Side by Side Fridge Conversion

[Brewer_opie]

I'd use 18 gauge. The 14 gulags was hard to tie in. I'm almost done with my rig (at least the temp control side... Will run keg lines soon), and will post pictures.

 

[223nbecker45]

What temp differences do you get from keezer to ferm? I am looking to do this to save space in the garage and have the best of both worlds

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

I can keep the ferm side at up to 72-74°F with the kegerator side at 36-38°F. It has been working great, I've fermented 4 batches in it so far but I am struggling to fill the kegerator side. I just can't keep up with demand.

 

[Spintab]

Any idea if there are cooling coils in the middle section? Imagine how many kegs you could fit in there if the middle was open. Or like a 2bbl conical.

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

Any idea if there are cooling coils in the middle section? Imagine how many kegs you could fit in there if the middle was open. Or like a 2bbl conical.

No coils in the middle divider. I wouldn't remove it for me because it would eliminate the dual temp capability, which was the main motivation for getting a side by side. I wanted two temp controlled spaces in limited space. Before I had the side by side I used a 15 cu. ft. chest freezer and found that I never needed that much space at one temp, I was always trying to ferment one ale and at the same time wanting to cold crash another, that kind of thing. One big space just didn't work for my brewing scale.

If I had more room and brewed a lot more, it would be a good option. I think several people have gone that route with a side by side conversion and had good results though. If it would work for you, do it!! It would be easier than what I did.

 

[Brewer_opie]

I get a 22 degree spread right now. But I have no damper. I just put in a louver system... I'm hoping that keep the fridge side warmer. I'll add a heating element soon, but want to keep the heating to a minimum. I hate the idea of fighting the cold to get heat.

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

I get a 22 degree spread right now. But I have no damper. I just put in a louver system... I'm hoping that keep the fridge side warmer. I'll add a heating element soon, but want to keep the heating to a minimum. I hate the idea of fighting the cold to get heat.

I added one of the flip open dampers on each of the two fans I use to exchange air with the kegerator side. Before I had those, I had trouble keeping the ferm side warm. They are only $5 at Lowe's. I also plugged a vent that was always open to the evaporator, I found that a lot of air was being exhcanged through there.

 

[Brewer_opie]

Where did you find those dampers (what section?)

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

In the section with laundry ducts and kitchen stove fans/vents

 

[veeref]

Hey guys!

I happened to purchase the exact same fridge, and want to do the exact same thing. I purchased two STC-1000 AC controllers and a 120V AC 120mm fan.

I managed to procure the wiring diagram which was wedged inside the temperature controller apparatus.

I don't quite understand where you installed your 2-pole relay and where you tapped the two controllers into. Any chance you can explain it in the wiring diagram? Thanks again.

Also, did you use one 110V AC and one 12V temp controller?

Regards,
Randy

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

I am using (2) 120VAC STC-1000s. I spliced into the line the feeds the fridge side interior light (before the door switch so that it is always on) and us that to power both thermostats, the (2) 120V fans and the (2) relays.

I cut the black wire from the circuit board to the compressor and the yellow wire from the circuit board to the condensor fan. I routed these to the 2-pole relay and then back to the device side of the wires I cut. So now the relay just reconnects the original wires whenever the thermostat needs to cool the freezer side. I cut the yellow wire (speed control signal I think) to the condensor instead of the red (+13V power supply) because I wanted to leave the evaporator fan running all the time to keep the temps in the freezer side even. If you do not want to run the evap fan all the time, cut the red wire instead of the yellow.

The fridge side thermostat is powered off the same wires as the freezer side (120V line that feeds the interior light switch) and I just used a short jumper wire to supply power to the cooling relay outputs which run the fans. I used (2) 120mm, 120VAC fans. One is at the bottom of the divider and pushed air from the fridge into the freezer. The second is at the top of the divider and pushes air from the freezer into the fridge.

I have been very pleased with my setup so far. It was my first kegerator and I have been very happy to stop bottling!

