True TDD-2 Kegerator remodel/touchup

[kchomebrew]

I've been in the process looking for a cheap chest freezer to build a keezer. I was browsing Craigslist and found an ad for a commercial True TDD-2 kegerator. From the photos looked to be in good condition and ad said it runs fine. Went out to look at it and everything ran fine, temp was at 35 degrees in the cooler when I checked it out. Some minor rusting around the base, scuffs on the exterior, and it looked like the kegerator hadn't been used in some time so there was some corrosion spots on the inside and overall it was quite filthy. I noticed there were 2 keg taps with attached to old gas/bev lines in the inside, along with a CO2 regulator, empty CO2 tank,3 way diffuser, and 4 tap faucets attached to the towers. Guy who was selling it got it on auction with some other pieces of shop equipment and didn't know what he had and was asking for $700. I asked if he'd take $500 and he gave me the whole deal on the spot for $500. I've got the whole thing at the moment and am working on touching it up (removing some corroded items, deep cleaning, new lines, re-painting). Pretty excited to score this but am dreading having to move this down to my basement (300 lbs). I'll be removing the stand up fridge I have in my brewing room and placing this in there (old fridge will go into the unfinished side of the basement). I haven't seen many posts on these systems, so once I get it up and running and cleaned up, I'll post some photos. Next post is a couple of photos that show it before I started working on it.

 

[kchomebrew]

 

[kchomebrew]

Wish I would have taken photos of the before. Edges around door at the base were totally corroded. Removed the edging and replaced with galvanized steel strips and aluminum flashing and painted with appliance epoxy spray. Inside is now spotless and there were a couple of small corroded holes in the evaporator. I filled those in with rubber epoxy and aluminum flashing patches. Should be able to move this to the basement tomorrow.

 

[kchomebrew]

Well, I ran the serial # on the True website and it noted the unit was built on 10/31/96. After considering the condition it was in when I bought it, I guess I'm surprised it wasn't in worse shape given the age (I figured it was a early 2000's era model). Good things it's commercial grade. Either way, surprised at the age. These can take a beating I guess !

 

[kchomebrew]

I've read commercial kegerators can eat up some energy and have read about electrical bills being impacted by anywhere from $10 p/mo to $100 p/mo (Bev Air brands). Fortunately, I'm reading that True kegerators are fairly efficient . I've found a link that talks about the energy consumption and there are two differing opinions on these. One calculation had it at about $0.15 p/dy and another was nearly $1.00 p/dy. I'm not going to waste my time trying to figure this out, so I'll assume it's somewhere in between. Here's the link: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/new-true-kegerator-390946/index2.html

From what I've read, it seems like the commercial kegerators have a more frequent cycle they run on. As a result, they can end up running more often than need be. Has anyone ever heard of hooking one of these up to a Johnson Control thermostat ? Or would that be a waste of $$ ?

 

[raouliii]

The TRUE units have a constant cooling cycle that is designed to maintain a frost-free evaporator and is controlled by the thermostat with its probe embedded in the evaporator. The evaporator is cooled to a thermostat set temperature of well below 20deg then the compressor is shutoff. The evaporator is then allowed to warm back up to about 40deg to melt any accumulated frost. Then the cycle begins again. Using an external controller may disrupt this cycle by turning off the evaporator fan, which the designed cooling process depends on.

 

[kchomebrew]

The TRUE units have a constant cooling cycle that is designed to maintain a frost-free evaporator and is controlled by the thermostat with its probe embedded in the evaporator. The evaporator is cooled to a thermostat set temperature of well below 20deg then the compressor is shutoff. The evaporator is then allowed to warm back up to about 40deg to melt any accumulated frost. Then the cycle begins again. Using an external controller may disrupt this cycle by turning off the evaporator fan, which the designed cooling process depends on.

Thanks for the info. I won't bother with the thermostat control. I guess, while I'm posting, I'll ask about the door seal gaskets. I washed them because they were filthy. I put the door gaskets back on (they are removable) and now the door won't seal up right. I figure the rubber just needs to settle back in place and then they will be fine. I shut the doors tight and taped them shut to put pressure on the gasket seals to bend them back in place. Am I doing anything wrong here ? I read something about taking a hairdryer to the gaskets and warming them up so they are more flexible. Any suggestions ? I'm hoping this isn't going to be a permanent issue.

