Freezer Defrosted...

[Somerville]

So I got a temp control unit about a week ago and put it on its coldest setting. But, before I get into it, let me set you up. This fridge could easily be 15 years old. It has a number system 1 being the warmest, 9 being the coldest. But then has a letter system right next to it with strange descriptions like, colder freezer, warmer fridge, fresh food and freezer...its completely puzzing to have A-D and 1-9 next to each other. When attaching my control unit I made a not to monitor the freezer. I feared that the lower portion would suck the power from the freezer. I put a bottle of water in the freezer and later it started to freeze. So I thought, Ok, its working. A couple days ago, I find out that 80% of the stuff in the freezer defrosted.
Anyone know what happened here? I'm thinking about setting the fridge to its normal settings and have the control unit work from there...it may not be accurate but I'll find out what settings keep things at what...
What do you guys thinK?
Also, in case I need to buy another fridge, anyone know a great fridge for temp controlling purposes? Thanks

 

[Bernie Brewer]

When using a temp control unit, you set the FRIDGE on the coldest setting, not the temp unit. You set that on whatever temp you want your fridge to be at. I don't know if that'll solve your freezer problem, though. I'm not sure any freezer compartment would work properly when using a separate temp control. I never tried it, I always used a chest freezer, not a fridge. Can anybody else out there answer that part???

 

[Somerville]

Yeah, perhaps I need to play around with the settings until I get the fridge freezing...

 

[Spyk'd]

Good advice as far as the fridge....keep it at its upper range. You need to decide what you are doing with the freezer compartment, tho, and "dial that in" to your needs. I've seen people store "cold" beer in the freezer and lager in the fridge....so, you need to know what you want first!

 

[Somerville]

so, you need to know what you want first!

Keep things frozen!

 

[Mikey]

Yeah, perhaps I need to play around with the settings until I get the fridge freezing...

I think you've gotten confused over what a controller can, and cannot do.

It cannot make the fridge/freezer go any colder than without a controller. If your fridge cannot freeze things without a contoller, you're wasting your time.

It can control one side (fridge or freezer) , but not both. You have to choose which one.

If your goal is to keep the fridge at (say) 50*F, then you can expect the freezer side to go above freezing and everything there will melt.

It won't matter which fridge you choose, they all work the same.

 

[david_42]

When you build a kegger, don't expect the freezing compartment to be usable. If the fridge is a manual defrost, it probably will be cold enough to keep things frozen. Mine is and it builds up nice thick layers of ice I have to remove every couple months. A frost-free unit is a totally different arrangement and the freezer probably won't be cold enough.

Put the control in the fridge side, set the temperature where you want it and accept that the freezer may or may not keep things frozen.

 

[Spyk'd]

I think you've gotten confused over what a controller can, and cannot do.

It cannot make the fridge/freezer go any colder than without a controller. If your fridge cannot freeze things without a contoller, you're wasting your time.

It can control one side (fridge or freezer) , but not both. You have to choose which one.

If your goal is to keep the fridge at (say) 50*F, then you can expect the freezer side to go above freezing and everything there will melt.

It won't matter which fridge you choose, they all work the same.

This is what I was getting at when I said you have to know what you want. Controllers allow you to set your fridge at warmer temperatures than the internal thermostat will allow.

Say you want to hold the fridge at 65 degrees for lagering a certain yeast. That's safe to say that it's about 10 degrees warmer than a normal fridge. It's also safe to say that the freezer compartment will also be running 10 degrees warmer, making it somewhere to store beer that you want to keep cooler than your lagering temp or extra yeast, etc.

I've seen people use the freezer compartment this way. It will not, however, work as a freezer.

 

[Somerville]

Ah I see, so there's constantly going to be an energy trade off between the lower compartment and the upper compartment(freezer).

Though, if it is a fridge with a manual defrost (one that builds up layers of ice), it may have the ability to stay frozen and keep things frozen...

I'm going to play around with the settings and see if I can achieve a balance.

I'm wondering, how come when you attach a temp controller you need to put the fridge on its highest setting?

 

[Spyk'd]

Because the controller works by simply cutting off power to the entire unit to make sure it doesn't get too cold. Therefore, when it clicks on, it needs the cooling again and you want to give it as much cold as you can, as quickly as you can when it's asking for it to maintain an even temperature.

That is the type of controller you have correct? A probe that goes into the fridge and you plug the cord from the fridge into the controller and the controller into the wall?

If so, this is the how and why of it.

 

[Somerville]

Yeah, its analog. Ok, I see...thanks for the info guys

 

[Bernie Brewer]

.

I'm wondering, how come when you attach a temp controller you need to put the fridge on its highest setting?

Set the fridge as cold as you can. That way the controller is able to do it's job.

 

[gnef]

if you don't, the fridge may think it is cold enough, and cut itself off. this will essentially nullify the use of any temperature control unit...

also, i think it could be possbile, but more complicated, and more expensive, to have a temperature controller with two inputs and two relays. one temperature probe in each side, and one relay to the refrigerator, and the second to a fan between the freezer portion and the fridge portion. you could program it to keep both parts the exact temperature you wanted each compartment to be. again, this would be a somewhat hefty investment, and probably not worth it... haha. but it could be fun.