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[Brewer_opie]

Randy... Blue dog covered it. I went with the red wire and no relay (cause I couldn't figure it out). The freezer side cycles a lot that way. I'll probably reconfigure to what BD has. Make sure the drain tube is clear because you'll get a lot of runoff from the chilling coils from (inside the freezer).

 

[veeref]

Thank you! It makes sense now. I will wire it using the 2 relay setup like you have. I'm comfortable with electronics but have never used relays in any of my applications.

Will something like this work for the relays?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Supco-Double-2-Pole-30-Amp-Condenser-Contactor-Relay-110-120-Volt-Coil-DP301202-/271186904413?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f23ffc55d

Lastly, you replaced the motorized damper with the 120mm fans, correct?

Thanks again,
Randy

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

That relay will work fine. It's way oversized but I am using almost exactly the same thing.

Relays aren't hard to work with, just think of it as a switch that is turned on and off with electricity.

Lastly, I cut removed the OEM damper and enlarged the hole with a dremel cut-off wheel to fit one of the the 120mm fan. I made a similar cutout in the bottom of the divider where there was a manually adjustable damper and installed a second fan there. You could probably get by with one fan but I found that using two fans really helps me drop the temps quickly when I want to crash cool a batch.

You should definitely get the dryer duct dampers that I used (posted a pic of them previously). I originally set it up without them and there was too much cold air leaking into the fridge side to maintain fermentation temps.

 

[veeref]

That relay will work fine. It's way oversized but I am using almost exactly the same thing.

Relays aren't hard to work with, just think of it as a switch that is turned on and off with electricity.

Lastly, I cut removed the OEM damper and enlarged the hole with a dremel cut-off wheel to fit one of the the 120mm fan. I made a similar cutout in the bottom of the divider where there was a manually adjustable damper and installed a second fan there. You could probably get by with one fan but I found that using two fans really helps me drop the temps quickly when I want to crash cool a batch.

You should definitely get the dryer duct dampers that I used (posted a pic of them previously). I originally set it up without them and there was too much cold air leaking into the fridge side to maintain fermentation temps.

Thank you very much. I think what was confusing me was controlling both the DC fan and AC compressor with one relay. Is that was possible?

Im ordering the 2 relays and an extra 120mm fan now. Im also going to complicate things slightly by adding a ceramic heater to the refrigerator side.

Regards,
Randy

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

Randy,

You only need one of the relays in the link you provided. That relay has two separate pairs of contacts, one can be used for the DC wire (condensor) and the other pair is used for the AC wire (compressor). I adding some wiring info to the ebay vendor photo you linked.

You do not need to switch the negative DC or neutral AC wires, so one of the 2 pole relays can switch two separate hot wires.

I hope that makes sense.

Sean

 

[veeref]

I am using (2) 120VAC STC-1000s. I spliced into the line the feeds the fridge side interior light (before the door switch so that it is always on) and us that to power both thermostats, the (2) 120V fans and the (2) relays.

Makes sense now. Your mentioning of the (2) relays above made me think I needed to order another one.

Last question, and then I think I should be able to leave you alone

On the AC side of the schematic, the orange is the neutral wire, correct?

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

Yes orange is neutral. Inside the factory thermostat compartment at the top of the fridge side the brown is AC hot (always on) and orange is neutral. The violet wire should be AC hot when the door is open (off otherwise).

No worries about all the questions, it took me a while to figure out how I wanted to wire my fridge and I'm glad I can help someone else get their system setup.

 

[ReuFroman]

Great project. I'll have to keep this on the todo list.

 

[veeref]

Randy,

You only need one of the relays in the link you provided. That relay has two separate pairs of contacts, one can be used for the DC wire (condensor) and the other pair is used for the AC wire (compressor). I adding some wiring info to the ebay vendor photo you linked.

You do not need to switch the negative DC or neutral AC wires, so one of the 2 pole relays can switch two separate hot wires.

I hope that makes sense.

Sean

Okay. I've got everything wired up minus the cold side fans. Looks like I'm on track to finish the electrical side here soon.

Im dreading the door work for the taps, but I'll just go slow.

