just got a SWEET deal on a BIG commercial upright freezer off of craigslist! very new, very clean, very cold, holds 6 cornys easy, for $150! it's a bit bigger than i wanted, especially because space is tight in the kitchen and there are smaller upright freezers that will hold 6 kegs, but it's quality, so it's gonna last a long time.
my question concerns how i'm going to plumb the gas in. i was thinking i'd simply drill a hole somewhere along the back or side, maybe try to do something fancy with using barbs and such, but there is already an almost perfect spot for it. there is a drain of some sort on the bottom of the freezer right in the middle along the back wall. the size is perfect for 5/16" gas line to fit very tight, but still fit. the only problem is that this drain leads to a small black hose that in turn dumps into a little black plastic dish in front of the compressor. also running into this dish is a small copper pipe that starts at the compressor, coils inside the dish just like a chiller or a HERMS coil, and then runs up into the freezer somewhere. my best guess for what this could be is a system that uses the water from the defrost cycle to not only help cool the compressor but also to help evaporate the defrost water faster so that you don't end up with a puddle on your floor. pretty ingenious if that's what it's for. what i want to know is can i take this "off line" by stuffing the drain hole with gas line? given that i don't need a defrost cycle because i'll have my thermostat controller keeping everything at about 38F, my only concern is that now i've taken away the cooling capacity of the compressor, but without a freeze cycle there is no thaw cycle and thus no water anyway! all of this of course hinges on my hypothesis regarding the mysterious black plastic dish. looking forward to hearing what you guys think this is, and also looking forward to hearing your made up stories about what it could be for!
my question concerns how i'm going to plumb the gas in. i was thinking i'd simply drill a hole somewhere along the back or side, maybe try to do something fancy with using barbs and such, but there is already an almost perfect spot for it. there is a drain of some sort on the bottom of the freezer right in the middle along the back wall. the size is perfect for 5/16" gas line to fit very tight, but still fit. the only problem is that this drain leads to a small black hose that in turn dumps into a little black plastic dish in front of the compressor. also running into this dish is a small copper pipe that starts at the compressor, coils inside the dish just like a chiller or a HERMS coil, and then runs up into the freezer somewhere. my best guess for what this could be is a system that uses the water from the defrost cycle to not only help cool the compressor but also to help evaporate the defrost water faster so that you don't end up with a puddle on your floor. pretty ingenious if that's what it's for. what i want to know is can i take this "off line" by stuffing the drain hole with gas line? given that i don't need a defrost cycle because i'll have my thermostat controller keeping everything at about 38F, my only concern is that now i've taken away the cooling capacity of the compressor, but without a freeze cycle there is no thaw cycle and thus no water anyway! all of this of course hinges on my hypothesis regarding the mysterious black plastic dish. looking forward to hearing what you guys think this is, and also looking forward to hearing your made up stories about what it could be for!