Kegorater Temperature Sensor

[BruinsFan1975]

Hi, I purchased a Nostalgia KRS2150 Kegorater about 3 years ago and recently I started having new problems with beer foam. After spending months troubleshooting my beer foam, I decided to purchase a wireless thermometer and to my surprise, the temperature varies from 14°F to 60°F where the knob is set to be approximately 40°F.

To further test that the temperature reading was correct, after my last keg, I put some bottles of water into the fridge - and truth be told - they were frozen before the end of the day.

I called Nostalgia today and they informed me that they do not sell any replacement parts to the actual refrigeration unit since it's white labeled from a Chinese manufacturer. My warranty is also expired as it's been past the initial year.

So given that the compressor works, my gut feeling is that the temperature sensor or the controller is malfunctioning and turning on the compressor when it shouldn't. Does anyone have experience in troubleshooting this further or replacing the sensor and/or the controller?

 

[microbusbrewery]

If it were me, I'd build a cheap digital controller like the STC-1000 and use it to control the kegorater. Just turn the dial to the coldest setting and connect it to the STC. The STC will cut power to the kegorater when it reaches your set temp.

 

[BruinsFan1975]

That sounds brilliant! I see a lot of documentation on the STC-1000 online, would you be able to recommend any guide in specific?

 

[microbusbrewery]

I think this is the original thread, but there are tons of build examples out there: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=330427. It is a dual stage controller, so it can control both heating and cooling. For a kegerator most people are only interested in the cooling.

There's also several controllers from Inkbird if you'd prefer not to build it yourself. Here's an example, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011296704/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[BruinsFan1975]

If it were me, I'd build a cheap digital controller like the STC-1000 and use it to control the kegorater. Just turn the dial to the coldest setting and connect it to the STC. The STC will cut power to the kegorater when it reaches your set temp.

Reading more into this, is your suggestion to plug the entire kegerator as-is into the power outlet of the STC-1000? Or to rig something in line with the current temp controller?

 

[douglasbarbin]

It may help to put a fan in the kegerator to help circulate the air.

 

[jabba11]

It may help to put a fan in the kegerator to help circulate the air.

from what you've indicated I would suggest this as well. The temp in a small fridge like this is gonna swing even with an STC attached. I have a keezer and the stc cools it to temp and shuts off. The keezer continues to cool below the set temp because the walls are cold, then it begins to rise again. A fan in there helps with the fluctuation because its continually mixing the air (leave it so it runs all the time fyi). I hope that makes sense

 

[jabba11]

also check you lines for leaks ID say. Did you recently take anything apart to clean etc? Any place air can get in? Also I'm not saying putting a controller on it wont help. Just giving some other thigns to consider. If it was working fine before but isn't now something changed obviously so looking for all potential issues you can fix without spending money should come first id say. Are you carbing your beer different. Suddenly making a new kind of beer you hadn't before? etc etc

 

[BruinsFan1975]

Would a tower cooler like this one (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZPJ9X0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) also circulate air within the mini fridge? Or would I need to buy two?

 

[BruinsFan1975]

also check you lines for leaks ID say. Did you recently take anything apart to clean etc? Any place air can get in? Also I'm not saying putting a controller on it wont help. Just giving some other thigns to consider. If it was working fine before but isn't now something changed obviously so looking for all potential issues you can fix without spending money should come first id say. Are you carbing your beer different. Suddenly making a new kind of beer you hadn't before? etc etc

Everything else has pretty much remained static, I think the challenge was that the beer was freezing due to the fridge swinging well below freezing temps (14 degrees F)

 

[douglasbarbin]

Would a tower cooler like this one (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZPJ9X0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) also circulate air within the mini fridge? Or would I need to buy two?

I think it would help somewhat. Those coolers suck cold air from the bottom of the refrigerator and blow it into the tower at the top. So the air is being circulated to some degree with those. Those tower coolers are mostly to help with foamy pours, but I think it would improve your situation as well. Worst case scenario, if you get one of those and it doesn't work, just add a cheap computer fan to blow air around the refrigerator as well.