 

[ReuFroman]

Good job. We are replacing our 15 yr old fridge and I'm thinking conversion also keep it going!

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

Randy,

Did you get the cooling for both working? If you have any problems, let me know.

As far as the tap mounting goes, I found this ebay seller (http://www.ebay.com/usr/glastender) who sells small pieces of stainless sheet metal and will cut it down to your spec's. I bought a 18"x28" sheet and had him cut it to the size I needed to cover the hole left by my ice dispenser. I used a hole saw (7/8" I think) to make the holes for the faucet shanks and drilled bolt holes to mount it up. I am really please with how it turned out, after I mounted up a stainless drip tray it looks like it is all one custom wall mount driptray with a nice stainless backsplash.

 

[veeref]

Sean:

Thank you so much for your help. I finished it up this afternoon and installed the shelving and put my 3 kegs in the freezer side as well as my bottled beers and sodas in the cold side.

I have the freezer set to 3.0deg C and the cold side set to 7.0deg C. I was getting crazy tempersture fluctuations with the compressor constantly cycling as well as the fan. I put the temperature probes in some sand inside a water bottle, so we'll see if that helps.

What did you put your probes in?


What are your F1-F4 settings out of curiosity?
Mine are (freezer) F1:3.0 F2:1.0 F3:10 F4:0.0
(Cold side) F1:7.0 F2:0.8 F3: 3 F4:0.0

I ended up skipping the stainless front and went with chalkboard instead.

Regards,
Randy

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

Randy,

I found that my kegerator side would warm up fairly quicker so I tinkered with the setting till I was satisfied. I am using the following:

Freezer Side:
F1: 0.5, F2: 3.0, F3: 10, F4: 0

Fridge Side:
F1: 5.0, F2: 0.5, F3: 1, F4: 0

I set the freezer side cooler than I want the kegs and use a larger differential to reduce the frequency that the compressor cycles. I have been having good results with it so far.

 

[ButcherBoy]

Both these builds are really nice, an inspiration to say the least. I'm hunting for a SxS to do this to, much better solution than the complex chest freezer build I had been considering. I notice both these units are GE computerized models, these things have a mind of their own to run the automatic defrost cycle, has that been any problem?

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

Randy,

I found that my kegerator side would warm up fairly quicker so I tinkered with the setting till I was satisfied. I am using the following:

Freezer Side:
F1: 0.5, F2: 3.0, F3: 10, F4: 0

Fridge Side:
F1: 5.0, F2: 0.5, F3: 1, F4: 0

I set the freezer side cooler than I want the kegs and use a larger differential to reduce the frequency that the compressor cycles. I have been having good results with it so far.

By the way, I typically tape the temp sensor to the carboy in the fermentation side and that seems to help reduce the frequency that the fans turn on. I may try taping the freezer side temp probe to a keg, that should help even out the temperature swings.

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

Both these builds are really nice, an inspiration to say the least. I'm hunting for a SxS to do this to, much better solution than the complex chest freezer build I had been considering. I notice both these units are GE computerized models, these things have a mind of their own to run the automatic defrost cycle, has that been any problem?

I have noticed the defrost running every few days (it probably runs more frequently than that but I am not around to notice), it doesn't seem to be a problem though.

 

[hawkinst7]

Hello,

I have read several others taking on similar projects and had a few questions before I start. I am new to brewing and decided to jump in the deep end with this project. I am very excited to get going and begin brewing.

I recently came across an older Hot Point side by side as well that I am attempting to convert into a kegerator/ fermentation chamber. The model number is CSX22GR BG. I have contacted GE and they e-mailed a copy of the wiring diagram. I consider myself somewhat handy but am a novice as far as electrical work. I have read several threads on people taking on projects like this using the Love TSS2 Dual Temperature Control switch. Is this something that would be recommended with this unit as well? It seems that all of the cooling takes place on the freezer side and a fan moves the cool air to the fridge side. I am a novice so I may be wrong. I am basically trying to regulate the temperature on the freezer side to serving temp as this is where my corny kegs will be stored and regulate the fridge side temperature for fermenting ales. I do not think that I can do this with the factory switches/ thermostat. As you can tell I am a little lost and not sure where to begin.