 

[kchomebrew]

Used a hairdryer to warm up the gaskets and sort of realized they had been very compressed and aren't as flexible as they used to probably be. I did end up getting most of the gasket to seal except the top portions on each door don't expand out to attach to the frame. Pretty much means the gaskets are old (assume these are the same ones that it came with in 1996). I found replacements online and ordered 2. Should be arriving early next week. Also picked up new CO2 and beer lines. Only thing I'm wondering about is how I'm going to replace the front condenser grill cover. It was missing when I bought it. Replacement piece is $70 and I'm not paying $70 for a 1x2 ft metal grill. I figure I'll browse home depot for home ac/heat vent grills and then trim one down to the right size, paint it black and install it.

Should finally have this thing up and running by end of this next week. I'll take some photos of it when it's fully repainted, polished, lines installed, new gaskets, new grill cover, and running (and pouring beer !!!).

 

[kchomebrew]

Bummer. Still waiting on these damn gaskets to arrive ?? Getting anxious.

 

[kchomebrew]

Well, good news. Finally received a tracking # from the company I purchased the gaskets from. Shipped out today and I will receive them in a few days. Talk about a long wait. I paid for the gaskets on 6/8 and they just shipped today. Ridiculous.

 

[kchomebrew]

Gaskets arrived. Having a hell of a time getting these to seal. Have the doors taped shut. Will leave them like that all night and then hit the gaskets with a hairdryer in the morning Hopefully everything seals. Remaining draft parts and equipment is on the way. Hoping to have the taps running by this weekend.

 

[kchomebrew]

After a significant amount of tinkering I got the gaskets to stick and bought some vice clamps to keep the doors shut for a few days to form a good seal. The white vents onthe right will be the new grill cover after I paint them black. Hooked up a new perlick faucet and installed the secondary regulators. I also bought plastic quick disconnects so I can switch from corney to Sankey keg quickly. Started the fridge up and it runs great. When the condenser runs it is pretty loud. But nothing annoying. No worse than any other chest freezer I've heard. Here are some photos. Once I've got everything done and a keg tapped, I'll post more.

 

[raouliii]

Looking good. I've found some noises from the compressor/condenser area of my TRUE GDM's were due to vibrations that could be dampened with well placed foam padding.

 

[Spellman]

Things are looking good, I've occasionally seen these pop up on craigslist and often wondered about getting one. Have you tried hooking this up to a kill-a-watt yet to see if these are the power pigs that some make them out to be? Any idea how many cornies can fit in there?

 

[dlaramie08]

Sweet. I got mine, I think it's the same model for $350 at an auction. I was willing to go to much more. I haven't replaced the gaskets on mine but I may do that eventually. You won't regret it. I have 4 taps on mine and plenty of room for bottles and room to cold crash a fermenter when the bottles aren't I'm the way.

 

[kchomebrew]

Things are looking good, I've occasionally seen these pop up on craigslist and often wondered about getting one. Have you tried hooking this up to a kill-a-watt yet to see if these are the power pigs that some make them out to be? Any idea how many cornies can fit in there?

I figure u can get 8 corney kegs in there if you wanted. You'd have to get new towers that have the bar that connects the two towers. Dunno know about power usage Seems fine since running it. I don't notice it running more than any other type of fridge.

 

[kchomebrew]

Photo of the perlick tap pouring chain breaker white IPA and the new condenser grill cover I made since it was missing when purchased. Still have vice clamps holding the doors shut till the new gaskets are molded in place.

 

[Junkster]

The TRUE units have a constant cooling cycle that is designed to maintain a frost-free evaporator and is controlled by the thermostat with its probe embedded in the evaporator. The evaporator is cooled to a thermostat set temperature of well below 20deg then the compressor is shutoff. The evaporator is then allowed to warm back up to about 40deg to melt any accumulated frost. Then the cycle begins again. Using an external controller may disrupt this cycle by turning off the evaporator fan, which the designed cooling process depends on.

