I have a 5cu ft Holiday Chest Freezer for my corny kegs.
Use a Johnson Digital Temp Controller set to 38 degrees with the probe in a thermowell in a Gatorade bottle of water.
I have a Eva-Dry 500 to control moisture, but I’m still having problems with moisture and now a small bit of mold was spotted and cleaned thoroughly.
You can see in the pic how the temp probe is being fed into the freezer.
There is a small gap in the seal allowing air to enter and causing the moisture which is all on the top of the freezer only on the tops of the kegs and regulator.
Any advice on how to feed it in without a leak?
Well duh, use ducttape ;D
actually that might work. I would guess you don’t open the thing a lot other wise you wouldn’t be blaming the problem on the probe line. It wouldn’t be pretty though.
I suppose you could very carefully cut the seal so the probe line goes in without making a gap. Then you could use super glue, rubber cement, shoe goo type product to seal around the probe line. You would have to leave the cooler open while everything dried and set though.
You could carefully pierce the gasket and feed the probe through. The gasket’s elasticity should hold itself tight around the wire.
Or drill a hole in the lid etc. You could do it big enough to where appropriately sized grommets would fit in and the wire would snugly pass through.
Or… Not worry about some piddly amount of mold; and it will give you some excuse to clean periodically. 8)
Drill a hole through the side and seal it with “Great Stuff”. Seen it a thousand times.
If you drill, only go thru the skin first. Poke around and make sure there’s no electrical or fluid lines, then continue
Yeah… Through the side is risky with a CF. Why when there are alternatives?
. This is what i did just drill through the top plastic seal. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sizzlechest1/9395842499/ Sorry i just cant figure out how to post a pic
I don’t know. I’m pretty sceptical that the probe line is causing the problem. It’s a tiny hole with no pressure forcing air through it. Is your drying stuff still good?
Click on the little mona lisa icon and insert the web address in the middle.
Hmm… Doesn’t seem to work for me either.
I’m with mtnrockhopper on this. I doubt that little leak would cause a mold issue. Mine has been that way for years.
I think it’s very possible that the small gap could be causing the mold. When you get frost in your freezer they tell you to check your seal. Any slight seal deterioration or warping can cause problems. So that would apply in this situation too. I like quattlebaum’s technique, but I’d still seal it somehow so you don’t have any air escaping.
The link is for the web page on flicker and not to the photo file directly. You need something that ends in .jpg, .png, .gif, etc. Flicker’s FAQ says it doesn’t provide direct photo file links anymore.
If you are using a picnic tap, the frequent opening of the lid to pour a beer is the major source of your problem. A small fan will help the circulate air to the Eva-dry unit and increase it’s efficiency as well as stabilize the temps in the freezer.
Is the Eva dry collecting water? Since a dehumidifier works by cooling air and causing condensation to form, it doesn’t seem like it would work very well in a space that’s already cold. And yeah, if you open it to pour beer then that is the major source of humidity.
Mold needs food. Keep drips cleaned up and clean the tops of the kegs when you remove a liquid post. I hold a paper towel against the post to prevent that little bit from running down the side of the keg. Also, when I used picnic taps, I fastened a few plastic cups to the kegs to put the tap in after I poured. As long as the kegerator is clean, there won’t be any mold issues.
You can feel air coming out where the wire is going under the lid seal. And since the condensation is only on the top of the freezer where the leak is, it definitely seems as if this is the cause.
Someone else gave me a good idea I’m going to try tonight. I can detach the probe lead from the Digital Controller and feed the wire through the drain in the bottom. I plan on taking some thick insulation foam and forming it to the shape of the drain holes and drilling a hole in the center of it to feed the wire through, that should keep a nice tight seal and prevent air from coming through the drain.
My Eva-Dry 500 dehumidifer is definitely picking up moisture. It works great and is rechargeable.
Luckily it seems to only be a problem in the hot summer days cause there was no problems during the fall, winter and beginning of spring.
I’m not saying the air leak isn’t contributing. Mold needs moisture as well. Your leak dedinitely needs addressed. Mold can be minimized by keeping spills and drips cleaned up. Thats all I was saying.
Oh I definitely agree. Mold was only where the picnic taps dripped onto the kegs. Have to be more careful after pouring to make sure the tap head doesn’t drip.
I definitely think going through the drain will be very easy and less invasive
I think avoiding altering anything is the way to go. That way if you ever have to sell the freezer then you don’t have to explain why there are holes drilled etc…
Worked out perfectly!
I went through the drain hole in the bottom.
I cut out two pieces of thick insulation foam and used a dremel to carve them so they would fit snug into the drain hole in the interior and on the outside. Drilled a small hole down the middle of each, detached the probe lead from the controller so I could snake it through the hole since the probe end won’t fit through the 90degree turn the drain takes.
Pulled the wire through and the plugs are snug and air tight in the holes and now the lead has a nice tight seal.