Kegorator Questions

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dicko

Boston Bay Brewery
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I have a KK Kegorator and as others have probably had this problem, I wonder if there is a fix.

When the power goes out (and it happens in Port Lincoln too frequently) my Kegorator switches the built in thermostat automatically to around 12 deg c obviously to prevent the compressor starting up if the power comes back on again in a few minutes.
No probs if I am home but when we are away and come back we have warm beer
.
The other thing that worries me is that if the power goes out once and then back on and the temp stabilises at 12 deg c then the power flicks on and off again, would this cause the compressor to restart again and maybe cause damage?

Has anyone fitted a fridgemate or a thermostat control with a delay built in so as to avoid this problem? and if so could you please explain how you bypassed the original control?

Cheers
 
Thermostats generally have an active in and active out to the defrost timer then on to the compressor. (and an earth)

So to hard wire an stc1000 type controller to replace your fridge you would disconnect the active in that goes to the thermo from the power point and connect it to the cold side of the stc1000 to terminal 8. on the stc1000. Then the wire that goes to the defrost timer or compressor would connect to terminal 7.

Then the stc1000 will switch the fridge on and off when it reaches temp and you can set a compressor delay.

DISCLAIMER: This is a guide only, it is up to you to check that you have wired this the correct way around. You must switch the active side. use an electrician YADA YADA.
 
I simply hard wired my chest freezer to always on. (Bypassed the thermo)
Then hooked up an external stc1000
 
dicko said:
When the power goes out (and it happens in Port Lincoln too frequently) my Kegorator switches the built in thermostat automatically to around 12 deg c obviously to prevent the compressor starting up if the power comes back on again in a few minutes.
No probs if I am home but when we are away and come back we have warm beer
Some would argue that's the perfect temperature ;)

But yes, just put it to the coldest setting and throw a temperature controller in there.
 
sponge said:
Some would argue that's the perfect temperature ;)

But yes, just put it to the coldest setting and throw a temperature controller in there.
But by doing that i was thinking that it would still be governed by the original controller.............am I wrong??

and yes 12 degc is good for some beers but not my summer drinking choices :lol:

Cheers
 
dicko said:
But by doing that i was thinking that it would still be governed by the original controller.............am I wrong??

and yes 12 degc is good for some beers but not my summer drinking choices :lol:

Cheers
If the digital controller is set to a higher temperature than the coldest setting on the kegerator then I would think you shouldn't have a problem.
 
yeah if it's that electronic one your stuffed

it will only go to 12C if you dont disconect the one built into the fridge...
 
So you say don't set the fridge to the lowest temperature but set it to say 12 deg c (what it defaults to anyway) then hook up a controller externally.
I am not thinking clearly this arvo and I can't get my head around the original controller not taking over?????
Wouldn't that mean that the original controller would shut the compressor down at 12 degc or would I have to remove the original temp probe from the fridge so that the controller reads that the temp is always higher than the set temp and therefor remains "on" all the time thus leaving the fridgemate to do its job??

Cheers
 
Sorry Maheel I came in at the same time without reading your post...
 
So has anyone ever done anything like the modification I am talking about on a Kegorator or am I on my own????

(No "smilies" available on Ipad on this new forum)

Cheers
 
You mean hard wire a temp controller to your fridge and by pass its own thermostat?? Yes I've done it on a fridge to test it out and it worked fine. Because you have a digital thermostat your going to have to bypass it.
It will be the only way to do it as your thermostat will always cut the fridge at 12c.
But in all honesty if you go out for the day and your power is cut so the fridge is running at 12c, when you get back that night I doubt the beer will be at 12c. Having a large thermal mass it would probably take a good 24 hours or more for the keg to warm up to that.
You could even wrap the keg in a camping mat to help it stay cool when this happens.

Tape an insulated probe to the side of your keg and reset your fridge to 12c and check the keg temp after 10 hours. You will probably be surprised at what the kegs temp is at.
 
I have got my wife trained now to check and reset the kegorator if the power does give a flick so generally not a problem except for being a pain in the arse to have to reset it all the time.

And you are correct Truman that the kegs will take a long while to get to 12 deg c from say a 3 deg c however sometimes we like to get away for the weekend and if the power goes off and on soon after we leave then sunday night is hot beer night. From my observation a kegorator is not the best insulated fridge that you could get either.

What I was really looking for is someone who may have bypassed the thermostat on an actual kegorator and may be able to give me a clue on "how to do it"

All comments are good as it keeps bumping the thread and I would have thought that the number of members on this board, someone would have done this modification. :)

Cheers
 
The inner workings of a fridge and a kegerator are the exact same thing.
The wiring should be very similar on both.
Thermostats are just a switch inline with the power wire to the compressor.

Maybe Sunday nights should be alcohol free nights..lol

Nahhh stuff that.
 
dicko said:
All comments are good as it keeps bumping the thread
Off grid solar - no power outages here ;)

No help to you, but I've bumped it again for ya
 
Truman said:
The inner workings of a fridge and a kegerator are the exact same thing.
The wiring should be very similar on both.
Thermostats are just a switch inline with the power wire to the compressor.
Maybe Sunday nights should be alcohol free nights..lol
Nahhh stuff that.
Im not completely sure but from my observations the thermostat control is not the same in the kegorater as it is in a fridge or freezer,hence my request for info from someone who may have done this.

When the fridge has cut back to 12 deg on a sunday it does turn into an AFN. ( no smilies on Ipad)

Thanks for the bump Dan2

Cheers
 
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