11 replies to this topic

[Hooperjetcar]

So my chest freezer converted to kegerator died over the weekend. Compressor is way hot to the touch, and is not cooling. Unplugged for two days and tried again, no dice. My folks are in the final planning stages of a itchen remodel, and will be replacing their fridge. They have said I can have the old one, so I have that coming, but it may still be a two months. I was planning on using the next month to brew stocks up for football season, and currently have 10 gallons of blond in secondary, due to chill in another week. Any ideas for temporary chilling/serving set-ups until folks fridge get here?

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

So my chest freezer converted to kegerator died over the weekend. Compressor is way hot to the touch, and is not cooling. Unplugged for two days and tried again, no dice. My folks are in the final planning stages of a itchen remodel, and will be replacing their fridge. They have said I can have the old one, so I have that coming, but it may still be a two months. I was planning on using the next month to brew stocks up for football season, and currently have 10 gallons of blond in secondary, due to chill in another week. Any ideas for temporary chilling/serving set-ups until folks fridge get here?

Load your chest freezer with bags of ice?

[3rd party JKor]

buy another chest freezer.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

buy another chest freezer.

that's sound pretty permanent aka not temporary

[Hooperjetcar]

I thought about bags of ice but with no drain on the freezer that gets to be a pain to empty the water from the melting ice. My other thought was a ghetto jockey box, and just let the kegs stay warm. Just make the hose on the cobra tap longer and bury a lot of it in ice in a cooler. But that's going to screw with the carbonation. I may just have to suck it up and deal with the water.

[ChefLamont]

what size is it?Edit: are you trying to solve the serving problem or the lagering/storage problem or both?

Edited by ChefLamont, 12 August 2009 - 01:17 PM.

[Hooperjetcar]

Can't remember actual size, but it holds 3 kegs plus co2 tank. I guess I am more worried about chilling the beer as it comes out of secondary to help clear it up and then storing it. I can survive on store bought (probably) till the new fridge arrives.

[Deerslyr]

I thought about bags of ice but with no drain on the freezer that gets to be a pain to empty the water from the melting ice. My other thought was a ghetto jockey box, and just let the kegs stay warm. Just make the hose on the cobra tap longer and bury a lot of it in ice in a cooler. But that's going to screw with the carbonation. I may just have to suck it up and deal with the water.

Wait a minute... you are worried about drilling a hole in the bottom of a dead chest freezer??? That's what a Craftsman Drill and a 3/4 inch bit is for!!!

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Wait a minute... you are worried about drilling a hole in the bottom of a dead chest freezer??? That's what a Craftsman Drill and a 3/4 inch bit is for!!!

that's what i'm talking about

[Hooperjetcar]

Wait a minute... you are worried about drilling a hole in the bottom of a dead chest freezer??? That's what a Craftsman Drill and a 3/4 inch bit is for!!!

Well that was a stupid moment. Thanks.

[Deerslyr]

Well that was a stupid moment. Thanks.

Just get a cheap plastic barb from HD Lowes and a bit of tubing to drain away if you need. A little bit of plumbers putty will seal that barb in on a temporary basis. Sometimes the most obvious is the hardest to see, but if you were considering dumping a bunch of ice in it anyways... go for it. I can't imagine how much ice you would need to keep chilled... but hey if it works temporarily you will be good to go.Here's another option for you. If your freezer has a collar that you put on it, you can get a cheap-o dorm fridge off Craigslist or something and run that with some ducting into the existing freezer. Just a stupid thought, but it might work temporarily. Heck, you see these guys building nice ferm chambers using the guts from these things, so I don't see why it wouldn't work.

[3rd party JKor]

It's probably better to leave the water right in there for thermal mass. Just keep adding ice. If the water level gets too high you can just siphon some out.