Keg Fridge Dramas. Any ideas?

[lobedogg]

My keg fridge isn't holding temp below 12°C. Freezer is fine. Hoping for some advice

I put a tap on my old Kelvinator Frost Free 350T fridge a few months ago and it was holding temp no probs.

Having a party at the end of the month so decided it was about time to chuck another couple of Perlicks on there and create a little more room for the extra kegs (can fit 4).
This meant I had to take off the plastic lining and shelves on the inside of the door which I did. Replaced this with a sheet of MDF and put the seal back on.

The seal is definitely not as good as it was prior to removal but I can't see any gaps around it so I'm pretty sure it's not seal related.

One of the insulation sheets come out when I pulled the plastic from the door but I didn't replace it as is was a bit shredded. Still a fair bit of insulation in the door so didn't think this would be a big issue?

Tab on base of door that appears to turn light on cracked when I was modifying the door. Didn't bother replacing it as the light didn't work anyway. Just occurred to me though that maybe this turns the fan on also? Could this actually be my issue? Have I just 'troubleshot' myself?

I'll investigate when I get home tonight but any ideas would be appreciated regardless....

Cheers

 

[stux]

If door open, light on, fan off
else light off and if too warm fan on

Light On switch broken... fridge broken

I think

 

[lobedogg]

Thanks Stux. I'm a bit slow though - you're basically telling me to fix the door tab light switch thingy?

Will grab some superglue and give it a crack tonight.

 

[MartinOC]

Lobedogg, you said you changed the plastic insert/shelves etc. in the door with MDF. How thick was it?

Bear in mind that the original lining was thin plastic & the fridge was designed for that. Maybe your MDF solution was too thick to maintain the seal?

Also, MDF is very susceptible to moisture-absorbtion (which will make it swell over time & affect the effectiveness of the door seal & hence the fridge's efficiency).

Can I suggest that you replace the MDF with a piece of sheet metal (go & seek-out your local sheetmetal place & ask them if it's OK to rummage through their scraps-bin &/or ask them to cut you a piece from the end of a run they're doing). Often, they've got end-of-run scraps laying around that would fit perfectly in your fridge, so do a bit of nosing-around.

I did this when I was creating my fermentation fridge & the blokes cut me a piece exactly to size for $30. Fixed!!

 

[michaeld16]

Can you hear the fan when you have the door open and push the light switch in?

 

[michaeld16]

If you can and the fridge has been running a while without the fan then evaporator probably iced up a bit now

 

[lobedogg]

MartinOC, thanks I'll do that! The Mdf sheet was in my shed and I got a little excited when I got the taps. Knew it wasn't ideal. It's only marginally thinner than the plastic sheeting though.

michaeld16, I can! So I've glued the piece back on. Fingers crossed. Also, I'll leave it unplugged and open for 24hrs to defrost.

Thanks all- I'll keep you posted!

Cheers

 

[dblunn]

I had a frost free keg fridge once upon a time with the same sort of problem. Turned out to be the timer that controls the defrost cycle, it had stopped so no defrosting and the evaporator at the back of the freezer was chockabloc full of ice and there was no path for the cold air to make its way down to the fridge part (long winded way of say what michaeld16 said). Let it defrost for a couple of days and turn it back on, if it works properly afterwards then that could be your problem.
Dave

 

[lobedogg]

Update: Glued tab back on and left fridge to defrost for 24hrs. We have cold beer pouring again!

Thanks all.