I've installed JC A419 controllers on several of these types of coolers. The wiring to the evaporator fan was left as per the factory (always on) with the new controller wired only to the compressor circuit (like the factory control) and the temperature probe installed in the return air path with no problems with evap icing. I think the ASD was set around 4 minutes or so....

 

[raouliii]

I've installed JC A419 controllers on several of these types of coolers. The wiring to the evaporator fan was left as per the factory (always on) with the new controller wired only to the compressor circuit (like the factory control) and the temperature probe installed in the return air path with no problems with evap icing. I think the ASD was set around 4 minutes or so....

I've also been successful modifying one of my TRUE GDM's with a digital controller, STC-1000/CH54 as a fermentation chamber. Keeping the evaporator fan running is very important. I attach the probe to the carboy for perfect temperature control.

 

[ResumeMan]

So now after a couple of months how's it working out for you? Is it exceptionally noisy? Ever get a sense of the power demand? Do the towers keep the beer warm enough to avoid foaming?

I may have a chance to buy a True one model larger (TDD-3) off Craigslist. Just doing some research to see if it's a worthwhile product.

 

[ResumeMan]

Oh, and how heavy is it? Looks heavy as hell, and the one I could possibly buy is even bigger. How many people needed to move it? Was thinking I might need to hire a couple Mexican day laborers to move it for me, lol. My physique isn't much more impressive than the penguin in my avatar

 

[Fordiesel69]

For those concerned about energy, find the amps rating on the unit data plate. My beverage air is 3.6 amps @ 120v. However the voltage is never 120v. So use this simple formula.

VOLTS x AMPS = WATTS

From there go online and calculate this into a monthly KW usage.

Example:
117v measured at my plug x 3.6 amps on my data plate = 421.2 watts.

Not much more than a modern computer, or basic upright fridge.

 

[kchomebrew]

Energy usage is not noticeable. It is a bit noisy when it turns on. So don't put it An area where you have tv or music on. Mine is in my brewing room, so it's out I'd've way from the bar area and tv, etc. it's heavy. Took 3 people to move it. Not fun. 350lbs to be exact. Works great and keeps everything cold. Towers keep the beer at same temp as the fridge section. Very cold ! Get one if you can. I love mine.

 

[digitalhifi]

I have this same unit and love it. Oddly enough mine was in a similar condition and I ended up doing almost all the same things you have including patching the evaporator pan, replacing the door gaskets and a bit of touchup on the metal due to corrosion. I still have problems getting a 100% seal with my doors though. You mind going into a bit more detail about how you were able to get that done? Just used large clamps to clamp the doors shut for a few days and that fixed it?

 

[kchomebrew]

I have this same unit and love it. Oddly enough mine was in a similar condition and I ended up doing almost all the same things you have including patching the evaporator pan, replacing the door gaskets and a bit of touchup on the metal due to corrosion. I still have problems getting a 100% seal with my doors though. You mind going into a bit more detail about how you were able to get that done? Just used large clamps to clamp the doors shut for a few days and that fixed it?

Just now seeing this post. Yeah. I bought small steel clamps and put a small bit of duck tape under the flat face of the clamp (so the clamp will grip the stainless steel countertop). The doors will pretty much stay shut on their own if you leave the clamp on for a couple of months. Left door has a very thin gap, but nothing noticeable that fluctuates the temp. or creates condensation. Hope that helps.

 

[lonerunman]

Thanks for your posts on your True unit. I have come into one recently as well in a similar filthy-but-functional state as yours, courtesy of my bro' in law who was renovating a restaurant. It sure made for the best Xmas present ever!!

My fridge was pretty disgusting, with tar-like goop around the towers, and opaque brown beer lines that were discarded quickly. (gads, I hate to think of the beer that was served through them! Of course, it was probably Coors lite, so.....) Anyway, it cleaned up nicely with a bit of elbow grease and is ready to go now.

