Keg not cooling as cold as "test" glass of water

[clairecunn83]

Noob kegger, here....

I've had a keg of beer in my kegerator for close to two weeks now. This is a new Edgestar KC2000 dual tap. I also have a half-full glass of water in there with the keg as a comparison "tool." The glass of water is much cooler than the beer coming out of my keg . What's up with this? Is this normal? It seems as if the keg is acting as an insulator, or something. Thoughts?

Thanks for your help!

 

[hunter_le five]

It's likely that you are experiencing temperature stratification. Cool air sinks, warm air rises. The air and the bottom of the kegerator is warmer than that at the top.

Consequently, the beer warms as it leaves the cool keg and enters the much warmer beer lines/shank/faucet.

Do you have a temperature reading for the water glass vs the freshly-poured glass of beer?

Usually the fix for this is to find a way to circulate air inside the kegerator and up into the faucet tower - ex, a small PC fan.

Edit: Alternatively, you can try turning the temperature of the kegerator down to compensate. But be careful not to freeze the beer, and you will need to adjust the pressure as well if you change the temp.

 

[dnslater]

I agree. Almost certainly your issue. I just built a kegerator and when crammed full, the top was almost 12 degrees warmer than the bottom. This caused my lines to get foamy. I added a 15$ pc fan to blow air up from the bottom and it solved my issue.

 

[clairecunn83]

It's likely that you are experiencing temperature stratification. Cool air sinks, warm air rises. The air and the bottom of the kegerator is warmer than that at the top.

Consequently, the beer warms as it leaves the cool keg and enters the much warmer beer lines/shank/faucet.

Do you have a temperature reading for the water glass vs the freshly-poured glass of beer?

Usually the fix for this is to find a way to circulate air inside the kegerator and up into the faucet tower - ex, a small PC fan.

Edit: Alternatively, you can try turning the temperature of the kegerator down to compensate. But be careful not to freeze the beer, and you will need to adjust the pressure as well if you change the temp.

Kegerator is already down at lowest setting. The water glass is super cold, but not frozen. I don't have a temp reading because I currently don't have the proper thermometer for that.

Thank you! I will try the fan route pronto! Can buy at Home Depot, I'm assuming?

Also...from New Braunfels?! Hi neighbor! Is it possible we know each other?

 

[hunter_le five]

Kegerator is already down at lowest setting. The water glass is super cold, but not frozen. I don't have a temp reading because I currently don't have the proper thermometer for that.

Thank you! I will try the fan route pronto! Can buy at Home Depot, I'm assuming?

Also...from New Braunfels?! Hi neighbor! Is it possible we know each other?

I think I picked one up from best buy or RadioShack. Not sure what kind of options Home Depot has. Doesn't need to be anything expensive or fancy.

Yup, right up the road from you. Always good to see another Texan around here. Not sure I know any Claires, but my memory is horrible.

 

[clairecunn83]

Doh...I meant Office Depot, by my fingers typed otherwise ;-)

Yes, nice to e-meet you, neighbor! And thanks for the help. Can't wait to see if it helps.

 

[eatmorefrogs]

I picked up this fan from walmart for something like $5-$10. Thing runs like a champ, 24/7 for just short of two years now. Fairly run-of-the-mill desk fan.

 

[TahoeBBA]

I have the same keg and have the same problem. I just have the fan sitting on the ledge in the back. Should I have it somewhere else?

Also I had to replace the thermostat because the temperature wouldn't change and just stuck at 32 degrees now with the new one I have 1 keg and 1 gallon jug cold crashing and I need to have the thermostat almost turn off or it would be to cold. Anyone have this problem?

 

[clairecunn83]

I picked up this fan from walmart for something like $5-$10. Thing runs like a champ, 24/7 for just short of two years now. Fairly run-of-the-mill desk fan.

Awesome.

Question: I don't have an access for an electrical cord to leave the inside of the kegerator w/o having to drill a hole. Do they make battery powered fans, and will they operate at those cool temps? Is my only option to drill a hole for a plug-in fan?

 

[Newsman]

Awesome.

Question: I don't have an access for an electrical cord to leave the inside of the kegerator w/o having to drill a hole. Do they make battery powered fans, and will they operate at those cool temps? Is my only option to drill a hole for a plug-in fan?

Get a small, flat extension cords and run it between the door seal and the body of the kegerator. You should probably plug it into a GFCI outlet, "just in case."

 

[burninator]

Would a large computer fan accomplish the same thing, in this case? You could hard wire one and run the cord out through the lid without breaking the seal. It's a common solution for circulation in humidors.

 

[clairecunn83]

Would a large computer fan accomplish the same thing, in this case? You could hard wire one and run the cord out through the lid without breaking the seal. It's a common solution for circulation in humidors.

I'm an electrical dumby . I can't imagine hard-wiring anything. I think I'd rather drill a hole than attempt that.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I'm an electrical dumby . I can't imagine hard-wiring anything. I think I'd rather drill a hole than attempt that.

