DIY kegerator from scratch, temperature issues

[iharvey92]

First of all, I apologize if this is in the wrong forum, I am new to the site.

I got a little ambitious a few months ago and instead of converting a refridgerator or a freezer I decided to build a kegerator from scratch. I made a large box out of plywood and insulated it with polyesterine from lowes. I then took a mini fridge (readily available for cheap in my college town) apart and attached the compressor, ect. to the box.

Long story short, everything appears to be functioning property, but the lowest I've gotten the temp inside the box is ~50 degrees F, which is too warm to store kegs. I took it apart recently and doubled the amount of isulation thinking that was the issue, but it didn't effect the temperature at all.

My two guesses are that the door is not a tight enough seal, allowing heat into the box, or that the mini fridge components are not meant to cool such a large volume to such a low temperature (I figured I could overcome this with more insulation).

This was a project I was very excited about but now I have hit a wall. I would really appreciate any advice or opinions to help me through the issue.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Newsman]

Probably the mini-fridge isn't big enough. If you take another fridge apart and add it on the opposite end/side that might fix you up.

 

[joebob296]

First of all, I apologize if this is in the wrong forum, I am new to the site.



I got a little ambitious a few months ago and instead of converting a refridgerator or a freezer I decided to build a kegerator from scratch. I made a large box out of plywood and insulated it with polyesterine from lowes. I then took a mini fridge (readily available for cheap in my college town) apart and attached the compressor, ect. to the box.



Long story short, everything appears to be functioning property, but the lowest I've gotten the temp inside the box is ~50 degrees F, which is too warm to store kegs. I took it apart recently and doubled the amount of isulation thinking that was the issue, but it didn't effect the temperature at all.



My two guesses are that the door is not a tight enough seal, allowing heat into the box, or that the mini fridge components are not meant to cool such a large volume to such a low temperature (I figured I could overcome this with more insulation).



This was a project I was very excited about but now I have hit a wall. I would really appreciate any advice or opinions to help me through the issue.



Thanks in advance!

The fridge probably can't keep up with the extra space. Get a bigger compresser or add another one.