Kegerator question..

[tshank]

Just got back from the Lowe's, was searching for a small refrigerator or chest freezer for making a kegerator out of. They had a 17 cubic foot frost free upright freezer that had been repaired and was on clearance for $199, regular price $349, the sept manager said if I wait until after 3pm tommorrow he will take off another $50, the shelves are all removable, by my measurements I should be able to fit 3 corny kegs and my 10lb CO2 bottle inside. And maybe my fermentor w/airlock. Anyone have any comments/pro's or cons about an upright freezer used as a kegerator? Thanks Tom

[danno]

it'll be super easy to mount taps through the door... it's not as efficient as a chest freezer (every time you open the door, all the cold "falls" out...), but still a nice find...

get yourself a nice digital thermostat, you will not regret it. check out www.controlsdepot.com, search for either the Johnson A419 or the Ranco ETC111000, save yourself a pile of $$$ over most other sources... (but you have to wire it yourself, it's easy...)

[tshank]

Danno, When you say you have to wire it yourself do you mean just adding a plug or what? I couln't fing anything on the web site you provided on the wiring process. Thanks for the info Tom

[Grog]

You have to cut an extension cord in half and wire it to the controller. I wired a Ranco last week, it took about 20 minutes. Here are the wiring instructions (http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/4274.html#4274-8) I used. The contoller comes with a wiring diagram as well (but the written instructions were easier for me to understand).

-G-

[BluesHarp]

One thing to consider with the extension cord trick...if your freezer has an interior light, it will only come on when the freezer is running.
I am putting up with that on my beer fridge...not a big deal, sometimes just a little tough to read the labels on the bottles in the back.
I would have to wire the thermostat directly to the compressor contactor and bypass the light circuit to get away from that; not a big deal if you are electrically inclined, but this is a temporary setup, so I haven't bothered to do it.

[danno]

here's some decent instructions for the Johnson, but it's almost identical to the Ranco. it really is easy, if you have any questions at all once you get it in front of yourself, we'd be happy to help... http://www.zymico.com/thermostat.shtml

(if you live in an area where you may need both cooling and heating, like my garage, you can wire both the Ranco and the Johnson to support heating and cooling. it's also very easy, and takes 30 seconds longer than wiring in just for cooling...)

[tshank]

Thanks to everyone who replied, I think I have a handle on the wiring, I will be heading down to Grainger today to pick up the Ranco ETC-111000, for $59.00. Tom:D