Wiring a PC fan is crazy simple. One red wire, one black wire. Get a cheap wall adapter rated for 12V output from a thrift store, cut the end off and expose the wires a bit. Touch the adapter wires to the fan wires. If it doesn't work switch the wires.. Easy Peasy.

 

[TahoeBBA]

I ran my AC adapter wire through the CO2 line hole.

 

[clairecunn83]

I ran my AC adapter wire through the CO2 line hole.

We have the same kegerator, right? Edgestar KC2000?

 

[hunter_le five]

Wiring a PC fan is crazy simple. One red wire, one black wire. Get a cheap wall adapter rated for 12V output from a thrift store, cut the end off and expose the wires a bit. Touch the adapter wires to the fan wires. If it doesn't work switch the wires.. Easy Peasy.

This. If I can figure it out, anyone can.

I bought a cheap 12v cell phone charger, cut off the end, separated the two wires, and attached them to the PC fan. Presto. If the fan doesn't go, just flip the wires around and try again. There are only two wires to attach to two other wires, so It's pretty hard to screw up. Wrap some electrical tape around where you connected the wires and you're finished.

And they're thin enough that you can run them right through the door seal and affect anything. If you have an external CO2 setup, just run them through where the CO2 line comes in.

 

[clairecunn83]

This. If I can figure it out, anyone can.

I bought a cheap 12v cell phone charger, cut off the end, separated the two wires, and attached them to the PC fan. Presto. If the fan doesn't go, just flip the wires around and try again. There are only two wires to attach to two other wires, so It's pretty hard to screw up. Wrap some electrical tape around where you connected the wires and you're finished.

And they're thin enough that you can run them right through the door seal and affect anything. If you have an external CO2 setup, just run them through where the CO2 line comes in.

OK...I can do that! Are ALL cell phone wall adapters 12v capable? I have some extras of those sitting around the house. Sorry for the ignorance; I don't even know if I'm using the right jargon :cross:

 

[TahoeBBA]

We have the same kegerator, right? Edgestar KC2000?

Yes

 

[hunter_le five]

No idea. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

The only way I know to tell for sure is if it is labelled (they usually are). See if there's anything on there that says "12v".

 

[burninator]

OK...I can do that! Are ALL cell phone wall adapters 12v capable? I have some extras of those sitting around the house. Sorry for the ignorance; I don't even know if I'm using the right jargon :cross:

They're usually labeled.

 

[clairecunn83]

I just found this. This dude's video is incredibly verbose, but it's worth posting for a visual "how-to." Thanks for all your help, HBT!!!

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkJ0AD59EYw[/ame]

 

[dnslater]

If you don't want to do wiring, you could go with a small AC fan. I bought this one.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009OXTWZI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The power cord is detachable and will go through a 1/2" hole.

Also, FYI, I installed the fan yesterday. Prior to that I had my fridge on the lowest setting, and the bottom was 38, while the top was 50. With the increased circulation the temp at the top was brought down to 32, so I had to set my fridge warmer.

 

[clairecunn83]

Great news! Can't wait to see how a fan does in mine...

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

OK...I can do that! Are ALL cell phone wall adapters 12v capable? I have some extras of those sitting around the house. Sorry for the ignorance; I don't even know if I'm using the right jargon :cross:

No. But they are all labeled. You want one that says Output: 12Vdc or some variation of that.

Some phone chargers are only 5vdc. Having output voltage lower than 12v will, most times, still work but the fan will run much slower.

 

[clairecunn83]

No. But they are all labeled. You want one that says Output: 12Vdc or some variation of that.

Some phone chargers are only 5vdc. Having output voltage lower than 12v will, most times, still work but the fan will run much slower.

I found an old Apple charger (It's big; I think for a laptop) that shows output of 12dvc (or whatever the acronym is). It's a USB line that goes into the box/plug part. I don't know if it'll work, but I went on ahead and cut off the end and stripped the coating...there were two wires in there. Going to give it a shot tonight when I buy the fan.

 

[TahoeBBA]

How did you position the fan in the fridge?

If you don't want to do wiring, you could go with a small AC fan. I bought this one.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009OXTWZI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The power cord is detachable and will go through a 1/2" hole.

Also, FYI, I installed the fan yesterday. Prior to that I had my fridge on the lowest setting, and the bottom was 38, while the top was 50. With the increased circulation the temp at the top was brought down to 32, so I had to set my fridge warmer.

 

[clairecunn83]

UPDATE- got the fan running! It did not work with the Apple 12v usb set-up, but I found another a 5v AC plugin around the house, and it work! I'll pick up a 12v plug in today so it will run at full speed. Woohoo! Thanks, guys!

 

[dnslater]

How did you position the fan in the fridge?

This looks very crude, but I glued together a small 3 sided box and taped the fan to the top, so the fan would suck in cool air from the bottom and push it to the top.

It sits behind the second keg. The hole for the power cord is behind the fan. The box is stuck down with Velcro for easy removal. The bolts are loose for now to hold the grill in place. Will install more permanently later.

 

[clairecunn83]

Fan has been in kegerator for 4 hours, and I just poured my first beer. What a difference!!! Finally, cold beer!

 

[hunter_le five]

Congration! You done it!