Beer Freezer

So the Arctic blast is kicking my fridge insulation’s butt so far. Last checked the internal temp was 32. I should be good to about 29 before i start losing precious suds.

Right now I’m brainstorming ways to bring the temp up to a better level.

Plan one is to run a drop light with an incandescent bulb until it comes up to (if it even will) compressor activation temps then removing the light for some time.

Another plan is to place a pot of boiling water in there to let thermodynamics do its thing.

You guys have any ideas without having to buy heating equipment or am I just going to have to call some sort of heater an early Christmas gift to myself?

There used to be a pretty cool build on wort-o-matic using a unused paint can and a regular light. Unfortunately it’s unavailable now. Basically you cut a hole in the can and fix the light in it.

Another option is to use a cheap ceramic heater and a temp controller. One nice thing is you don’t need an expensive two stage controller as you only need to heat it to a certain point. The outside temps will help keep it cool enough.

I currently use a heating pad from cvs attached to my temp controller as my heat source. No complaints except for the auto-shutoff after 2-hrs.
Next time I’d go with a “seedling heater” I’m not sure if the wattage is similar, but they tend to be bigger and don’t shut off.

There’s another thread about controller

Seems like I’ll be in the market for a temp controller. I’ve been looking at the Inkbird for a few months. a lot of the threads on here related to it make it seem like a nice economical option. Would I be stupid to drill an access hole through the side or door of the fridge to run the cord? The verdict seems pretty split and its not really a question of IF I will do it but rather will I hit any lines? I have an older fridge and am fairly confident most things run through the back but I’m not an appliance expert

Are your beers in bottles? You could bring them inside until the cold snap passed. If they are in kegs wouldn’t worry to much. If it’s that cold bring the keg in and just serve it off the floor. Heck I lager kegs in a snow bank

Yeah they are in bottles and yeah the fridge is packed. I have a decent chunk from 4 different batches in there. I’d rather not move all of them and put them back in. Think it’s better to justify temperature controller to the wife.

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Finally got a drop light in there but not before a growler filled with an APA and one of my lambics froze. I assume I won’t be carbonating in my growler ever again but even more so now. That froze and…didn’t break. It just forced out through the rubber o-ring. Definitely paranoid about dosing this container with sugar ever again. Fridge sitting at a comfortable 38 right now.