I luckily got my hands on a used Frigidaire upright freezer (12.1 cubic feet) on CL, and I'm planning on using it as a fermentation chamber for my conical.
After studying the fridge conversion guide on the BrewPi website, I'm ready to embark on my own build. I'm using a Particle (formerly Spark) micro controller with a few temperature probes and two relays to control the fermentation temperature. (photos and source code coming soon)
Admittedly, I have only limited experience with electric circuits, so I hope somebody on this forum is willing to help out and confirm that my freezer modding plans are okay. I'm also open to advice.
I attached a picture of the wiring diagram. As far as I can tell, my unit doesn't have the ice maker.
First, the "Cold Control" unit will be replaced by the relay which allows the micro controller to turn the fridge on and off. I'd like to remove the "Timer" and solder the blue (E) wire directly to the yellow (C) wire. The "Defroster Thermostat" and "Defroster Heater" is not needed (and won't be connected any longer) so I'll remove it. I'm not sure what the neutral (B) wire is connected to in the "Timer". I assume this will also not be needed given that the whole "Timer" assembly is pretty much turned into a single "always on" connection. Any thoughts?
Secondly, the "Alarm" circuit shown at the bottom of the diagram can probably be removed as well, as it doesn't seem to make sense to have for the fermentation chamber. Removing the "Alarm Sensor" should probably do the trick. Any concerns?
I'll take lots of pictures during the build, and I'll certainly share my experience here in the forum. (I'm located in Northern NJ, in case somebody is interested in getting their hands dirty.)
Thanks for your input in advance.
After studying the fridge conversion guide on the BrewPi website, I'm ready to embark on my own build. I'm using a Particle (formerly Spark) micro controller with a few temperature probes and two relays to control the fermentation temperature. (photos and source code coming soon)
Admittedly, I have only limited experience with electric circuits, so I hope somebody on this forum is willing to help out and confirm that my freezer modding plans are okay. I'm also open to advice.
I attached a picture of the wiring diagram. As far as I can tell, my unit doesn't have the ice maker.
First, the "Cold Control" unit will be replaced by the relay which allows the micro controller to turn the fridge on and off. I'd like to remove the "Timer" and solder the blue (E) wire directly to the yellow (C) wire. The "Defroster Thermostat" and "Defroster Heater" is not needed (and won't be connected any longer) so I'll remove it. I'm not sure what the neutral (B) wire is connected to in the "Timer". I assume this will also not be needed given that the whole "Timer" assembly is pretty much turned into a single "always on" connection. Any thoughts?
Secondly, the "Alarm" circuit shown at the bottom of the diagram can probably be removed as well, as it doesn't seem to make sense to have for the fermentation chamber. Removing the "Alarm Sensor" should probably do the trick. Any concerns?
I'll take lots of pictures during the build, and I'll certainly share my experience here in the forum. (I'm located in Northern NJ, in case somebody is interested in getting their hands dirty.)
Thanks for your input in advance.
