Ferm chamber fridge question

[sorefingers23]

I bought a mini fridge for my ferm chamber and the coils are built into the side walls of the fridge, will it be a problem if I build right around the fridge or do I need to leave the sides open?

 

[LandoLincoln]

Well...there are two schools of thought on this. Some people say that you need to leave some space so that the heat can dissipate from the outside. Other people say that it depends on what you're using on the outside of the fridge. If you're using thin cabinet wood, then it's not needed, since wood is a very poor insulator, it's really not going to overheat the coils.

 

[sorefingers23]

I would be using half inch plywood

 

[Double-R]

I've read that the shell of some fridges,Is were the heat is dissipated..So I'd probably leave a gap around the outside.
Filler strips between the shell and material that's going around the fridge could work.

 

[sorefingers23]

If I were to drill a bunch of holes in the wood, could that be an option as long as im not losing any cool air of coarse

 

[sorefingers23]

If I use 1 inch blue styrofoam to insulate the wood part, will this be enough or should I double it and go for 2 inch?

 

[Aspenextreme]

I made one of these from a mini fridge a couple of weeks ago and added a 10" collar on it so i could fit in 2 buckets at one time if needed.

I ended up putting the white sheet insulation over the wood and then put on some foil tape and no problems at all. I have my johnson controller set to 61 and it does not cycle very much considering it is in the garage and I live in Atlanta.

 

[sorefingers23]

I just chilled my ferm chamber dow to 10 degrees C and then unplugged it for about 90 mins and the temp went up about 9 degrees C(42 F) is this normal or did I not insulate good enough?