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JayMac

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2012
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Location
Guelph
Hey guys,

I started building my keezer last week, and it's nearly completion.

So far, I've built the base w/ castors, the collar (stained and varnished), spray painted the fridge, drilled the holes for the shanks, attached the freezer lid to the collar, attached weather stripping to the collar and spliced the electrical cords (weren't long enough to allow for the 6" collar raise)

Basically, all that I have left to do is to insulate the lid/collar, and then bolt the hinges to the collar. I have the temperature controller essentially completely wired, I just need to get a project box to put it in and feed the extension cord wires in.

So that brings you basically up to speed. But I have a few questions:
1. I have a light that was integrated into the inside of the lid for the freezer. I ripped off this plastic covering, which housed the light, and kept all of the electrical underneath in tact. My only problem, is that I can't quite figure out what triggers the light to turn on and off. I've tried closing the lid to see if it was hinge activated, and no luck. I can't find a switch that the lid would activate upon closing. The only reason why I'm worrying so much is that these light bulbs can give off quite a bit of heat, and I just don't want to have my freezer cycling on and off an unnecessary amount just for the luxury of having the keezer light up when its opened.

What do you think? any ideas? should I just bite the bullet and keep the light (i.e. have you found having a light be very helpful)

2. I'm not sure how I should feed my temperature probe in. At first, I though I would drill a hole into the project box, and another through the wood, and feed the probe through there so that it wouldn't be seen on the outside, but that introduces the problem of moisture entering the project box as cold air might escape (however, this amount may be extremely significant... the hole would probably be smaller than 1/8").

3. would you recommend cutting the holes in the insulation the same size as the shank? or slightly larger so the nut can hug the collar instead of the insulation. The same question applies for the nuts that will be on the bolts for the lid and temperature controller

4. I stupidly didn't wipe down my collar near the joints well enough when gluing it together, so when I stained, there were areas near the joins where the stain couldn't bind. This makes the joints stick out like sore thumbs, and its getting on my nerves. Can I just sand down these areas and re stain? What do you suggest?

Lastly, any tips for properly attaching the hinges? My collar isn't perfectly square :(, so the back right edge sticks out a little farther than the freezer bottom, but I think I can get passed that. Just wondering if anyone made any mistakes at this point that I could potentially avoid!

Thanks for your help!
Jay
 
I would just unscrew the bulb a couple turns till it doesn't come on anymore.
My temp prob goes through the collar, just dabbed some caulk around the hole on the inside of the collar to seal it.
I cut the insulation holes larger so the nut can tighten right against the collar on the shank. Tried it against the foam, was too loose.
Don't see how re-sanding & staining could hurt anything if it's bothering you.
As far as the hinge, I would line up the collar so its flush along the back and your hinges line up correctly. The one corner will stick out a little in front, but when its all said & done I doubt anyone besides you will notice.....
 
I would just unscrew the bulb a couple turns till it doesn't come on anymore.
My temp prob goes through the collar, just dabbed some caulk around the hole on the inside of the collar to seal it.
I cut the insulation holes larger so the nut can tighten right against the collar on the shank. Tried it against the foam, was too loose.
Don't see how re-sanding & staining could hurt anything if it's bothering you.
As far as the hinge, I would line up the collar so its flush along the back and your hinges line up correctly. The one corner will stick out a little in front, but when its all said & done I doubt anyone besides you will notice.....

Thanks for the input! I guess if I go with the caulking of the drilled hole then I could feed it through the project box in order to conseal it.
 
Well, Everything worked out so far!

I'm still waiting on my project enclosure. It's impossible to find one of an appropriate size here in Canada, so I gotta hop over the border and stop by radioshack sometime this week.

Other than that, the keezer is essentially functional. I'm having problem with the light, however. It seems that the light only turns on when I press it against the insulation (essentially sideways). At about 60 degrees it flickers, and only once its 90 degrees and pressing into the insulation does it fully turn on. Very odd.

Lastly, I've researched ways to attach my 19" SS driptray, which is actually quite heavy. This has made me move away form magnets, as I feel they would need to be quite large to even hold the weight of the tray. Additionally, it would be nice to allow a pint to rest on the tray, so I'm thinking of using an epoxy adhesive to strong SS L-brackets. Then, the typical velcro attach/detach method.

To those have tried both methods: which do you prefer? I have no desire to change this back into a working chest freezer, so having the brackets attached permanantly does not worry me. This is the epoxy I'm looking to get: http://www.homedepot.ca/product/appliance-epoxy-black/979902
 
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