Standard-layout fridge: can I take out the floor of the freezer?

[Ike]

For the record: pre-posting forum searching came up empty, although I KNOW I've seen pics of people doing what I'm trying to describe here...

Background: OK, so I'm up and running with an apartment-sized, Magic Chef, standard layout (freezer section on top of the fridge section) fridge and a Johnson controller. It is less than ideal for a couple of reasons (one will be discussed below) but it is MOST ideal for two reasons: it is relatively new and it is FREE.

Problem: The unit is small enough that it only has one compressor and one thermostat: it seems that the cold is generated in the freezer section only, then trickles down into the fridge section through a couple of little grates in the floor of the freezer and into the fridge section. If this is true, it seems to be problematic since I can only temperature control one section at a time. So, if I temperature control the fridge section, I have no control over what the freezer section is.

Questions:

- Does it make sense to take out the floor of the freezer (or ceiling of the fridge if you will) to unite the two sections into one bigger space? I could build a shelf and would have room for more fermenters then. I would leave the outside of the floor there, so the doors wouldn't need any modification. The only real downside I can see is that I'd never be able to resell it as a normal fridge, it'd be a ferm chamber for the rest of its life.

- Are there coils in that section? It looks like a plastic-skinned piece of styrofoam, I could melt or cut it away slowly so that I don't cut any lines.


Waddaya think? Is there a downside I'm missing? Worth the effort? Or skip it?

 

[TastyAdventure]

Subscribed. I'm in the same boat

 

[TastyAdventure]

I guess it's just me as you on this thread. Let me know if you try it. I have about a million other things going on so I won't get to this for awhile...

 

[antony]

So, I'm not quite sure how much help I'll be but here's my .02. I converted a side by side just a few months ago & I've got a top/bottom that I use for a kegerator.

My understanding is that the majority of refrigerators are cooled on the freezer side & vents/fans move cold air to the refrigerator side. I think, depending on the model, there "may" be components inside the freezer floor that are required for the unit to operate correctly. I removed the wall in a side by side & there wasn't anything except plastic & insulation. Though I think a top/bottom may be different. I think exploratory surgery is the best option. If you have a dremel or something similar, I'd give it a slow go & see what you come up with.

I think you're correct in that this is really the only viable option in regards to turning this into a fermenting chamber. It'll never be a refrigerator again, but who cares, it was free.

You also might want to look into installing fans to circulate the air, there's lots of posts about that around. Best of luck!

 

[Ike]

I think exploratory surgery is the best option.

Thanks for the input!

Like TastyAdventure, it's not top priority at the moment, but I'll probably get around to cutting on it a bit in the reasonable future. It just doesn't make sense to me to leave it as-is. I figure: not only will I get a greater chamber volume, but by more closely linking the source of cooling and the chamber I'll be able to reach lower temps, for the day I give lagering a go.

Thanks again!

 

[EazyMcBreazy]

Same boat. From (random) diagrams that area holds the evaporator. In order for the fridge to work, the evaporator absorbs radiant heat to the freon and returns to the compressor. Unit works as cohesive airspace. Blow out the top... New thoughts: build adjacent chamber, fan freezer air out and return to fridge. May not need to regulate due to loss. Con: excessive energy use. Or regulate the chamber but possible swings. Keep us posted

 

[Ike]

OK, so yeah... been a while. I FINALLY got around to (at least) getting this process started. Here's how it went:


First, I cut away the plastic "floor" of the freezer:




Then, I started working my way through the styrofoam. I used a small coping saw and a razor blade, hoping that if I moved slowly enough I wouldn't slash through any lines before realizing what I was cutting against.

Once I got through the styrofoam, I cut through the plastic that formed the top of the refrigerator section:



SO, now I have a huge ugly hole in my fridge. A limiting factor is the console that holds the light and the "temperature control" that is mounted to the top of the fridge, seen in the second picture. Once the ciders you can ALSO see in the picture are finished and out of the chamber, I'll really tear into that and clean it up as much as possible. Then, I'll figure out how to mount a shelf in there that I'd trust to hold a fair amount of weight, and still allow for good airflow. Suggestions?

 

[Bigdaddyale]

I don't understand why you want to make one big chamber. Refrigerators are cooled by the freezer.There are better ways to control fermentation than to hack up the fridge.

