Ideas for getting stench out of a chesty

[Killer Brew]

Am looking to start kegging over the next month or so and have picked up a few items but didn't yet have a way of cooling the beer. That was until Friday when on my way to work I passed a giveaway chest freezer outside of the racecourse stables. Swung the wagon around and hoisted it into the back and headed on to work. Feeling pretty happy about myself until a god awful stench permeated through the car, Windows down, turn around, drive back home and dump it on the front lawn.

Last night a threw around 20L of hot water into it with a third of a bottle of bleach and soaked overnight. Put on the facemask and scrubbed the hell out of it inside and out this morning....still stinks. A box of bicarb soda and a litre of vinegar.....scrub, scrub, scrub,,,,,,,still stinks.

God only knows what has been in this thing, and I prefer not to imagine, but I need to find a way to sort it out or it will need to go back out with next hard rubbish because if I use it the way it is I'm certain it will taint whatever goes in there!

Any thoughts?

 

[MickGC]

check there is nothing in the little drain.
more of all the chemicals!

 

[zoigl]

Freshly ground coffee grounds in an open dish got rotten meat stink out of a freezer switched off for months, give it a try. It took a week for the smell to completely go away. An old German trick!

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Grab some Tea Tree oil in Alcoho; (Aldi have the best value one for about $5 )

Mix that up 2:1 with water in a spray bottle and just spray the inside

Tea Tree is naturally anti bac and anti fungal

 

[Blind Dog]

Check the innards for dead rodents as well, the buggers love to crawl inside

 

[technobabble66]

Try sodium percarbonate with hot water.
Would it be possible to fill it with hot water, throw in (a lot of) sod perc and leave it to soak for a few days?

Did it stink out the car with the lid closed on the freezer? If so, the source may be exterior to the freezing section, so check the pump/innards section as mentioned above by BD.

 

[Bribie G]

Couple of entire tubs of Aldi Napisan should do the trick.

 

[dicko]

I used this in a drain that had one hell of a smell and it killed whatever was in there.

http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=2535

I have also used it in "manky" kegs with great results

 

[wynnum1]

What about repainting and then find away of getting rid of the paint smell.

 

[MHB]

Bleach, this is the sort of job its made for!
Mark

 

[wynnum1]

Pool and spa chemical may be worth looking at they remove Organic contaminates & chlorine odors but with chest freezer if mix wrong chemical could be problem toxic gas produced.

 

[MastersBrewery]

Check the innards for dead rodents as well, the buggers love to crawl inside

Rodents love to snuggle upto the nice warm compressor, recently got a keezer up and running, did clean out first up and found 6 dead mice in around the compressor.

 

[Killer Brew]

Thanks all. Some good ideas here that I will give a go and report back the results!

It is also now tripping my safety switch so could be a while longer before my keezer dream is realised.

 

[wereprawn]

Can't help with removing the stench, but as a side note .. when a fridge/freezer needs to be stored for any length of time, it's best to throw a handful of tea bags in ,or a whole box if its a large unit. The tea will absorb any moisture , has antimicrobial properties and will leave the fridge smelling fresh, even after many months of storage.

 

[wynnum1]

Thanks all. Some good ideas here that I will give a go and report back the results!

It is also now tripping my safety switch so could be a while longer before my keezer dream is realised.

Check the power lead they can get eaten or damaged .

 

[Killer Brew]

Took off the grill, gave it a good clean out. No rodents but one hell of a redback nest. Everything including the cord is intact. Smell is definitely internal to the cabinet.

Have it upright now and more bleach soaking in plus a splash of lavender oil. Will try and turn it on again in a few hours and see if it still trips the safety. Then if it works but still smells i will seek out some coffee grounds or tea tree oil.

 

[wynnum1]

Took off the grill, gave it a good clean out. No rodents but one hell of a redback nest. Everything including the cord is intact. Smell is definitely internal to the cabinet.

Have it upright now and more bleach soaking in plus a splash of lavender oil. Will try and turn it on again in a few hours and see if it still trips the safety. Then if it works but still smells i will seek out some coffee grounds or tea tree oil.

Could be the redbacks safety is better then short circuit .

 

[Killer Brew]

All good, it is working now without tripping. Think all the gunk around the electricals may have been damp. Runs nice and quietly too.

Might be starting to win the battle of the stench too. Nuked it with some eucalyptus spray.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

All good, it is working now without tripping. Think all the gunk around the electricals may have been damp. Runs nice and quietly too.

Might be starting to win the battle of the stench too. Nuked it with some eucalyptus spray.

Eucalyptus does the same job as tea tree oil basically

 

[wynnum1]

Chest freezer outside of the racecourse stables probably dog meat for the guard dogs.