Hole drilling experience with Magic Chef 4.4 Freezerless

[renstyle]

Was looking at this unit at the adult toy shop ;-)

Magic Chef 4.4 Freezerless

I wanna snag one of these to use as a FC.

Anybody have tips on where a good spot on the back that would be to drill a hole to accomodate the temp probe from an InkBird ITC-308?

Further down the line also interested in making a 2nd unit a kegerator, same question for running the gas line to an external tank.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, the Use and Care Guide (a pdf) has this to say about the control of this unit:

"NOTE: If the unit is unplugged, loses power, you must wait 3 to 5 minutes before restarting the unit. If you attempt to restart before this time delay, the refrigerator will not start."

Practically speaking this isn't a show-stopper wrt using external control of the line cord, as long as said controller has its Short-Cycle Delay set to at least five minutes (and even longer is better).

Anyway, for drilling through, the installation section of that guide recommends 5" minimum spacing to the back and sides, which may indicate the condenser is under the exterior skin on three sides. If true, it may be safest to find a spot through the floor...

Cheers!

 

[renstyle]

fwiw, the Use and Care Guide (a pdf) has this to say about the control of this unit:

"NOTE: If the unit is unplugged, loses power, you must wait 3 to 5 minutes before restarting the unit. If you attempt to restart before this time delay, the refrigerator will not start."

Practically speaking this isn't a show-stopper wrt using external control of the line cord, as long as said controller has its Short-Cycle Delay set to at least five minutes (and even longer is better).

Anyway, for drilling through, the installation section of that guide recommends 5" minimum spacing to the back and sides, which may indicate the condenser is under the exterior skin on three sides. If true, it may be safest to find a spot through the floor...

Cheers!

I perused the manual, but missed the 5" minimum spacing back/sides, tho I did see the 3-5 min short cycle on the termostat. Good eye!

I'll keep that in mind. I figured I'd be able to get at the compressor compartment/hump from the rear, and run my probe thru a hole there.

Prolly same for the gas line on a kegerator version. The 5-inch spacing would actually accommodate a 10lb CO2 tank pretty well.

 

[johndan]

Thanks for this--I'd also missed this note in the manual.

fwiw, the Use and Care Guide (a pdf) has this to say about the control of this unit:

"NOTE: If the unit is unplugged, loses power, you must wait 3 to 5 minutes before restarting the unit. If you attempt to restart before this time delay, the refrigerator will not start."

Practically speaking this isn't a show-stopper wrt using external control of the line cord, as long as said controller has its Short-Cycle Delay set to at least five minutes (and even longer is better).

Anyway, for drilling through, the installation section of that guide recommends 5" minimum spacing to the back and sides, which may indicate the condenser is under the exterior skin on three sides. If true, it may be safest to find a spot through the floor...

Cheers!

 

[jmika003]

fwiw, the Use and Care Guide (a pdf) has this to say about the control of this unit:

"NOTE: If the unit is unplugged, loses power, you must wait 3 to 5 minutes before restarting the unit. If you attempt to restart before this time delay, the refrigerator will not start."

Practically speaking this isn't a show-stopper wrt using external control of the line cord, as long as said controller has its Short-Cycle Delay set to at least five minutes (and even longer is better).

I was considering this fridge for my own chamber build, but this comment threw me a bit. Would it be better to try and find a fridge that doesn't have the 3-5 min (or similar) delay, or would this one be fine provided that the temp controller is able to handle it via short cycle delay?

If it's better to find a different fridge, are there any good suggestions out there?

Thanks!

 

[day_trippr]

I don't think this behavior is a show-stopper. The controller (eg: an Inkbird) remains powered and knows when to turn on the power to the fridge, which will just delay the turn-on for those 3-5 minutes until its internal short-cycle-delay circuit times out. The controller won't know about that, but it doesn't care...


Cheers!

 

[jmika003]

I don't think this behavior is a show-stopper. The controller (eg: an Inkbird) remains powered and knows when to turn on the power to the fridge, which will just delay the turn-on for those 3-5 minutes until its internal short-cycle-delay circuit times out. The controller won't know about that, but it doesn't care...


Cheers!

Gotcha, thanks!

 

[jseyfert3]

Do you happen to have access to a thermal camera you could borrow quickly? A thermal camera would show hidden evaporator and condenser lines when the fridge is running, and should let you fairly safely be able to drill a hole.

I was considering this fridge for my own chamber build, but this comment threw me a bit. Would it be better to try and find a fridge that doesn't have the 3-5 min (or similar) delay, or would this one be fine provided that the temp contr

Note that this behavior is not limited to this fridge. The compressor not being able to restart for a couple minutes after it shuts off is nearly universal behavior for small compressor refrigeration cycles as far as I'm aware. I've seen this happen on full size fridges, chest freezers, and window ACs that I've unplugged and tried to plug back in shortly afterwards.

Heck even central AC units I've had have restart delays, only it's handled by the unit itself or the furnace control board and not the thermostat (in my limited experience).

This is why the Inkbird IC-308 has a three minute compressor delay by default, adjustable from 1-10 minutes. My Northern Brewer controller which looks like a rebranded Inkbird is the same.

Bottom line is don't worry about trying to find a fridge without a restart delay, this is why the controller has a delay built in. Just keep it in the back of your mind the controller delay can be extended if needed.

