Vissani MVWC52B kegerator conversion

[mcubed45]

Has anyone tried turning one of these into a kegerator?

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/appliances/wine-coolers/vissani/52-bottle-wine-cooler-black-26102.html

I've been trying to find a fridge to convert that will fit two 1/6 kegs. The popular frigidaire 4.4 is a little too skinny. I took some measurements in this Vissani and it's 18" wide at the front, 12" from the hump to the front. Might be a little snug, but it looks like it would fit two pinlocks or two 1/6 kegs.

The coils look like they're all along the back of the unit. There's space between the thermostat and light on the top to run a tower.

 

[skibumdc]

Wine fridges typically don't have temp settings that go as cold as you might like.
Another warning, if you read the Micromatic forums(they make keg dispensing ahrdware for bars/homes etc) LOTS of people have issues with Vissani pre-built kegerators. They don't get cold enough etc.

 

[mcubed45]

Wine fridges typically don't have temp settings that go as cold as you might like.
Another warning, if you read the Micromatic forums(they make keg dispensing ahrdware for bars/homes etc) LOTS of people have issues with Vissani pre-built kegerators. They don't get cold enough etc.

Hmm, that's just a problem with the thermostat though, right? Not sure if it'd be worth the hassle, but if you just bypass the t-stat you can make it as cold as you like? Or does it just not get cold enough with the compressor constantly running?

 

[tcindie]

I know this is an older thread, but I just picked one of these up last night. Put a small PC fan in there and it's currently holding steady at just over 36*F (temp probe submerged in a glass of water), with the temp knob sitting about halfway between 4 and 5.

EDIT: I had actually turned the thermostat knob down to 4, and it was sitting at 32.7* when I posted this last night. Then the compressor turned off, and it started heating back up to somewhere in the upper 40's or 50ish before the compressor would finally come back on. Compressor turned off at around 10pm and still hadn't come back on by 1:30am.

So I cranked it back down to 5. Just checked it this morning, it was at 28.7* with the setting on 5 and the fan in there. It would appear the fan makes a huge difference, but I think bypassing the thermostat and using an external control might be necessary for it to maintain any kind of reliable temp.

 

[pfleming]

I know this is an older thread, but I just picked one of these up last night. Put a small PC fan in there and it's currently holding steady at just over 36*F (temp probe submerged in a glass of water), with the temp knob sitting about halfway between 4 and 5.

EDIT: I had actually turned the thermostat knob down to 4, and it was sitting at 32.7* when I posted this last night. Then the compressor turned off, and it started heating back up to somewhere in the upper 40's or 50ish before the compressor would finally come back on. Compressor turned off at around 10pm and still hadn't come back on by 1:30am.

So I cranked it back down to 5. Just checked it this morning, it was at 28.7* with the setting on 5 and the fan in there. It would appear the fan makes a huge difference, but I think bypassing the thermostat and using an external control might be necessary for it to maintain any kind of reliable temp.

Hey tcindie, any updates on the wine cooler? I'm planning a new kegerator project, and this wine cooler looks perfect if it can maintain temps in the high 30s/low 40s.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I know this is an older thread, but I just picked one of these up last night. Put a small PC fan in there and it's currently holding steady at just over 36*F (temp probe submerged in a glass of water), with the temp knob sitting about halfway between 4 and 5.

EDIT: I had actually turned the thermostat knob down to 4, and it was sitting at 32.7* when I posted this last night. Then the compressor turned off, and it started heating back up to somewhere in the upper 40's or 50ish before the compressor would finally come back on. Compressor turned off at around 10pm and still hadn't come back on by 1:30am.

So I cranked it back down to 5. Just checked it this morning, it was at 28.7* with the setting on 5 and the fan in there. It would appear the fan makes a huge difference, but I think bypassing the thermostat and using an external control might be necessary for it to maintain any kind of reliable temp.

Hmmm. My Vassani Kegerator only gets down to about 43*F, checking in a glass of water in the front.

I have a computer fan feeding air from the back bottom to up in the tower now. I'll have to leave it running and see if the temp drops.

 

[pfleming]

Hmmm. My Vassani Kegerator only gets down to about 43*F, checking in a glass of water in the front.

I have a computer fan feeding air from the back bottom to up in the tower now. I'll have to leave it running and see if the temp drops.

Is your kegerator based on the wine cooler, or is it one of the pre-made kegerator models? And does it have a glass door?

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Is your kegerator based on the wine cooler, or is it one of the pre-made kegerator models? And does it have a glass door?

It was a single tap kegerator when I got it, it would hold a 15 gallon sanke.

Now, it holds two 5 gallon kegs and a 3 gallon keg, and it it has a three tap tower.

No glass door.

 

[crajax]

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd reply in case someone is researching for a kegerator build. -- I successfully converted this exact model of wine cooler into a kegerator.

for the slightly wider pinlock kegs, you need to trim the shelf holder, which was easy to do, but regular ball locks will probably fit fine as they are a little thinner.

Also, as others have said, it doesnt get cold enough with the standard thermostat, mine was getting 42ish. I used an ebay temp controller that I already had left over from a previous project. (not the stc1000 - a cheaper one that looks similar, but only does heat OR cold, not both) I think when I bought it, it was $13 incl shipping for the controller.

Care must be taken when drilling into the top for your beer tower. If you do the thermostat mod first, you'll know the powerlines run along the top.

