Rust in my Keezer

[gwood]

I just recently picked up a chest freezer that I'm running on a temp controller and I noticed a bit of rust on one of the corners at the base of the unit (on the inside).

I assume that chest freezers aren't designed to handle the condensation that occurs when using a temp controller and I'm thinking of just drying it out for a few days and adding some caulk to all the joints in the bottom to stop this from going any further (they damn thing is NEW).

Sound like a good idea?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yea probably a good idea. I have heard of people doing this prior to plugging in a new freezer. I think I've seen newer freezers w/ a poly lining?. If you are going to caulk the joints use the best material you can find and clean the substrate well. Maybe w/ some rubbing alchohol or other solvent???

I realize how disturbing this must be w/ a brand new unit, but I don't think it is a terminal issue that will kill the freezer. I've got some rust stains on mine that is probably ten years old but it has only been kegerating for the last year or so.

Should I quote Niel Young now...sorry couldn't help myself.

Mike

 

[Skins_Brew]

Alright, i have never been in this type of situation before BUT i am in the navy stationed aboard a ship that is made of steel that is constantly hit by sea spray SO, rust is a common problem. From my experiences, rust cannot be stopped unless you somehow get rid of it. We needle gun and sand to get rid of the rust. One particular situation comes to mine about caulking. We have these bolts that are flush with the deck which are exposed to the elements. The bolts started to rust very badly so we needle gunned them out the best we could and filled the sunken bolt holes with some silicon caulk to keep the moisture out. Anyway, needle gunning those holes did not eliminate every bit of rust and after about 6 months, the rust started to show up through the caulk.

Anyway, we used a TON of caulk for these holes and it took a while for the rust spread. You might be OK since that rust you are seeing my be running rust from a very small patch of rust. Point being, the only way to eliminate rust is to get rid of it.

 

[EdWort]

Won't naval jelly stop it?

 

[Skins_Brew]

Naval Jelly? Never heard of it. I have used some products that you apply straight to rust which are supposed to stop the chemical reaction but none of them have ever warranted any decent results.

 

[trent]

Naval Jelly? Never heard of it. I have used some products that you apply straight to rust which are supposed to stop the chemical reaction but none of them have ever warranted any decent results.

I used POR-15 on the entire inside of my kegerator. That stuff works pretty amazing. May not be lifetime, but its pretty damn close.

TTT

 

[gwood]

I used POR-15 on the entire inside of my kegerator. That stuff works pretty amazing. May not be lifetime, but its pretty damn close.

TTT

It better be for $27.25 a quart! I'd be willing to give it a try though. What is the finish like (matte, glossy, textured, flat?)

 

[tentacles]

Silicone caulk is a bad choice - it is not only water permeable (albeit slowly) but in order to cure it absorbs water. Vinyl caulk is probably a better bet.

Naval jelly is a jellied, dilute phosphoric acid - it dissolves the rust and etches the steel clean.

A new freezer shouldn't be rusting so easily - especially at the seams. I could see rust if you scratched through the paint. This is making me want to seal mine up!

 

[gwood]

Silicone caulk is a bad choice - it is not only water permeable (albeit slowly) but in order to cure it absorbs water. Vinyl caulk is probably a better bet.

Naval jelly is a jellied, dilute phosphoric acid - it dissolves the rust and etches the steel clean.

A new freezer shouldn't be rusting so easily - especially at the seams. I could see rust if you scratched through the paint. This is making me want to seal mine up!

Thanks for the info. I was pissed to see a small rust spot on what is only a four month old freezer, the paint hasn't been scratched or roughed up at all.

 

[gwood]

So, I sealed it up this weekend with this stuff. I'm not sure I need to actually put any kind of paint down inside the freezer but I'm definitely going to purchase some kind of moisture control for the future (especially when I'm using the keezer for dual purpose of lagering and storage/dispensing).

 

[gwood]

Hate to bump my own thread but wanted to update folks as to how this came out and seek advice as to next steps. Using the caulk that I posted above, I've found that it acutally fell apart over time.

I'm now in a situation where all the caulk is going to need to be pulled out as it's just a goopy mess. Very strange being that the seams were cleaned and dryed and the caulk was left to cure with the freezer off and open in my warm garage for over two weeks.

Any suggestions or observations? What did I miss here?

 

[smalloy88]

I used POR-15 on the entire inside of my kegerator. That stuff works pretty amazing. May not be lifetime, but its pretty damn close.

TTT

Trent,
What size keezer did you coat with POR-15? I just coated my 16 cu ft keezer yesterday by brushing on the POR-15, not spraying. I'm still getting the intense smell of the POR-15 chemicals (box fan has been running aimed out an open window for over 24 hours). How long did it take for the smell to go away for you?