 

[jmika003]

Was looking at this unit at the adult toy shop ;-)

Magic Chef 4.4 Freezerless

View attachment 695499View attachment 695500

I wanna snag one of these to use as a FC.

Anybody have tips on where a good spot on the back that would be to drill a hole to accomodate the temp probe from an InkBird ITC-308?

Further down the line also interested in making a 2nd unit a kegerator, same question for running the gas line to an external tank.

Did you end up buying this one? If so, would you be willing to take a few interior measurements for me (width/height/depth to compressor hump)?

Still thinking about the right fridge to start with. I'm thinking of picking up an Anvil 7.5G bucket fermenter and am trying to figure out my best bet for a fridge, given the extra width of the non-collapsible handles (16.5"). I know I'll need to build a collar, but want to get an idea of how much room I'd be starting with.

Cheers!

 

[Bobby_M]

I use two of these fridges for my ferm chambers and here are things you may want to know.

1. One of the units had the stock thermostat bottom out at 40F while the other one was 35F. Either way, I removed the thermostat covers, cut the two wires and wirenutted them together. I can now do whatever temp I want using the 308 controller, even make things freeze if I want to.

2. If you need to drill from probes.... First, you don't. I've run the temp probe and heat wrap electrical cord between the unit and door on the hinge side for years.
Later I drilled down into the back shelf down into the area where the compressor is. If you look up in the back cavity you can see where it's safest to drill. It's double wall with insulation foam in between.

3. For almost all fermenter types... 5/6 gallon glass carboys, 6/7 gallon Fermonster... you'll have to cut out all the plastic protrusions off the door. I was able to get a 6.5g glass carboy in there by hogging out a little door foam right at the point of the fermenter. I can also verify that an Anvil 4 gallon bucket will fit but just barely. I don't think a 7.5 gallon will.

 

[jmika003]

I use two of these fridges for my ferm chambers and here are things you may want to know.

1. One of the units had the stock thermostat bottom out at 40F while the other one was 35F. Either way, I removed the thermostat covers, cut the two wires and wirenutted them together. I can now do whatever temp I want using the 308 controller, even make things freeze if I want to.

2. If you need to drill from probes.... First, you don't. I've run the temp probe and heat wrap electrical cord between the unit and door on the hinge side for years.
Later I drilled down into the back shelf down into the area where the compressor is. If you look up in the back cavity you can see where it's safest to drill. It's double wall with insulation foam in between.

3. For almost all fermenter types... 5/6 gallon glass carboys, 6/7 gallon Fermonster... you'll have to cut out all the plastic protrusions off the door. I was able to get a 6.5g glass carboy in there by hogging out a little door foam right at the point of the fermenter. I can also verify that an Anvil 4 gallon bucket will fit but just barely. I don't think a 7.5 gallon will.

Thanks for all the great detail! I saw another thread where someone added a collar (different fridge) and then they were able to fit the 7.5G Anvil if they turned it...do you think a similar setup would work with this fridge?

 

[Where's my beer?]

1. One of the units had the stock thermostat bottom out at 40F while the other one was 35F. Either way, I removed the thermostat covers, cut the two wires and wirenutted them together. I can now do whatever temp I want using the 308 controller, even make things freeze if I want to.

I converted this exact unit around Thanksgiving. It had no issues getting things close to frozen and I went through 3 sixtels before I finally did freeze one (don't worry it was Michelob Amber Bock) after that she wouldn't cool below 40F. I let it sit unplugged for a day or two after which she fired up and ran fine. It even slightly froze the surface of a glass of water that had been sitting inside exposed to the circulating air from a muffin fan. I figured she was ready for another round so I slid another keg in the day before yesterday and now she's back to not cooling below 40. I got the dial at max 7 and it's plugged into a 308 with the SV at 35, yet still stuck right at 40.0 on the nose with the compressor running. My worry is that my fridge unit may have a defective cooling system. Or maybe I'm just impatient. I hope it's the latter but at least in this case 40 is better than 70.

Let me know what you think and thanks a bunch in advance.

Edit: I unplugged the muffin fan and now the temp is dropping. Instead of using a small computer fan I'm using an 18w High-Speed Axial fan that's got an airflow rating of 110 cfm... I'm gonna guess this jet turbine was forcing cold air out like crazy. I'll try it with a fan controller on low and see what that does.

 

[jseyfert3]

Edit: I unplugged the muffin fan and now the temp is dropping. Instead of using a small computer fan I'm using an 18w High-Speed Axial fan that's got an airflow rating of 110 cfm... I'm gonna guess this jet turbine was forcing cold air out like crazy. I'll try it with a fan controller on low and see what that does.

18 W means that it is putting 18 W of heat into the mini fridge when running. That is a ton of heat to add to a small fridge. This is probably the primary issue. The heat of the fan combined with the heat of cooling the keg was too much.

If you want a fan a low power computer fan is going to be a better option.

 

[Where's my beer?]

18 W means that it is putting 18 W of heat into the mini fridge when running. That is a ton of heat to add to a small fridge. This is probably the primary issue. The heat of the fan combined with the heat of cooling the keg was too much.

If you want a fan a low power computer fan is going to be a better option.

Honest to god, I did not even look at or consider the wattage of the fan when I bought it. Thanks for this bit of enlightenment. It's working great now.