Need fan for keezer...

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mongoose33

mongoose33

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EDITED: Great ideas in this thread, thank you! I ended up ordering this one and will report back after I've used it for a while.

https://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-Cooling-Ventilation-Projects/dp/B009OXTWZI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

*****************

I've been using an inexpensive fan in my keezer; when it works, it's fine. Problem is, I'm on the 3rd such fan.

I need another fan recommendation, something that won't stop working at 30-something degrees for an expended period.

Anyone have a recommendation for a decent, inexpensive fan off of amazon that will last more than a few weeks. Maybe a PC fan?
 
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You be better off with a bilge fan, it can handle the 37-40F temps no problem. Add a speed controller you are golden. Exactly what I have
 
Here is a video of my fan setup it's a bit lengthy when you look at all three videos but it gives you a good idea of how my system is set up. The bilge fan is a very good option and you can use the speed controller to adjust the amount of flow.


 
Carolina_Matt said:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-4-Metal-Fan-White/252124867

I got one of those at my local Walmart for $6. I liked that it already included a 6-foot cord, and it has feet so it's easy to stand up. It says 'out of stock' but my Walmart had like 100 of them.

It's only been 6 weeks though, so i can't say how long it will last.
Click to expand...

That's almost exactly the same model I have--in fact, I think it is the same. Same rubber feet on the bottom, same cage and everything. I hope yours lasts, but three of mine did not. :(
 
day_trippr said:
Well, I mean, it'd work fine for me as well, it's just a pricey little bastid :)
Click to expand...

It's not cheap, but if you consider that I already have $25 in three different fans that died, $17.99 doesn't seem all that unreasonable. Or even unreasonable at all.

It has ball bearings. An expected life of 67,000 hours. I don't have to buy a separate source of power for, say, a computer fan.

Three times I tossed a piece of junk fan in my keezer hoping it would work. Three times. Hopefully this is the last time.
 
"Fourth time's the charm" ;)

I dunno, just seems like bad luck. I've had an $8 120mm 12vdc pc case fan standing on my keezer hump since the winter of 2014 that shows no signs of dying any time soon. I am running it at 9V as there's no reason to run it any faster, maybe that's contributed to its longevity...

Cheers!
 
Is heat an issue with any of these fans? Planning my keezer build and plan to have fan for line cooling and one for circulation. Just curious if they really put off enough heat to affect the freezer performance.
 
Matt20971 said:
Is heat an issue with any of these fans? Planning my keezer build and plan to have fan for line cooling and one for circulation. Just curious if they really put off enough heat to affect the freezer performance.
Click to expand...

The one I bought uses 7 watts, which is very low. I've seen a few that are in the 20-watt range, which to me is too high. I have a seedling mat I wrap around a plastic fermenter to warm it--it's 18 watts. I don't want something producing that much heat in my keezer.
 
BeerBaron1985 said:
Here is a video of my fan setup it's a bit lengthy when you look at all three videos but it gives you a good idea of how my system is set up. The bilge fan is a very good option and you can use the speed controller to adjust the amount of flow.


Click to expand...


What type of potentiometer was used?

How was magnetic switch attached to freezer top?

Schematic wiring diagram of the bilge fan, magnetic switch, potentiometer and power source?

I really like this setup. Currently using PC muffin fans, but these tend to die quickly. I plan to go with the bilge fan setup then the muffin fans fail.

Thanks.
 
Tobor_8thMan said:
What type of potentiometer was used?

How was magnetic switch attached to freezer top?

Schematic wiring diagram of the bilge fan, magnetic switch, potentiometer and power source?

I really like this setup. Currently using PC muffin fans, but these tend to die quickly. I plan to go with the bilge fan setup then the muffin fans fail.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

This is the controller.

RioRand™ Upgraded 6V-90V... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F839VNQ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share


This is the fan. It connects to a 3" to 2" reducer.

