Rising temps in kegerator

[Dr1nkBeer]

So i'm done with my build out of the 7.2 CF Fridgidaire freezer/ kegerator. My Love control is working as it should and the freezer seems to cool down quickly.. but i notice my temps are rising rather quickly after the compressor shuts off.. I have 3/4" inch wood collar and its calked and the seal is flush and i get the "swoosh" when i drop the lid... any thoughts on how i can manage to figure out where my leak (if any) is?

at a loss...

 

[SD-SLIM]

Take pictures...somewhere you have a hole or may need to insulate the back of wood collar if you added one.

 

[Hang Glider]

consider adding a fan as well - to mix the cooler air and warmer air.

any small fan, such as a computer fan hooked up to an old 12v wall wart

 

[skibumdc]

Some ideas
1)throw a bright flashlight inside, turn off the lights and look for any light coming out of the keezer?
2) Put some smoke in the keezer and then run a vacuum outside after closing the lid....you might see the smoke escape and there's your leak?

Otherwise....Insulation and fans to regulate temps

 

[Catt22]

Did you insulate the collar? That's where most of the heat will infiltrate. I noticed a 40% reduction in power consumption after I insulated the collar on mine. It made a huge difference. Excessive condensation can be indicative of an air leak somewhere. If you don't have a lot of condensation, then I think you can pretty much rule out a leak in the seals or collar.

One other important thing. Be sure to allow sufficient time for the temperature to equalize. This can take awhile when adding additional kegs of warm beer and such. Give it at least 24 hours before and after making any adjustments. This is particularly important on initial start up, but also any time changes are made.

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

I have a fan and the only holes i drilled besides the hinges were four faucets and a pin hole for the fan wires. In the lid now i cut the temp controller and to holes at the back for the wires thats all still well insulated... i think i was ahead of myself cause the next morning i checked and it seemed to have slowed. I only had it running for a few hours when it came down to temp...

Havent insulated the colar but its got three coats of paint on it.. I could put a second layer of wood on the inside with some insulation in between?

here are pics...

 

[FishFace]

Insulate collar. 1" foam from HB can be cut and glued. Seems can be sealed with caulk.

 

[Seven]

How many kegs do you have in the keezer currently? Having it full will help keep the temps. stable vs. having it almost empty with a lot of dead air space as it seems is the case from the pictures you've posted.

If you don't have enough beer on hand to fully stock your keezer you can fill some empty kegs with water and keep them in the keezer to help regulate the temps since liquid warms and cools much more slowly than air.

 

[EricT]

If your beer was room temp when you put it in its going to absorb the cold air for the first day or 2. On a side note, Nice job man, that looks great!

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

How many kegs do you have in the keezer currently? Having it full will help keep the temps. stable vs. having it almost empty with a lot of dead air space as it seems is the case from the pictures you've posted.

If you don't have enough beer on hand to fully stock your keezer you can fill some empty kegs with water and keep them in the keezer to help regulate the temps since liquid warms and cools much more slowly than air.

ha!.. maybe thats it.. I have four kegs in there now... and they are all empty... i can fit 6 without the CO2 and 5 with the CO2... maybe i'll just fill them with water like you said.. good point. that was my intention of just filling up the dead space.. but i suppose having liquid would actual keep the temp down on it s own...

I only turned this on.. because i bought the fridge like a month ago and never even tested it... i was worried that if by any chance it was a "dud" i would be to far in the build to replace the whole thing... and would need to replace the compressor if thats even possible.
thanks i'll fill the kegs with water now.. and see.

i really dont want to run insulation... "ugly"... but a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do.. and thats keep my beer cold and the bills low.

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

I just noticed that i never plugged up the old hinge holes.. but there a bunch of foam behind them.. maybe just maybe i'm loosing a little here and there... i dont know...

I hope filling the kegs work.

 

[SD-SLIM]

Kegerator looks great, I would defiantly glue some foam to inside of the collar it will help reduce your electric bill at the very least!

 

[electrichead]

Where is your temp probe? If it is just hanging in open air, try placing it in a cup of water. As others have said, insulate the collar.

 

[Hang Glider]

it's been said. Insulate that collar.

That tall collar makes about a 5th of your air mass volume, with an R value of .62 (wood is NOT a good insulator!)

looks good, though!

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

yea.. thanks guys this thing had to look nice other wise off to the garage with it (as the wife said) she loves it now... thats exactly why i dont want to insulate. I did find a paint additive that is supposed to make paint insulate ... i may just try it for ****s and giggles...

I do however think that once the kegs are full it may regulate a bit better... the freezer runs for about a minute every half hour right now.. i dialed in the temp controller as well.. still figuring out the TSX3.. way too much controller for this application...

 

[I_B_Mongo]

Hope you got it figured out. I like the 'vette pic. '57?

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

sort of.. I'm holding temp i had to hang the temp probe down about 8 inches in the freeze, about 8 inches over the kegs... now I have a different issue... for some reason the temp controller goes into a -d- mode for defrost... I want to disable that too...

Yes it is... a 57... Always wanted one... ended up with a 69 chevelle instead...

 

[Hang Glider]

yea.. thanks guys this thing had to look nice other wise off to the garage with it (as the wife said) she loves it now... thats exactly why i dont want to insulate.

Styro or other closed-cell insulation on the INSIDE of the collar wouldn't show...

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

Where is your temp probe? If it is just hanging in open air, try placing it in a cup of water. As others have said, insulate the collar.

THanks... my Probe isnt water proof... not that i read anywhere on the documentation... i heard soem guys say they Ruined theirs by placing in water...

 

[Catt22]

THanks... my Probe isnt water proof... not that i read anywhere on the documentation... i heard soem guys say they Ruined theirs by placing in water...

You can easily waterproof the controller probe, but IMO placing the probe in a container of water(or anything else) only increases the response time of the controller. The effect will be similar to increasing the differential setting on the controller (on adjustable versions) and this will cause wider temperature swings. I have my probe hanging in the air and I monitor the temperatures of the keg/fermenter etc with a separate indoor/outdoor thermometer. The thermometer probe is attached to the side of the fermenter and covered with some bubble foil insulation. I adjust the controller according to the thermometer reading. This configuration has been working out very well.

 

[cwi]

You can easily waterproof the controller probe, but IMO placing the probe in a container of water(or anything else) only increases the response time of the controller. The effect will be similar to increasing the differential setting on the controller (on adjustable versions) and this will cause wider temperature swings. I have my probe hanging in the air and I monitor the temperatures of the keg/fermenter etc with a separate indoor/outdoor thermometer. The thermometer probe is attached to the side of the fermenter and covered with some bubble foil insulation. I adjust the controller according to the thermometer reading. This configuration has been working out very well.

Your logic is slightly off regarding dampening the probe response. As part of dampening the probe (placing it in within a large thermal mass like a jug of water), the temp differential can be tightened without causing excessive cycling. The temp of (non-fermenting) beer is also guaranteed to be closer to the desired temp, instead of some variable offset from the average inside air temp (which is influenced by ambient/outside temps). The real world temp differences between the two approaches aren't all that great for just keeping beer cold, but keeping it in/on a jug/keg will reduce compressor cycling.

For active fermentations, placing the probe directly on/in the ferm vessel (and topping with insulation if external) will give much tighter control of ferm temps without having to monitor/adjust the freezer temp along with beer/wort temp to account for the heat being generated by the ferm.