New (old) refridgerator... Now what?

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MFoster75
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New (old) refridgerator... Now what?

Post by MFoster75 »

Hey all... I picked up a 20 year old (still in working order) Whirlpool fridge on Saturday, given to me by a friend who didn't want to pay Sear's the $10 take away fee... After a scouring, it's ready to go, and I had intended to use it for fermentation (lagers, alts, kolsch, etc)... So, the big question is "Now what?"

Do I need to replace the thermostat to achieve decent temp control? If so, what unit, from where, should I buy? Will my wife still be able to use the freezer? Will the tempered glass shelf hold up the 6 gallon glass carboy filled with fermenting goodness? Who IS that masked man??

Oh, and anything else you guys think would be helpful...

Thanks a bunch!!
timbah
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fridge

Post by timbah »

there is a good video by bobby m that is a member you can search on the member list . he has quite a few very informative videos one of which is a video on a conversion of a chest freezer to a kegerator its a very smart idea anyway check them out... and no your six gallon carboy would bust that shelf like a sumo on a grasshopper
oatmeal chocolate sweet stout sounds good
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brewmeisterintng
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Buy a digital thermometer

Post by brewmeisterintng »

One that measures minimum and maximum temperatures. Place the sensor in the frig and see where you stand. I am guessing that you will want to sent the refrigerator on the warm side with the goal for lagers around 48-50 degrees. You might find that the old refrigerator's control unit cannot maintain a constant temp and you might have to purchase a temp control unit that will tell your refrigerator when to turn on. I use my hand me down for my kegerator.
I use a chest freezer for my lagers with a Remco control unit... great set up. I just wish I could do two carboys at a time...
csting
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Post by csting »

You can actually convert it so that your old refrigerator will just look old on the outside but work very much like a new kegerator. You probably would need a couple of new sensors though just so they will be ranging from different temperature bars now.

The main unit might not work hand in hand with it so you might as well have to change that. But if you think that it will be worth it, then nothing will come in your way.
jannereeves
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Re: New (old) refridgerator... Now what?

Post by jannereeves »

Even i bought an similar one, a 10 year old Whirlpool fridge and within 6 days it turned into scrap :oops:
Never back down!
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