 

[jabba11]

try the fan. Most people use a computer fan. You can get one on amazon cheap or if you have an old computer and a phone charger you can make one yourself from the parts

 

[laredo7mm]

...I decided to purchase a wireless thermometer and to my surprise, the temperature varies from 14°F to 60°F where the knob is set to be approximately 40°F...

That has to be the air temp, right? As jabba11 mentioned, you will still see fluctuations even when using an STC-1000. I built my own refrigerated kegerator/fermentation chamber not too long ago and my air temp in the fridge will range from 21° to 45° when not running the fermentation chamber, but the 16 oz bottle of water I have a temp probe in only fluctuates from 38.6 to 40.0.

The temp swings are going to be driven by the dead band on the temp controller. Who knows what it is set at from the factory.

 

[BruinsFan1975]

That has to be the air temp, right? As jabba11 mentioned, you will still see fluctuations even when using an STC-1000. I built my own refrigerated kegerator/fermentation chamber not too long ago and my air temp in the fridge will range from 21° to 45° when not running the fermentation chamber, but the 16 oz bottle of water I have a temp probe in only fluctuates from 38.6 to 40.0.

The temp swings are going to be driven by the dead band on the temp controller. Who knows what it is set at from the factory.

That's a very good point. I am measuring the air temp right now, but I have also had my water bottles freeze in the fridge, so there is definitely something off.

Would you recommend putting the temperature probe from the STC-1000 into a bottle of water?

 

[douglasbarbin]

That's a very good point. I am measuring the air temp right now, but I have also had my water bottles freeze in the fridge, so there is definitely something off.

Would you recommend putting the temperature probe from the STC-1000 into a bottle of water?

That will prevent the large swings in temperature as far as the reading on the probe is concerned, but it won't address the fact that you have very warm and very cold spots in the kegerator. It could actually make things worse. If you have the water bottle and the probe in a warm area of the kegerator, and your beer is in a colder area, then the temperature controller is going to cycle on too frequently and you will end up freezing your beer. The inverse is also true; if you have the probe in a cold area and your beer is in a warmer area, then the temperature controller is going to shut off too soon and your beer will be too warm.

 

[BruinsFan1975]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and support!

I have just ordered an Inkbird controller, a 120mm fan with 66 CFM and a tower cooler fan. Fingers crossed that these three things will fix the issue. They will be arriving tomorrow and I'll keep everyone posted as I install these and try it out!

 

[jabba11]

theres nothing sadder in the world...than a broke kegerator..

 

[BruinsFan1975]

Huge thanks to everyone in this thread for helping me out. I am back up and running with my beer flowing smoothly at a consistent temperature and the expected amount of head!

Pictures of my new setup below!

Inkbird Itc-308 Digital Temperature Controller (via the link that microbusbrewery provided)

Fan for circulating air within the kegerator. I made a mistake on this one as I was looking for a 12v fan (per all recommendations) and although this came up in my Amazon search results for "12v fan", it was actually a 12cm fan. It also threw me off that it claims 66 CFM because it doesn't seem that strong. Anyways, it works for now and I might swap it for something more powerful in the future. (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002OJN250/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20)

For the Tower Cooler I found this one on Amazon, the Coldtower Kegerator Super Tower Cooler (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KC070SI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) and although it works great, I was a little put off by a bribe letter that came in the package saying that if I leave a 5 star review, they will refund $10 of the purchase.

A little hard to tell in this picture, but the tower has condensation on it when the tower fan is on

I wasn't quite sure where to put the temperature probe (black wire) from the Inkbird, so I put it half way up and hung it over the wireless thermometer (white box) that I purchased originally to help troubleshoot the problem.

As you can see here with the wireless thermometer, although it disagrees from the Inkbird by a few degrees, the swing in temperature has only been 3 degrees over the past several days (as opposed to swings of 36 degrees before I asked for help here).

 

[douglasbarbin]

Glad to see that it is working for you!

 

[chevyboy069]

Bruinsfan, do you still have your coldtower? I have a couple questions