Attwood 1733-4 Blower H20 Resist (White, 3-Inch) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001O0DE9E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dcUHDb61D45W9

Using this relay

E Support Car Relay 12v 40a Spdt 5pin Socket Pack of 5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RWY16R8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_Q4AuhSGCLjMqH

And magnetic switch

2Sets Magnetic Reed Switch Normally Open Closed NC NO Door Alarm Window Security https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0735BP1K4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_3L3teUolkJVGg


Magnetic switch and relay each have a normally open and normally closed terminal. Magnetic switch is held on lid by double sided tape. No screws. All grounds tied together to the negative power source bus. The concept is the magnetic switch has its common lug to power source positive, the other side to the normally open terminal feeding the SPDT coil positive. This means when the lid is closed, the NO lug is energized. This activates the SPDT relay

The SPDT relay has NO/NC terminals. The NC terminal feeds the leds positive, and the NO feeds the fan positive coming from the speed controller.

So the net function is lid open, light is on, lid closed, fan is on. Fan speed can be dialed in.

Hope this makes sense. My circuit diagram artwork would look very messy.
 
"Magnetic switch and relay each have a normally open and normally closed terminal."

When I look at the spdt relay coil (using the link provided) I see black, yellow, red, white and blue wires. Which wire is the normally open and normally closed wire?

"...feeding the SPDT coil positive". Which I believe is the white wire as this is the 12V DC (30) wire. Correct?
 
Tobor_8thMan said:
"Magnetic switch and relay each have a normally open and normally closed terminal."

When I look at the spdt relay coil (using the link provided) I see black, yellow, red, white and blue wires. Which wire is the normally open and normally closed wire?

"...feeding the SPDT coil positive". Which I believe is the white wire as this is the 12V DC (30) wire. Correct?
Click to expand...

87A is the NC yellow and 87 is the NO blue.

85 is black and coil ground and 86 is coil positive white. In reality these terminals can be reversed because polarity does not matter. I would suggest using what I state to make it easier for wire colors.

30 is the red wire, and is the constant power from your psu. the yellow wire goes to your positive of the LED light, and 87 blue goes to the input of the speed controller.

20190922_134030.jpg

20190922_134058.jpg

JERUAN-2-pairs-Magnetic-Reed-Switch-Normally-Open-or-Closed-NC-NO-Door-Alarm-Window-Security.jpg
 
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https://www.homebrewfinds.com/2014/...s-reducing-foam-with-a-recirculation-fan.html

I too recently found this while searching "draft balancing" and somehow I found this thread too...

Out of curiosity I set up 2 remote thermometers inside my antique fridge kegerator...one right next to the shanks (which happens to be fairly close to the iced up freezer compartment) and the other at the bottom of the fridge (between two kegs)...the air temp difference was astounding...35' at the bottom and 47 at the shanks.

I will be adding a fan and power is from the light fixture (will adjust the door light switch to be always on) and see how the temps change.

Do you think fan at the bottom blowing up or top blowing down or does it really matter? Will just moving the air in any direction stabilize temps at the lower end? I almost think putting the fan in the freezer section and point it down at the shank area?
 
odie said:
https://www.homebrewfinds.com/2014/...s-reducing-foam-with-a-recirculation-fan.html

Do you think fan at the bottom blowing up or top blowing down or does it really matter? Will just moving the air in any direction stabilize temps at the lower end? I almost think putting the fan in the freezer section and point it down at the shank area?
Click to expand...

I don't think it matters as much as total air movement. Just make sure that it's in a place that it will actually move air all around your kegerator.
 
IMG_6511.JPG
IMG_6512.JPG
IMG_6509.JPG

After a couple hours its now 28 on the bottom and 30 at the shanks [emoji33] and it’s only set at medium temperature
 
hold on...false alarm....I totally forgot to rig the door switch...the fan never ran with the door closed....

so what happened that caused the temps to change so radically??? well I did remove the drip tray immediately below the freezer section to allow the fan (which didn't actually run) move the air better...I guess that allowed enough cold air to cascade over the shanks to drop the temps significantly..