I also read about a lot about the Digital STC-1000 All-Purpose Temperature Controller (cheaper but not sure if it is better). Also would it be necessary to install a different fan or can the factory fan be utilized to push air from the freezer side to the fridge side? I have seen several people install a 120 VAC PC fan

Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for such a long post with all of the questions. I have seen how helpful some of the veterans can be.

Thanks

 

[bluedog_Brewing]

Hello,

I have read several others taking on similar projects and had a few questions before I start. I am new to brewing and decided to jump in the deep end with this project. I am very excited to get going and begin brewing.

I recently came across an older Hot Point side by side as well that I am attempting to convert into a kegerator/ fermentation chamber. The model number is CSX22GR BG. I have contacted GE and they e-mailed a copy of the wiring diagram. I consider myself somewhat handy but am a novice as far as electrical work. I have read several threads on people taking on projects like this using the Love TSS2 Dual Temperature Control switch. Is this something that would be recommended with this unit as well? It seems that all of the cooling takes place on the freezer side and a fan moves the cool air to the fridge side. I am a novice so I may be wrong. I am basically trying to regulate the temperature on the freezer side to serving temp as this is where my corny kegs will be stored and regulate the fridge side temperature for fermenting ales. I do not think that I can do this with the factory switches/ thermostat. As you can tell I am a little lost and not sure where to begin.

I also read about a lot about the Digital STC-1000 All-Purpose Temperature Controller (cheaper but not sure if it is better). Also would it be necessary to install a different fan or can the factory fan be utilized to push air from the freezer side to the fridge side? I have seen several people install a 120 VAC PC fan

Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for such a long post with all of the questions. I have seen how helpful some of the veterans can be.

Thanks

No worries about the questions. Besides I only see two questions.
1. I don't have any experience with the Love 2-stage controller, but I think it basically combines the relay output from two STC-1000 controllers into one device. Since it costs more than double the price of the STC-1000, I just used two of those.
2. I am not sure how your fridge works, but most side by sides I have seen don't have a fan to move air, they use the evaporator fan located in the freezer and ducts that open and close to regulate the temperature of the fridge.

Take a look early in this thread and I provided more details on how I setup my fridge, along with some pictures. There are also several other side by side conversion threads out there.

Good luck with the build!

 

[hawkinst7]

No worries about the questions. Besides I only see two questions.
1. I don't have any experience with the Love 2-stage controller, but I think it basically combines the relay output from two STC-1000 controllers into one device. Since it costs more than double the price of the STC-1000, I just used two of those.
2. I am not sure how your fridge works, but most side by sides I have seen don't have a fan to move air, they use the evaporator fan located in the freezer and ducts that open and close to regulate the temperature of the fridge.

Take a look early in this thread and I provided more details on how I setup my fridge, along with some pictures. There are also several other side by side conversion threads out there.

Good luck with the build!

Thank you for the reply. Reading back through the thread did answer some questions and has helped me get a good start. I think that I am planning on going with the STC-1000 devices instead of the Love switches due to the difference in price and with Love I will still have to purchase the temp probes.

I am thinking of installing a small ceramic heater as well. Similar to the one at this link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/291008303393

Would you recommend using a third STC-1000 to control the heater? I think this will allow for the best temperature control. As you recommended, I am also going to install a dryer vent cover on the fridge side to block unwanted cool air from entering the fridge.

Would you think it is necessary to install a second pc fan at the bottom as well? There is a small return air orifice. You were correct in your response in that the freezer has an evaporator fan and there is the mechanical lever on the fridge side that regulates how much cold air is "allowed" over.

I have demoed the items that I am not needing and cut the hole out where the ice dispenser was. Next step is to order the remaining supplies. I believe I am going to go with the above heater and either one or two of these fans http://www.ebay.com/itm/230762356432.

Just to make sure that I am looking at everything right before I order the STC-1000 devices. I would need one to control the freezer, one to control the pc fan at the top of the freezer chamber, and one to control the heater if I decide to use one.

Thank again