How to make a fridge colder!??!

[unyea]

Looked all over the place looking for an answer and can't find anything. Figure we all modify things every day and possibly some one has messed around with mini fridges before. Basically I have converted a wine cooler into a keg dispenser and it works fantastic except it will only let me set the thermostat to 6 C, and I dont mind coldish beer but COLD beer would be best. It has a digital thermostat so just turning the knob past the stoping point wont work. I figure someone out there might know something about fridges.

[sabbySC]

Re: How to make a fridge colder!??!

Wine coolers usually aren't real refrigerators so they can't go very cold. They are thermoelectric, not compressor type refrigeration units. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling

You are out of luck getting it to go as cold as a real fridge IMHO.

[PRY4SNO]

Re: How to make a fridge colder!??!

If its really full that might help evacuate a few more BTUs.

[unyea]

Re: How to make a fridge colder!??!

I am pretty sure it is like most fridges. It has a compressor/motor looking thing in the back of the fridge on the bottom. And it makes that water draining noise that fridges make.....if you can not tell I am fridge dumb.

[Kor]

Re: How to make a fridge colder!??!

Couple of ideas.

If it's a simple fridge, the coldness is probably controlled based on a cycle time. Comes on, goes off, waits, repeats. Making the cycle time shorter is going to require replacing or modifying whatever is controlling the cycle time. Unfortunately this is probably some kind of digital timer.... If it has inputs (the control knob would be an input) you can try giving it different inputs but there may be a finite range that you're stuck with.

There is another input besides the control knob. The second idea: fool the temperature sensor into thinking it's warmer. Basically the cycles are turned off if the thermostat thinks the fridge is cold enough. You could do this by maybe physically finding and moving the sensor from the interior of the fridge to the exterior of the fridge. Or measure the signal that the sensor is sending for warm and for cold, and modify that signal more to the warm side. It may be as simple as adding a resistor (depending on how it works, you gotta measure the sensor output first).

This is all guesswork I know nothing about fridges.

[SourKraut]

Re: How to make a fridge colder!??!

What make and model may help. Alot of digital controls have a sub menu that allows you to change things such as a lower minimum set point.

[unyea]

Re: How to make a fridge colder!??!

It is a Kenmore 461 Wine cooler. I found a wiring diagram on it and it looks like I might be able to move the temp controler to the tower I hope. Going to wait until this keg is done so I dont freeze it if it does get cold.

[Satnam]

Re: How to make a fridge colder!??!

just find the thremocouple and put it outside the fridge

[Mantis]

Re: How to make a fridge colder!??!

Replace the temperature controller with a Johnson A19 control, or if you want fancy go with an A419 Digital control.

No real mystery here, the controller that comes from the factory is a constant cut in style controller. That means it always turns on the cooling cycle at the same temperature, adjusting the dial only adjusts when the cooling cycle shuts off, but it can never surpass the cut in by more than 4F.

Retrofitting the aforementioned controllers will allow you to choose other temps. as they are not constant cut in style controls