UncleStavvy Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 On 11/10/2019 at 1:26 PM, Shamus O'Sean said: Hey folks, All good on the new versus second hand fridge front. We are just trying to help each other with advice from our various perspectives. I think secondhand is great if you know the history of the fridge. I kick myself now because we gave away two fridges and a deep freeze a few years ago when we were clearing stuff out of mum's place after she passed away. Now I would love to have them. Anyway, I am working on turning the new fridge narrative in our house into a new kegerator. Wish me luck. I couldn't even give 2 fridges away a while back. Put them on a local FB buy/swap/sell page for about 2 months. You would get enquiries via messenger who wouldn't show and I got the shits and took them to the dump. Hindsight is 20/20..... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lickedthestamp Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 So this happened... Still need to set it up - will need to get some 12mm ply as per Muzzag's post earlier in the thread but really looking forward to being able to brew and condition over the summer 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lickedthestamp Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 Just a quick question for you knowledgeable people here, what do you do about the cords for the temp sensor and heat source entering the fridge space? I assume you just run them through the door opening and then close the door over them, but is there then any issues with the door seal not completely sealing? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiek86 Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 (edited) 17 minutes ago, lickedthestamp said: Just a quick question for you knowledgeable people here, what do you do about the cords for the temp sensor and heat source entering the fridge space? I assume you just run them through the door opening and then close the door over them, but is there then any issues with the door seal not completely sealing? I've only just started brewing and using a fridge again so im the last one to be completely knowledgeable but I just hang the temperature sensor through the door and if u were using say a heating pad in winter the same applies it really does no damage or causes any problems just sit your temp controller on top fridge and run probe through top. And in regards to new versus old the old defiantly they built things properly then I left my brew fridge outside in open for a very wet winter and it still works no problem. the missus reckon would blow up after plugged it in. Edited November 18, 2020 by jamiek86 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmar92 Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 Yes run them through the door, there is really no other option and in my experience it works fine. I doubt you would notice any leaking from the seal, I don't. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pale Man Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 1 hour ago, lickedthestamp said: Just a quick question for you knowledgeable people here, what do you do about the cords for the temp sensor and heat source entering the fridge space? I assume you just run them through the door opening and then close the door over them, but is there then any issues with the door seal not completely sealing? If its a permanent thing you can run wiring through the drain hole that all fridges have. Or just run through the door at the bottom. Because your running a fridge at warmer conditions for fermenting, any cooling loss is minute and not to worry about. A keg fridge you might want to run wiring through the drain hole. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 1 hour ago, lickedthestamp said: Just a quick question for you knowledgeable people here, what do you do about the cords for the temp sensor and heat source entering the fridge space? I assume you just run them through the door opening and then close the door over them, but is there then any issues with the door seal not completely sealing? Most everyone does that. BUT, you need to tape the sensor to the FV or you're just temp controlling the fridge, not the beer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lickedthestamp Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 Thanks all - thought running it through the door would be the usual way of doing it, but wasn't sure if people found any issues with the seal @Pale Man I haven't spotted a drain hole in this one - apart from a few cracks in the bottom of it I have sealed those up though with food-safe silicone to stop any potential spillage getting into them. @Lab Cat Yep am planning to do just that, taped to the FV underneath a bit of old neoprene stubby cooler 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 2 hours ago, jamiek86 said: the missus reckon would blow up after plugged it in. I know your pain. I got a secondhand fridge for free a while back. SWMBO would not even let me plug it in for fear of burning down the house. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiek86 Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 9 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said: I know your pain. I got a secondhand fridge for free a while back. SWMBO would not even let me plug it in for fear of burning down the house. in this case it was prove her wrong there is a reason it is in old shed out the back just in case. been going strong for couple of brews now so should be ok 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lickedthestamp Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 (edited) Ok so finally got the fridge all setup and now have my first brew underway in it In the end I decided to drill a couple of holes through the fridge wall rather than than run the temp sensor/heat belt cable via the door seal. Firstly, the thickness of the heat belt cable meant that there was quite a large gap in the door seal - more than I was comfortable with. Secondly, I was pretty certain that there was no cooling elements in the side walls - cooling for this unit appeared to be just via the back wall of the fridge.So I was pretty confident that it wasn't too risky to do. Drilled a couple of holes and then sealed the 'walls' of the holes with food safe silicone. Once I ran the wires through the holes I used some blu-tack to seal the gap around them. A few self tappers to mount the Inkbird and heating/cooling point to the side of the fridge and voila! I used 12mm ply for the shelf for the FV but it is bowing a bit - and this with only 20L in the FV at the moment. I think I will see about getting some 18mm ply, though I will need to rebate the sides down to about 11mm to allow it to slide into place it will hold the weight much better. The only issue is that as the fridge is out in the garage (there wasn't anywhere in the house for it to go) I really wish I bought the wifi Inkbird now so I could check on it without having to go out there Edited November 29, 2020 by lickedthestamp 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journeyman Posted November 29, 2020 Author Share Posted November 29, 2020 11 hours ago, lickedthestamp said: I used 12mm ply for the shelf for the FV but it is bowing a bit Mine had wire shelves so I pushed a 2nd shelf in over the one half way up - holds perfectly. I think you might want to move that shelf up a bit so you have room for a 2nd FV on the bottom. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lickedthestamp Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Journeyman said: Mine had wire shelves so I pushed a 2nd shelf in over the one half way up - holds perfectly. I think you might want to move that shelf up a bit so you have room for a 2nd FV on the bottom. No worries I have measured it and made sure there is room enough for 2 FVs My only problem would be drinking enough beer to make 2 FVs worthwhile 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journeyman Posted November 29, 2020 Author Share Posted November 29, 2020 26 minutes ago, lickedthestamp said: My only problem would be drinking enough beer to make 2 FVs worthwhile Oh ye of little faith! We KNOW you will find a way. I mean... think of your friends - once they know you're doing beer they will be constantly finding reasons to call around! Plus - not a lot of point making your own and risking running out, is there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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