Help: Minifridge Has Poor Insulation

[yowbrewer]

Hi All!

In order to get kegs inside my minifridge I cut out the plastic molding on my mini-fridge door. I then replaced the remaining molding frame and gasket and put things back together. The minifridge is not holding temperature very well at all according to my measurements on Fermentrack (it looses 1deg/min and needs to run 10min for every hour to keep at 35)

When I measure the walls, all are at 35 - except the door which is at 60-70.

I've tried the following without success:
- Vapor barrier + pink insulation on the door
- Covering the above with Reflectix
- Caulking the gasket to the door

Do I need better insulation or am I missing something? Pics attached (it was sealed up before, just wanted to show the composition)

Thanks!
John

 

[Gruel]

Well, if the inner surface of the door is at 65F, then that is your problem. The white iscoyanurate foam is about twice as good an insulator as the pink or blue or white polystyrene foam, so I would put two inches of that on the inside of the door. Preventing air leaks is of course also very important. You can buy the polyisocyanurate foam with aluminum foil on both sides, which makes for a good vapor barrier, and a cleaner look.
Good luck.

For a more stable temperature measurement tape your sensor to a nice cold mass (bottle of water or beer; big chunk of aluminum or steel or copper). Of course then you have to wait longer.

 

[smata67]

You can also just take the door off and make a cover for the opening with the 1"-2" iso board. Attach the strip magnet that comes in coil form all the way around to make a seal. These usually come as self adhesive, but that won't work. Glue it down with Shoe Goo.

 

[Gruel]

I think the money you pay for a fridge is mostly to get a working door... I'd keep the door, and add insulation, but that is obviously just my personal opinion.