Vintage GE Kegerator

[kerber]

1) did you redo the GE badge on the door? if so, how? it almost looks brand new.

Honestly, I didn't have to do a thing to it! The badge was in perfect shape, so I just got the clips off and mounted it on the wall in my workshop until I was finished.

2) i have an old westinghouse fridge that has hinges that looks almost identical to yours. how did you take your hinges apart? i don't want to start prying away at mine and risk ruining them.

Again, I didn't have to do anything with them. They have a couple really tiny chips, but overall they are great. On mine, I'd get them apart by removing the chrome endcaps and pulling the pin out.

 

[kerber]

Now I just need to make it out to pick up some chalk...

 

[jlb307]

Again, I didn't have to do anything with them. They have a couple really tiny chips, but overall they are great. On mine, I'd get them apart by removing the chrome endcaps and pulling the pin out.

how did you get yours off? just pry them? that's what I'm afraid of ruining.

 

[kerber]

how did you get yours off? just pry them? that's what I'm afraid of ruining.

To get the hinges off of the fridge, I popped off the screw cover plate, then just removed the screws. If you're wondering how to get the actual hinges apart into separate pieces - I'm not sure beyond just conjecture. Mine were in good enough shape that they didn't require complete dis-assembly.

Hope that helps.

 

[DanPoch]

Very nice! Thanks for documenting all the steps. My in-laws have an old style fridge freezer like this in their basement that I'm hoping/praying will come my way when they move to a smaller home. Thanks to your posts I'll be able to know what I'm dong when converting!

 

[perkins98]

Is the thing in the freezer a damprid knockoff? or something? mine's been up and running for 2 1/2 months and it's an inch thick with ice already.

 

[kerber]

Is the thing in the freezer a damprid knockoff?

It's along the same lines as damprid, but I much prefer it. It's basically just full of silica balls. Once it's absorbed all the water it can, you plug it in and the built-in heater will renew it overnight. It's working really well for me! It's called the Eva-dry E-500.

 

[user 83772]

I don't think I've ever been presented with the occasion to utter this phrase, but: That is the sexiest fridge I've ever seen. I'm quite jealous of your craftsmanship, and envious of the end product - and I technically don't even brew yet, let alone keg!

 

[kerber]

I don't think I've ever been presented with the occasion to utter this phrase, but: That is the sexiest fridge I've ever seen. I'm quite jealous of your craftsmanship, and envious of the end product - and I technically don't even brew yet, let alone keg!

Thank you, BattleGoat! Once you get started, you'll find there's a LOT less time for other hobbies... haha. My wife picked me up a kit for my birthday last year. BEST GIFT EVER.

 

[CoalCracker]

Looks great! Why did you only go with two taps?

 

[kerber]

Why did you only go with two taps?

Unfortunately, there is only enough space in the fridge for 3 kegs if I place the CO2 tank externally. At this point, I'm not big on the idea of having a CO2 tank sitting out, so I opted to go with 2 kegs and a 5lb CO2 tank inside.

At some point in the future, I may try to find an end table or something of matching style that I can hide an external tank inside of.

 

[Byrd]

If you don't mind, can you shed some light on the arduino setup? How did you wire it, which arduino setup you bought off of spark fun, How do you monitor etc. Maybe even some helpful links I could use to set one up for my vintage GE fridge. I'm new to the arduino stuff. Thank you in advance! I'm jealous!

 

[beaksnbeer]

Well, we just had an offer accepted on a house, so I best try to bring this project to a checkpoint before the move. I finished wiring and testing the electrical this week. Hopefully I can get the door painted and installed in the next couple weeks.




Here's the power consumption while the compressor is running. ~180 watts! With the new insulation and the speed with which the coils cool, I should see some really good efficiency on this.

Once you set Watts x Hours run (per day) x 365 (days per year) = total watts divided by 1000 = Kw x your cost per Kw will give you your cost per year.

 

[kerber]

Once you set Watts x Hours run (per day) x 365 (days per year) = total watts divided by 1000 = Kw x your cost per Kw will give you your cost per year.

I got a good idea of the runtime here.

Here's the power consumption breakdown, for those interested in old fridges.

• 4 watts idling (webserver consumption)
• 170 watts cooling
• 2 min running time each cool cycle
• ~7 min running time per hour

Using that same formula, I had originally calculated it would be

180watts*2.8hr*365day/1000*$0.0683=$12.56/year​

Since winter has set in, my runtime is even lower than that! I guess it pays to have the refrigerator in the cooler lower level of the house. Over a 4 hour period today, the total runtime was 6 minutes!

