Thermostat replacement on Danby kegerator with ITC-1000 step by step

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kschzhd

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Hello,
My Danby kegerator keeps freezing and I can't adjust the temp without resetting. I've read through quite a few posts on here where people are discussing replacing the thermostat on their kegerators with either the STC-1000 or the ITC-1000 and I've settled on the ITC-1000 since it has both F and C. After hours of searching though, I am so far unable to find a clear step-by-step instruction set that walks through the entire process. I'm a home brewer, not an electrician :) so I would love it if someone could either point me to instructions that include parts and tools needed and full step-by-step guide. Really appreciate the help!
 
The easiest is of course to use an Inkbird (external) temp controller. Plug your ever-running fridge into the Inkbird, and it's ready to play.
 
The easiest is of course to use an Inkbird (external) temp controller. Plug your ever-running fridge into the Inkbird, and it's ready to play.
Thanks for the idea, I'm all about easiest. It won't actually control the temperature, right? Will it just power the kegerator off if it goes below a certain temp? And back on if it goes above a certain temp?
 
It won't actually control the temperature, right? Will it just power the kegerator off if it goes below a certain temp?
Yes, it does control the inside temp.

You need to find a way to snake the Inkbird sensor inside the kegerator, so the controller knows when to turn the fridge on and off. Many tape or bungee that sensor to a keg with a piece of 1/4" thick packing foam over it.
Or stick it inside a closed jar or bottle with some water.
 
The Inkbird would in fact control the temperature - in essence the same way the existing thermostat does - or would if it worked correctly: it turns off the power to the compressor (and any fans) once the cabinet temperature reaches the set point, then turns it back on once the temperature drifts up far enough to exceed the allowed differential. You could even bypass the oem thermostat completely though in your case it doesn't seem necessary...

Cheers!
 
Thanks - I know the Inkbird will at the very least keep the kegerator from freezing, which is the primary goal. The default temp the oem thermo goes to is 41F, so I assume if the Inkbird's sensor detects a temp below the low I set (say 34), it'll power off the fridge. Once room temp causes the fridge to warm back up to the high I set (say 38), at which point the fridge will power on and go to 41 and stay there - until the oem thermostat goes haywire in a random amount of time and starts dropping again, at which point the Inkbird's cycle will kick in again at 34F. Unless perhaps I'm being super dense and there's an easy way to disable the oem thermo.
 
If the oem thermo is going too low then the Inkbird or other controller will handle cooling cycles.

For example, in my keezer, a chest freezer with taps, I set the freezer to the lowest setting and let my Ranco ETC-111000 handles the cooling cycle.
 
Unless perhaps I'm being super dense and there's an easy way to disable the oem thermo.
You set the internal Danby thermostat to the minimum, which seems to be no problem as yours never stops cooling. That way the Inkbird has full control, overriding the Danby thermostat.
 
It's the DKC586BL model. The digital thermostat works sometimes, and others it doesn't work to set the temp. The default is 41F and it doesn't maintain a temp after power cycling. It also occasionally decides to drop to somewhere around 20F, which at least Inkbird will prevent. But getting it to stay in the mid to upper 30s is the ideal state, and only thing I can think of to accomplish is to disable the oem thermostat so it just cools until it hits my set threshold on the Inkbird.
 
only thing I can think of to accomplish is to disable the oem thermostat so it just cools until it hits my set threshold on the Inkbird.
That would be the best solution if the thermostat doesn't hold its etting after being powered down.

One of my upright freezers has a digital thermostat (levels 1-7) that does hold its setting after being unplugged.
 
This allegedly is the main power board for the 586BL.
There should be a three wire cord plugged into the socket at the top right corner, and I'm betting it will have a white Neutral wire, a black Line (hot) wire, and a red Compressor wire (switched). Removing that plug and shorting the black to red will "hot-wire" the compressor, leaving control up to whatever the line cord is plugged into.

Not quite done though: that model has a 12VDC evaporator fan inside the cabinet somewhere. That is normally wired to the 2 pin socket at the bottom edge of the power board and presumably runs when the compressor runs - and perhaps even longer via an "after-run" timer.

One option would be to add a small 12VDC wall wart to the same socket that you plug the fridge into, and wire it to the existing fan. When the controller (Inkbird or whatever) turns on the fridge the fan would come on as well...

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Cheers!
 
Not quite done though: that model has a 12VDC evaporator fan inside the cabinet somewhere. That is normally wired to the 2 pin socket at the bottom edge of the power board and presumably runs when the compressor runs - and perhaps even longer via an "after-run" timer.
Thanks for finding the power board, that really helps.
It looks like there are components that could be part of a simple timer circuit, but not conclusive without having a schematic.

One option would be to add a small 12VDC wall wart to the same socket that you plug the fridge into, and wire it to the existing fan. When the controller (Inkbird or whatever) turns on the fridge the fan would come on as well...
In that scenario, the fan would not remain on once the inkbird depowers the "cooling" socket which has both the fridge and wall wart plugged into it.
Alternatively, leave the fan running year round, or just forget about the fan after-run?
 
Thinking about the problem, could it be that the internal sensor is dead? Test it and replace? That would be fairly simple.

I replaced one in my kitchen fridge, after 5 years or so. The replacement (from a local appliance parts outfit) plugged right in and is still working as it should.

Last year I finally moved the sensor higher up, to the evaporator junction. Why?
Because after a few months a large clump of ice would form there as well as inside the fan cavity. Over time, the fridge would slowly stop cooling and eventually completely. Now the defrosting circuit stays on longer as it's melting any ice deposits in that area, preventing it from ever accumulating there again. Some Samsung engineering there...
 
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I wouldn't worry about mimicking an after-run function until confirming it exists :) And if it does I'd go with the 24/7 fan option.

As for what's wrong with it now, I would definitely check all wiring connections first, then take a look at both the 12VDC and the 5VDC voltage levels. Hopefully something fixable at the component level will turn up because I don't think you can buy a replacement power board nor control panel board for that system...

Cheers!
 
I don't think you can buy a replacement power board nor control panel board for that system...

Cheers!
Agreed, and I think I'm going to try the inkbird by itself for now and see if it's tolerable. Getting into the wiring connections isn't my strong suit haha but I'll dive into that next if need be. I am glad for the suggestion on the inkbird though as it will keep my legs from freezing.

Side note: HUGE thanks to everyone who helped on here, I really appreciate it.
 
Hello,
My Danby kegerator keeps freezing and I can't adjust the temp without resetting. I've read through quite a few posts on here where people are discussing replacing the thermostat on their kegerators with either the STC-1000 or the ITC-1000 and I've settled on the ITC-1000 since it has both F and C. After hours of searching though, I am so far unable to find a clear step-by-step instruction set that walks through the entire process. I'm a home brewer, not an electrician :) so I would love it if someone could either point me to instructions that include parts and tools needed and full step-by-step guide. Really appreciate the help!
I can give you a a very cheap and effective fix, just use a wall timer and have it come on every hour and off every hour or adjust the timer to fit your liking!!
 
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