I was wondering if you re-used the taps that came with your fridge? I found the mechanism really complex compared to the typical beer-line-into-shank-into-tap we use in kegerators, and was considering scrapping the True taps for a the simpler Perlick faucets I have, though that means new tower shanks (not a huge deal). On the other hand, I am eager to get it going and could just go with the brass True faucets. On the other other hand, I don't want to waste my precious beer of the taps are crap From your pictures, it looks like you were able to use your Perlick taps on the True shanks? Mine won't work that way, the collars are a diffferent size and the Perlicks won't fit.

I was also curious where on the True site you were able to plug in your serial number? I had a look around their site and couldn't find anything. It's not critical, but nice to know.

Thanks for the info, and nice to see your project go so well, it is inspirational for my own efforts.

 

[kchomebrew]

Thanks for your posts on your True unit. I have come into one recently as well in a similar filthy-but-functional state as yours, courtesy of my bro' in law who was renovating a restaurant. It sure made for the best Xmas present ever!!

My fridge was pretty disgusting, with tar-like goop around the towers, and opaque brown beer lines that were discarded quickly. (gads, I hate to think of the beer that was served through them! Of course, it was probably Coors lite, so.....) Anyway, it cleaned up nicely with a bit of elbow grease and is ready to go now.

I was wondering if you re-used the taps that came with your fridge? I found the mechanism really complex compared to the typical beer-line-into-shank-into-tap we use in kegerators, and was considering scrapping the True taps for a the simpler Perlick faucets I have, though that means new tower shanks (not a huge deal). On the other hand, I am eager to get it going and could just go with the brass True faucets. On the other other hand, I don't want to waste my precious beer of the taps are crap From your pictures, it looks like you were able to use your Perlick taps on the True shanks? Mine won't work that way, the collars are a diffferent size and the Perlicks won't fit.

I was also curious where on the True site you were able to plug in your serial number? I had a look around their site and couldn't find anything. It's not critical, but nice to know.

Thanks for the info, and nice to see your project go so well, it is inspirational for my own efforts.

Thanks for the compliments. Yes. I replaced all the taps with Perlick taps and they fit right onto the tower. Not sure why they wouldn't for on yours ? Maybe post a photo and I can have a look.

Go to www.truemfg.com and click on US Commercial link and then the bottom right corner of the page has a serial # lookup. Hope that helps.

 

[lonerunman]

thanks for the sn# link, I see that mine was shipped May2000, so it's not that old, relatively speaking.

Here are some pics of the taps. The Perlick has a standard (?) 1" thread, while the True tap has that larger bit in the middle. The shank is 1", but it attached to the metal beer line that extends down the tower. I can't detach the metal line from the existing shank, it's a one-piece unit.
I have the True tap taken apart to show the bits in it; as I said, it seems quite complicated. Perhaps this is an industry standard, but it was new to me. Regardless, I think I'll be patient and just get some short tower shanks that will fit the Perlicks and be done with it.

Thanks for the feedback. We're lucky guys to have these fridges!

 

[gunmetal]

I bought a beverage air modell dd66-1 from a scrapyard, I only have a little over $70 bucks in mine. The condenser fan was locked up, only had to take it apart and oil the motor bearings (sleeve bearings), after that, I cools great. My doors had some pretty deep dents in them, so I got some 1/8" aluminum diamond plate and glued that to the two doors to hide said dents. My compressor must be pretty big because it pulls 7.2 amps, however these don't run that often, mine seems well insulated.

 

[kchomebrew]

thanks for the sn# link, I see that mine was shipped May2000, so it's not that old, relatively speaking.

Here are some pics of the taps. The Perlick has a standard (?) 1" thread, while the True tap has that larger bit in the middle. The shank is 1", but it attached to the metal beer line that extends down the tower. I can't detach the metal line from the existing shank, it's a one-piece unit.
I have the True tap taken apart to show the bits in it; as I said, it seems quite complicated. Perhaps this is an industry standard, but it was new to me. Regardless, I think I'll be patient and just get some short tower shanks that will fit the Perlicks and be done with it.

Thanks for the feedback. We're lucky guys to have these fridges!

Wow. Those taps are strange. Never seen anything like that before. I. An are how there would be nothing that would swap with them. Anyway, good luck with the replacements.