So I fixed the switch this morning and the fan is running now....I will see what the temps read when I get home...might even be colder

Also...maybe I could also run longer beer lines...coil up the middle sections with zip ties and place them in the freezer section? Both tidy up the spider web of hoses and also chill the beer more?
 
odie said:
hold on...false alarm....I totally forgot to rig the door switch...the fan never ran with the door closed....

so what happened that caused the temps to change so radically??? well I did remove the drip tray immediately below the freezer section to allow the fan (which didn't actually run) move the air better...I guess that allowed enough cold air to cascade over the shanks to drop the temps significantly..

So I fixed the switch this morning and the fan is running now....I will see what the temps read when I get home...might even be colder

Also...maybe I could also run longer beer lines...coil up the middle sections with zip ties and place them in the freezer section? Both tidy up the spider web of hoses and also chill the beer more?
Click to expand...

I don't think I'd coil the lines and put them in the freezer section. The temp at which beer freezes drops about .8 degrees Fahrenheit for every percent of ABV. So, with a 5% beer, the freezing temp is about 28 degrees. I set my glycol chiller at 28 because I never have beers at 5% or less...

It wouldn't be surprising for the beer in those coiled lines in the freezer compartment to freeze, so be aware of that.

In my keezer I have a remote thermometer on top of my kegs near the shanks; I also have an inkbird telling me the temp in the jar of water in which I place the temp probe. The difference between the two varies, sometimes as little as 2 degrees, as much as 6 or 7. This has eliminated almost all foam that was due to warm lines. The remaining foam is simply from cold beer going through a warm faucet and that faucet warming up the beer, producing foam. After about half a pint, that all cools down and pours well.

One other thing: that's the same type of fan I used in my keezer; I went through 3 of them before buying the muffin fan. If your fan dies--and my experience suggests it will--don't just get another.
 
that's just a small fan I already had to try out and see what it will do....but as I observed, the temps at the shanks evened out pretty good, apparently just from removing that tray. the shanks are just below the freezer section but the tray almost touches the door panel, well actually the tray appears to serve as a cold barrier as well, separating the freezer section from the warmer fridge area...even though it one big chamber...gotta lov the 1940's simplicity..lol
 
I think I might have ordered that same one, or a very similar one. I remember something like "Low Speed: Has a lower noise and airflow rating than high speed models." in the description of the one I ordered, and reviews of the higher speed ones being super loud.


Well, I wish I would have gotten the louder, higher airflow one. I still have some stratification in my fridge, and the quiet one is SUPER quiet. I'm sure being inside the insulated fridge that I wouldn't have noticed any noise even from a fan 3-4x as loud.
 
odie said:
...Do you think fan at the bottom blowing up or top blowing down or does it really matter?...
Click to expand...

From all the posts I've read what's most important is getting good airflow, but since I had a choice I put my fan on the bottom blowing upward, directly at the shanks. It has worked well.
 
Probably not, but it depends on when you caught that temperature.
For example, note the interior air temperature readings vs the beer temperature in this plot (beer constant 35°F +/-1) and you can see it dives well below the beer when the compressor is running...

keezer_temperatures_05nov2015.jpg


Cheers!
 
odie said:
View attachment 649074
Is this too damn cold?
Click to expand...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/need-fan-for-keezer.670322/#post-8699186

The temp at which beer freezes drops about .8 degrees F for every percent of ABV. So, a 5% beer would start to freeze at 28 degrees (.8*5).

Why you'd want it that cold is a mystery; I'd think 30 degrees would be more than enough; further, many will note that very cold beer is difficult to taste as the beer numbs the tongue.

But, it's your beer and I'm all for people doing what they want to do.
 
I don’t have any digital controller on the fridge. It just does it’s thing. 1946 or 47 fridge with a freezer section. I set the mechanical thermostat as the warmest setting. Like a compact dorm fridge. Without the fan inside it’s a bit warmer. The fridge cycles so it kinda goes back n forth high 20s low 30s with the fan going. South Texas as soon as I pour a beer it’s warming up anyway. If I do get a frozen line I guess I’ll take the fan back out
 
Don't blame the fan, it's definitely a positive to have to prevent stratification.
And, again, unless you know the beer temperature it's premature to believe your air temperature observation is a problem.

In that plot I posted, if I had checked the air temperature at its lowest without the appropriate (beer temperature) context I'd be facing the same question...

Cheers!
 

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