Upright Keezer Performance?

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jdubdvdt

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I built an 8 tap keezer from a used upright Frigidaire freezer and I was wondering if my performance issues were typical for an upright freezer or if my unit maybe has issues with older components.

  • Freezer is reasonably old. It does freeze, but takes some time compared to a chest freezer.
  • Using a Wi-Fi inkbird (ITC-308), only rated for 1200W, not sure if that's an issue once the compressor starts, probably not.
  • Inkbird probe on a can of beer in a koozie
  • Frost free with evaporator coil internal to unit with heater.
  • Two 120mm fans to prevent stratification
  • Unit is on my patio, not rated for outdoor use, but struggles even if it's 70F.

Obviously an upright is going to lose all the cool air when opening each time, but anytime I clean beer lines it becomes an issue. Say I have the temperature in the inkbird set to 38F and the temperature rises to 44F on the beer can, the unit will run for 3 hours and get the beer can to 41F. Which is somewhat to be expected.

***The concern I have is that freezer itself has a temperature display and will show an internal temperature of 22-28F during this process which leads me to believe it is not getting cold enough.***

Usually if I have guests coming over and I plan to clean beer lines I need to do it at least two days in advance to stop the unit from freezing over to get back down to 38F.

I bought this unit used and not sure how it should perform. Should I look into getting a new unit or is this typical upright performance?


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Honestly, I would stop using the koozie-beer can set-up. Freezer/fridge cold controls don't insulate the business end of the probe, it's only worried about air temp. Your set-up is making the freezer work overtime to cool the can, not the air.

Although you lose a lot of the air temp when opening the door, it should recover relatively quickly with the chilled kegs in there. Back in the 1800's when I was an appliance tech, I would get most complaints about massive temp fluctuations from single people with large fridges. The fridge was baron of food. I suggested to keep a gallon or two of water in there to help the temp recovery. 90 percent of the time, it worked every time.

Good question on the door gasket too. That can make or break fridge performance.
 
What's the condition of the door gasket? The "freezing over" thing suggests it isn't doing its job...

Cheers!
The gasket makes good contact all around. It might be a little weak, sometimes I push the door to make sure it's shut, but most of the time it's good.

I'm in Florida and it's extremely humid here. I run an EVAdry to help, but it's not uncommon for me to open the door when it's 90-100% humidity outside.
 
Honestly, I would stop using the koozie-beer can set-up. Freezer/fridge cold controls don't insulate the business end of the probe, it's only worried about air temp. Your set-up is making the freezer work overtime to cool the can, not the air.

Although you lose a lot of the air temp when opening the door, it should recover relatively quickly with the chilled kegs in there. Back in the 1800's when I was an appliance tech, I would get most complaints about massive temp fluctuations from single people with large fridges. The fridge was baron of food. I suggested to keep a gallon or two of water in there to help the temp recovery. 90 percent of the time, it worked every time.

Good question on the door gasket too. That can make or break fridge performance.

Thanks.

From what I understand a lot of people use the can and a coozie for better thermal inertia. I suppose if it was open to air it might run more frequently but less duration which probably would be desirable. I'll give it a shot.
 
Honestly, I would stop using the koozie-beer can set-up. Freezer/fridge cold controls don't insulate the business end of the probe, it's only worried about air temp. Your set-up is making the freezer work overtime to cool the can, not the air.
What's the condition of the door gasket? The "freezing over" thing suggests it isn't doing its job...

Cheers!

Testing it in a more ridiculous temperature with the probe just hanging out behind the kegs close to the evaporator coil. After further inspection the gasket is a little loose fitting on the bottom, but I was going to wait until I drill for my CO2 bulkhead before I get too crazy.

45F-70F ambient temperature range (outside on my patio)
32F set temperature
3F differential
10 minute delay

30 minute run time to go from 35F to 32F
90 minutes "off time" to rise from 32F to 35F.

Performance sound reasonable with that? I have a mostly full freezer with (5)-5 gallon kegs, (2) - 2.5 gallon kegs, and (6) 1 gallon kegs currently. Mostly full. I will replace the door gasket if needed.
 
The timing seems about right. The 'off' time could increase depending on when your defrost timer kicks on. Because you're using an Inkbird for temp control, this timing will vary. This is because the Inkbird controls the temp by interrupting the power to the freezer. Under normal operation a freezer, the defrost timer will kick the defrost cycle every 8 - 10 hours or so (depending on brand). This is drastically lengthened by the Inkbird as the defrost timer is only running during your 30 'run time'.

As far as your gasket, as long as it can hold a dollar bill kinda snug, it is doing its job. If it falls or pulls out too easily, it's time to replace the gasket.
 
I put my probe in a bottle of water/anti freeze mix. I'm targeting liquid/beer temps...not air temp. And a keezer is gonna be warmer than a freezer so you are not over working the unit.
 
I put my probe in a bottle of water/anti freeze mix. I'm targeting liquid/beer temps...not air temp. And a keezer is gonna be warmer than a freezer so you are not over working the unit.
If you do something like that - is that in a chest freezer or an upright? I never had an issue doing the beer can method, or putting the probe in an alcohol mixture when I was using a chest.

If its an upright, what is the temperature differential you're using?

I understand liquid/beer temp is what you're measuring, but liquid temp would become the same as air temp if it is maintained at a specific temperature.
I always used liquid for a better thermal mass and thermal inertia, but long run times are making me wonder about the performance of the upright.
 
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