Fermenting Fridge tripping breakers.

[RobinW]

Power was off this morning, the main breaker was tripped. Isolated it to the fermenting freezer. Inside had a strong electrical burning smell. Got the fermentors out and found the problem is the defrost circuit. Looks like it has been stuck in defrost mode. The motor side of the defrost timer is open circuit so it's stuffed and the defrost cutoff thermostat is a molten plastic mess, hence the stink. I jumpered the compressor wires and the compressor started up. Yahhh.

It ran nonstop for a full hour and gets cold so it's working again. I got one fermenter into the small backup fridge but the other is just sitting on the bench.

I got another timer and thermostat coming, $30 total delivered, but it will probably take a week or more to get here. Do you recon I can put the fermenting beer back in.

Will bypassing the defrost circuits cause any issues? I just need it at 18C till Sunday maybe then cold crash.

 

[Crakkers]

Power was off this morning, the main breaker was tripped. Isolated it to the fermenting freezer. Inside had a strong electrical burning smell. Got the fermentors out and found the problem is the defrost circuit. Looks like it has been stuck in defrost mode. The motor side of the defrost timer is open circuit so it's stuffed and the defrost cutoff thermostat is a molten plastic mess, hence the stink. I jumpered the compressor wires and the compressor started up. Yahhh.

It ran nonstop for a full hour and gets cold so it's working again. I got one fermenter into the small backup fridge but the other is just sitting on the bench.

I got another timer and thermostat coming, $30 total delivered, but it will probably take a week or more to get here. Do you recon I can put the fermenting beer back in.

Will bypassing the defrost circuits cause any issues? I just need it at 18C till Sunday maybe then cold crash.

If you're using an STC-1000 or similar, it should be fine.
I probably wouldn't have even bothered getting a replacement timer and thermostat - just let the temp controller tell the compressor when to start/stop - but I'm a bit slack with things like that!

 

[RobinW]

I use inkbirds screwed to the wall for the fridge and HLT. I'm just going to leave it in bits till the parts arrive. They're only coming from Sydney. The beer on the bench is sitting just under 18C today but it'll get cold in there tonight which should only slow it down. They only started bubbling today and it's definitely not hot up here. The one in the little fridge should finish first so I can cold crash and keg it then move the other in there to crash it.

It's weird how the defrost timer motor failed right when the defrost cycle had been triggered. It still smells like it all got pretty hot.

 

[Chappo]

Yes no need for the timer and thermostat. Bypass these and use your STC or what have you to control the compressor cycle. Won't need the defrost cycle as you won't be getting the fridge cold enough for long enough,

 

[RobinW]

It gets used as a freezer during events like xmas and easter so I want it working.
Parts are in the mail so I'll have em Monday anyway.