Making a freezer act like a refrigerator

[rothsoutheast]

I'm new to this forum, and have little experience working with freezers and refrigerators. I brew a lot of beer, and I have a question whose answer could help a lot of people like me that have chest freezers that they would like to use for very-cold-but-not-freezing beer storage. If you guys have a good answer (if one exists I'm sure you'll have it), I will post it on the beer brewing forums that I often frequent.

Is there a way to modify the thermostat control on a chest freezer so that it will maintain a temp of about 35 degrees F? Sure, I could use an external temp control and probe, but that seems like a waste given that there already exists a perfectly good temp control device already in the freezer. My Kenmore has a 1-7 dial, but even the warmest setting still freezes liquids (beer). Anybody know how to modify this temp control to work at warmer temps?

Thanks a lot. Sorry I can't contribute to the knowledge of this forum, but I'm sure the beer gods will appreciate any assistance you can give me.

[ucp]

The thermostats are perfectly good untill you calibrate them. There may be a calibration screw/adjustment on t-stat somewhere. You might see it if you remove knob from t-stat and look down center of shaft, or it could be somewhere else in or on stat body.

If you could calibrate t-stat to run higher temperatures, I dont think it would be as accurate as youd want with that being a cold wall type freezer?

You possibly could overload the compressor running at higher tempertures than it was designed for.

It might be worth a try, if ya have a spare freezer to play with.

[rothsoutheast]

Thanks, ucp. I'll look for the calibration screw tonight.

It's a Kenmore 12.8 cu ft chest freezer, about 15 years old. I got it for $45, so if it gets destroyed in the process no big deal.

[icemeister]

Originally posted by mclancy
I got it for $45, so if it gets destroyed in the process no big deal.

Yes, however if it takes out thirty gallons of fine home brew, that's quite another matter.

[ucp]

Originally posted by icemeister

Originally posted by mclancy
I got it for $45, so if it gets destroyed in the process no big deal.

Yes, however if it takes out thirty gallons of fine home brew, that's quite another matter.

Thats the most important consideration of all! Why didnt I think of that.

[rothsoutheast]

Wait a sec... fooling with the calibration isn't going to make the freezer explode or anything, will it? I'll message back tomorrow and let you know if I could find the calibration screw, and if it worked.

[ucp]

No, it shouldnt explode!LOL Probably freezer just will not work if the t-stat gets messed up. Turn off power before playing with it though.

[clydemule]

I think the best way is to use the external thermostat and plug the freezer into that. yes you can mess with the thermostat, but like you say it has settings 1-7, not any temps. Any type of consumer appliance is designed for a certain very specific range, even after screwing with it I dunno if you can get it warm enough.

Good Luck!

Clyde, homebrewer and brewery chiller manufacturer.

[Diceman]

It's a crapshoot, buy those small, home bar type refrigerators, you can run them real damn cold.

[craig1]

just increase the alcohol content of the beer so it doesn't freeze

[rothsoutheast]

I took it apart last night and couldn't find anything that looked like a calibration screw. I think I'll just go the external temperature controller route... there are some cheap ones on eBay. Thanks a lot for everybody's input (particularly the "increase the alcohol content" suggestion).

[rayr]

Originally posted by mclancy
I took it apart last night and couldn't find anything that looked like a calibration screw. I think I'll just go the external temperature controller route... there are some cheap ones on eBay. Thanks a lot for everybody's input (particularly the "increase the alcohol content" suggestion).

Magic word "Cheap"