 

[kerber]

If you don't mind, can you shed some light on the arduino setup? How did you wire it, which arduino setup you bought off of spark fun, How do you monitor etc. Maybe even some helpful links I could use to set one up for my vintage GE fridge. I'm new to the arduino stuff. Thank you in advance! I'm jealous!

I'm jealous of the great time you're going to have learning about micro-controllers! Right now, the setup is really straight forward and any specifics to the following bits can easily be found on the Arduino forums.

Temperature is read from a DS18B20 digital temp probe wired to an Arduino Uno. Once a second, it check is compressor needs to come on or not. If it does, it flips the data pin high that's connected to a solid state relay.

Connected to the Arduino over USB is a Guruplug linux computer. The Guruplug runs a python script that talks to the Arduino over serial to log termperature, status, and set the temperature.

The web interface is using highcharts to call a php script that returns the last few days of data. At the end of it, you get this
.

 

[beaksnbeer]

But Oh No it's not "energy star" rated so it's gonna cost a lot to run.

 

[Byrd]

Thanks for the reply Kerber!

What are your thoughts on using the same temperature sensor with usb adapter into a Hackberry A10 ( https://www.miniand.com/products/Hackberry A10 Developer Board) instead of an Arduino Uno. I'd use Python for Android to run the Python scripts (http://www.dbaportal.eu/?q=node/192) or I could just boot into Linux and run Python through there. I'd have to have a power supply and relays but outside of that I should be good on the hardware side right?

I'd just need to figure out how to use Jquery/web.py to retrieve the data and display it on a website. I know this post is off topic so feel free to discard if you're busy lol

 

[kerber]

What are your thoughts on using the same temperature sensor with usb adapter into a Hackberry A10 ( https://www.miniand.com/products/Hackberry A10 Developer Board) instead of an Arduino Uno.

Glad to provide some assist

The biggest reason I wanted to use an Arduino is just for the bulletproof reliability of a microcontroller. Reading the temp into linux/Android and controlling it from python should work just fine. The problem would be the first time the thing locks up or gets corrupt NAND and decides your compressor should stay on. While this may never happen - having an Arduino to control the baser functions is a good precaution.

Eventually, I plan on moving the logging and webserver to a general purpose home automation linux box and communicating wirelessly.

 

[beaksnbeer]

Kerber, an analog mind here in a digital world, but what is the advantage of this to justify using 1/3 of the cost to run per year aka $ 4.50 Is it just a cause you can or can it actually serve a purpose.

 

[kerber]

...using 1/3 of the cost to run per year aka $ 4.50...

I'm not sure I'm following. Are you referring to the constant 5 watts draw from the linux computer? The point of going digital with the setup is so that I can log and track my temp, as well as keep it within ~0.5 degrees of my desired temperature.

 

[beaksnbeer]

Yes, I stay within 2 degrees ambient kegs show no temperature fluctuations on a calibrated temperature monitor over the course of 24 hours.

 

[kerber]

Yes, I stay within 2 degrees ambient kegs show no temperature fluctuations on a calibrated temperature monitor over the course of 24 hours.

That's pretty decent! Once I move the data logging to a different Linux box, the constant draw from the Arduino should be minuscule. Once I get around to it, the Arduino will also handle the sensors for keg volume and such.

 

[beaksnbeer]

Interesting how many kegs and how would you sense volume? I have 16 kegs cold/conditioning in my 12 tap kezzer...........the burdens I bare.

 

[kerber]

how would you sense volume?

That must be horrible! Hah. There have been discussions on sensing keg volume in a few different threads, but I'll more than likely go with weight sensors under each keg. The downside is that the majority of weight sensors are meant for instantaneous readings and drift when under a constant load. There are some things I can do to mitigate the issues, but the only other worthwhile solution would be flow sensors. Cheap ones aren't terribly accurate and accurate ones are terribly expensive.

 

[beaksnbeer]

I thought about temp sensors at the 1 gallon mark as liquid portion vs.gas part of kegs has enough temp difference to read.

 

[skidude]

Did you ever attach a drip tray? I love the one in your renderings but I can't find anything off-the-shelf that is even close.

 

[kerber]

Did you ever attach a drip tray? I love the one in your renderings but I can't find anything off-the-shelf that is even close.

I'm still using a welcome mat on the floor in front of it. I really would love to know where schmidty found his stylish drip tray, but he's not posted back with details yet.

 

[fosaisu]

kerber, where in the fridge did you mount your temp probe? Is it taped to the back wall?

 

[kerber]

Right now, it's just taped to whichever keg is fullest. At some point, I'd like to seal it inside something with a bit more thermal mass.

 

[TBaGZ]

My father has this exact fridge in his garage. Been running mint as the garage fridge for the last 20 years with not a hiccup! Too bad I can't convince him to give it up yet. Not to mention it is in NY and I am in FL. :/