Fridge Temperature...

[thriftynomad]

Hey all... long-time lurker, first-time poster... first off, a big thanks for the pitfalls i've learned about here so far... and a new question.

How does everyone effectively measure the temperature in their refrigerators? I have an old fridge (1950s Admiral) with a replaced compressor, but the original temp control and it seems to get REALLY cold, REALLY quick... even when I've got it on the "warmer" setting, it still hovers around 30F!! (it has been as low as 22F!!)

I'm using a fairly cheap digital thermometer that has a 10 foot cord and a little sensor. i've got the sensor hanging in the middle of the fridge, not touching anything... right beside the keg. This way I can read the temp without opening the door.

The beer seems almost perfectly cold right now, but I'm worried about freezing if it gets below 27. When I got the fridge, I was worried it wouldn't be cold enough... guess that's not a problem.

Is there any effective way to measure the temp of the keg itself, short of putting a thermometer in a glass you've just poured?

Thanks,
Greg

[toneyc]

If you've had the keg in the fridge for a day or two, I think that it will pretty much even out to be the same as your probe is reading. I use the same method, a little digital thermomter from Wal-Mart with the probe hanging free inside the kegerator. I suppose you could get a weldless fitting and a screw-in thermometer like those used on our brew pots and actually have a thermometer in each of your kegs but that really seems to be a bit over the top. Relax.... Don't worry.... Have a homebrew....

:)
Toney.

[O2 Mash]

Originally posted by toneyc
If you've had the keg in the fridge for a day or two, I think that it will pretty much even out to be the same as your probe is reading. I use the same method, a little digital thermomter from Wal-Mart with the probe hanging free inside the kegerator. I suppose you could get a weldless fitting and a screw-in thermometer like those used on our brew pots and actually have a thermometer in each of your kegs but that really seems to be a bit over the top. Relax.... Don't worry.... Have a homebrew....

:)
Toney.

I would agree with Toney, after some time, the keg temp would stabilize to the temp of the air. Sounds pretty cold though, you might want to get yourself a temp controller. Toney gave me a link to one that was about 50.00, a pretty good price. Maybe he could forward you some more information on it.... Toney?

[thriftynomad]

Thanks guys... much appreciated.

The fridge looks to have settled down nicely at about 37F on the warmest setting... which seems pretty much perfect for the current light lager I've got...

The temperature regulator seems like a good idea. I'm going to be at Kegworks in Buffalo on Thursday and I'll see what they've got.

cheers,
Greg

[thriftynomad]

Hmmm... I guess I spoke too soon. After a couple of days of staying at 36F and serving up perfect beer, I woke up this morning with a fridge at 19F and frozen beer lines.

I was able to slowly warm up everything and pump out the lines... looks like the keg itself didn't freeze, but it was a fairly close call.

I think the temp control in the fridge doesn't work, so does someone have a good suggestion for a temp controller that turns off the fridge?

Thanks again all...

[L.H.H.H.Brown]

It is an air conditioner temp controller. You connect the fridge to it, put in a probe, it reads the temp, and shuts off when it hits the desired temp. Out here I go to Home Depot or Lowes. Don't know what you have. Remember to ask for an air conditioner controller. I was looked at crazily when I asked for a fridge one ( or maybe they were clueless ). It cost me around $20 - $30.

[YamahaXS]

another suggestion is that you might want to call around to your local appliance repair places and see if you can get a universal thermostat.