 

[Ike]

I don't understand why you want to make one big chamber. Refrigerators are cooled by the freezer.There are better ways to control fermentation than to hack up the fridge.

Although I'm (admittedly) not there yet, it didn't make sense to have a huge portion of the overall volume of the unit not available to me. By removing the divider between the two, I'll have a larger space available for fermentation.

Best case: I'll be able to install a shelf that will allow me to have 1 gallon test batches above/below standard sized batches;

Worst case: I'll leave my only shelf where it is and have more head space so I'm not cramming it all into such a small space.

 

[raouliii]

That console can likely be relocated if it's worth the effort. Likely to be not much in there on a low end unit. The biggest issue is the thermostat is likely to have a capillary tube that can not be kinked or cut. It can be bent with care and repositioned if necessary. The other option is to remove and electrically bypass the thermostat and use an STC1000 style controller.

 

[mrwizard0]

I know this is a little late, but I just finished a side by side fermentation fridge. I actually bought 2 ink birds one controls the temp in the freezer section, the other controls mechanical dampers that open or close to let air move from the freezer to the fridge. I also added a plug to that is connected to the heat side of the ink bird. I am able to control the freezer and fridge separately with very little fluctuation in the fridge side. I did find that too much cold air was getting to the fridge side and bought a small aquarium heater that I plugged in to better regulate at fermenting temps

 

[Ike]

UPDATES: What was my ferm chamber is now going to be my kegerator, SO...

1.) I ripped out the console that was in the top of the fridge section. It held the bulb (which I ditched) and a thermostat which I cut out and jumped the wires together, so the compressor will always think it's too warm. This let me open things up a bit more. So, here's where we are at the moment:



I was so horny to put the cylinder on its side right in front of the compressor hump. But, issues with getting the modified cylinder filled (my local fill site only does exchanges) had me abandon the idea. So now, the cylinder is "hanging out" a bit higher up:



The refrigerator section will hold a 2x2 array of Cornys, and is tall enough that it will accept even the Slimlines. My plans are to install a 3-way stepdown regulator on the other side of the freezer. One of those will feed a 3- or 4- way manifold to run beers at 10-12 psi, the other two will be for specialties, root beer, mineral water, or whatever else.

The rack in the freezer will hold bottles (upright) or cans, the space in front of the compressor hump is deep enough to handle cans or bottles (horizontal, cap end out).

SO, it's not the prettiest thing I've seen here on HBT, by a long shot. But given the ability to handle 20 gallons of cornys, and at least a case of bottles and cans, it's a huge win in the name of "capacity." And, I HAVE always been a "form follows function" kind of guy, so all is well!

<-- Me and my drinking buddies my liver ---> :frown:

 

[gusterminator]

For the record: pre-posting forum searching came up empty, although I KNOW I've seen pics of people doing what I'm trying to describe here...

Background: OK, so I'm up and running with an apartment-sized, Magic Chef, standard layout (freezer section on top of the fridge section) fridge and a Johnson controller. It is less than ideal for a couple of reasons (one will be discussed below) but it is MOST ideal for two reasons: it is relatively new and it is FREE.

Problem: The unit is small enough that it only has one compressor and one thermostat: it seems that the cold is generated in the freezer section only, then trickles down into the fridge section through a couple of little grates in the floor of the freezer and into the fridge section. If this is true, it seems to be problematic since I can only temperature control one section at a time. So, if I temperature control the fridge section, I have no control over what the freezer section is.

Questions:

- Does it make sense to take out the floor of the freezer (or ceiling of the fridge if you will) to unite the two sections into one bigger space? I could build a shelf and would have room for more fermenters then. I would leave the outside of the floor there, so the doors wouldn't need any modification. The only real downside I can see is that I'd never be able to resell it as a normal fridge, it'd be a ferm chamber for the rest of its life.

- Are there coils in that section? It looks like a plastic-skinned piece of styrofoam, I could melt or cut it away slowly so that I don't cut any lines.


Waddaya think? Is there a downside I'm missing? Worth the effort? Or skip it?

I just cut the floor out of my fridge. I removed all the thermostat controls and defrost timer. I'm hooking the compressor and fan up direct and will be controlling it with brewpi. The wiring for the light circuit I'm using for two din rail mounted heaters which will also run the fan to move air around.