed warmer than it had been, considering that the kegerator was set to its coolest setting.

Is there a good way of de-icing the damn thing, and preventing ice from forming?

Also, I only opened it ~5-6 times in the past month, and never for more than a minute or two. I also checked and door seal meets the main body along the entire length.

 

[owmatooth]

I'd try adding a circulation fan inside to keep the air moving, a tower cooler will always be an improvement and might get air moving enough, cheap fix to try.

 

[BeardedBrews]

I'd try adding a circulation fan inside to keep the air moving, a tower cooler will always be an improvement and might get air moving enough, cheap fix to try.

A fan will help for sure. Once you have the air moving around it's good to add something to keep the humidity low.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H0XFCS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

These little renewable dehumidifiers work great for me, even with good seals on my lid. My kegs always seem to be a little damp when I load them in, so I need to have something to get that moisture out.

 

[hezagenius]

I used to have massive ice buildup in my kegerator. It would make loud cracking noises all the time. I put a temp controller probe in some water and set it to 40F. Haven't had any ice forming since then. I could probably go cooler and be fine but I find the beer actually tastes a little better at 40F than the mid 30s.

 

[hendenburg2]

A fan will help for sure. Once you have the air moving around it's good to add something to keep the humidity low.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H0XFCS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

These little renewable dehumidifiers work great for me, even with good seals on my lid. My kegs always seem to be a little damp when I load them in, so I need to have something to get that moisture out.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll give those a try.

 

[hendenburg2]

I used to have massive ice buildup in my kegerator. It would make loud cracking noises all the time. I put a temp controller probe in some water and set it to 40F. Haven't had any ice forming since then. I could probably go cooler and be fine but I find the beer actually tastes a little better at 40F than the mid 30s.

Yeah, that loud cracking noise is what happens when the compressor stops pumping refrigerant, and the tubes start warming up. The ice cracks like a cube in a glass of water. Sadly my model just has a simple bimetallic thermostat that is adjusted with a knob and doesn't correspond to an actual temperature

 

[hendenburg2]

Update:

Last night, I turned the thermostat to its warmest setting.

Thank god I have wood floors instead of carpet, since all the ice melted off.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I hive a keezer made from a 5CF chest freezer. I placed the temp probe as low in the keezer as possible and set the controller to a degree above freezing. No ice yet.