Works great, and looks nice too. - though mine is in a utility room, so looks isn't much of an issue.

 

[Lumpyyyyy]

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd reply in case someone is researching for a kegerator build. -- I successfully converted this exact model of wine cooler into a kegerator.

for the slightly wider pinlock kegs, you need to trim the shelf holder, which was easy to do, but regular ball locks will probably fit fine as they are a little thinner.

Also, as others have said, it doesnt get cold enough with the standard thermostat, mine was getting 42ish. I used an ebay temp controller that I already had left over from a previous project. (not the stc1000 - a cheaper one that looks similar, but only does heat OR cold, not both) I think when I bought it, it was $13 incl shipping for the controller.

Care must be taken when drilling into the top for your beer tower. If you do the thermostat mod first, you'll know the powerlines run along the top.

Works great, and looks nice too. - though mine is in a utility room, so looks isn't much of an issue.

Do you have a picture of where you cut your hole? I am considering this as I can't find a normal refrigerator that is less than 33 inches in height and this one is 32 inches (I have one already for my fermentation temp control).

 

[tryn2brew]

It will get plenty cold. All you have to do is turn the screw in the thermostat counter clockwise a few turns. I was able to freeze water in mine.

 

[mcmski]

Has anyone done a side mount pour spout on one of these? A tower setup wouldn't really work for me.

I've been searching and googling but I've only seen tower and picnic style setups.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

 

[crajax]

Hey Lumpy, sorry, I only just saw this reply.
Did you figure it out OK, or do you still need measurements ?

Do you have a picture of where you cut your hole? I am considering this as I can't find a normal refrigerator that is less than 33 inches in height and this one is 32 inches (I have one already for my fermentation temp control).

 

[crajax]

The coils are embedded in the sides of this refrigerator, so not the best choice for drilling holes into the side of it.

Has anyone done a side mount pour spout on one of these? A tower setup wouldn't really work for me.

I've been searching and googling but I've only seen tower and picnic style setups.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

 

[sbstoval]

Very old thread so not holding out hope this gets traction.... but I bought a Micromatic dual zone wine kegerator used and have been working on converting to beer. I was able to change the settings by accessing the hidden menu on the external thermostat and have gotten the left side (intended for white wine) to cool down to 37-38 degrees which has turned out great. But for the life of me, even by implementing the same settings, I can't get the right side of the fridge (build for red wine, temps of 55-60) to get any colder. Would an inkbird work, or adding a PC fan? Anyone have thoughts / suggestions?

 

[day_trippr]

Are there separate cooling loops for the two sides? Any documentation - or even model numbers - available?

Cheers!

 

[sbstoval]

Are there separate cooling loops for the two sides? Any documentation - or even model numbers - available?

Cheers!

There are two separate fans on each side, I know that. Here is the manual for the model. It’s the MDD23W. Thanks!

https://media-cdn.micro-matic.com/v...fe90bb1f4a38/Pro-Line Wine User Manual_v1.pdf

 

[day_trippr]

Very interesting unit! It took awhile to figure out how they could derive two temperature zones from a single compressor/condenser, but the wiring diagram for the MDD23W revealed the secret.

Essentially the compressor is operated by the "White Wine" control which provide a baseline appropriate for white wine. That side also has its own evaporator fan. And then there is a "Red Wine" control that has its own evaporator fan - and a resistor module (heat source!) - that together are used to shift the temperature "upward" on that side into red wine territory.

So...clearly the compressor and the evaporator fan on the white wine side are working, so assuming you have indeed set the red wine controls to match wrt temperature target, for a start you need to make sure the evaporator fan on the red wine side is working.

Also, you might think about disconnecting the "RW" resistor so it's not messing with you. You don't want it to ever turn on if you're going for a unified beer dispensing system. There may be some idiosyncratic behavior that isn't documented that forces the red wine side to be warmer than the white wine side, which would require the resistor to provide the heat needed. Indeed, you may eventually find it makes sense to connect the red wine side evap fan to the white wine control - parallel it with the white wine evap fan so they always run together - and not even use the red wine control...

Cheers!

 

[sbstoval]

Very interesting unit! It took awhile to figure out how they could derive two temperature zones from a single compressor/condenser, but the wiring diagram for the MDD23W revealed the secret.

Essentially the compressor is operated by the "White Wine" control which provide a baseline appropriate for white wine. That side also has its own evaporator fan. And then there is a "Red Wine" control that has its own evaporator fan - and a resistor module (heat source!) - that together are used to shift the temperature "upward" on that side into red wine territory.

View attachment 856126

So...clearly the compressor and the evaporator fan on the white wine side are working, so assuming you have indeed set the red wine controls to match wrt temperature target, for a start you need to make sure the evaporator fan on the red wine side is working.

Also, you might think about disconnecting the "RW" resistor so it's not messing with you. You don't want it to ever turn on if you're going for a unified beer dispensing system. There may be some idiosyncratic behavior that isn't documented that forces the red wine side to be warmer than the white wine side, which would require the resistor to provide the heat needed. Indeed, you may eventually find it makes sense to connect the red wine side evap fan to the white wine control - parallel it with the white wine evap fan so they always run together - and not even use the red wine control...

Cheers!

Awesome this is extremely helpful! The fan on both sides works. So looks like I'll either need to figure out how to disconnect the RW resistor or connect the red fan to the white controls as you mentioned.