Corny capacity of (current) fridges and freezers

[Kev888]

Tony may know, but so far all I've been able to pick up is that most are designed for room temperatures. When it gets colder, combined fridge/freezers (which are already a compromise) can suffer most when expectations change. For these and other fridges/freezers, some say damp issues are a problem, others the thermostat(s), others the fluid used (which needs to be warm enough to become gaseous at certain stages), and if it has defrost that can of course be an issue in low ambient temperatures.

But there do seem to at least be different design classes (class min max):
N 16 Deg C 32 Deg C
SN 10 Deg C 32 Deg C
ST 18 Deg C 38 Deg C
T 18 Deg C 43 Deg C
(I believe that N = normal, SN = sub-normal etc)

Its been suggested on a couple of internet places that zanussi and beko are making appliances specifically suited to outdoor storage temperatures, but I've yet to see this advertised in my local shops.

Cheers
kev

[Kev888]

I've been doing a bit of research into larder fridges:
Norm says the ball-lock cornies are (ear defenders on): "64 CMS HIGH X 69CMS CIRCUMFERENCE AND 23CMS WIDE". So two cornies high would be 128cm plus (say) 2cm shelf between plus (say) 2 x 10cm hand/disconnect space = 150cm - and thats tight for hand space if you're reaching to the back, so ideally more. To get two side-by-side that would mean 46cm wide.

On visiting currys and comet with a tape measure, most of the tallest (around 6') domestic larder fridges have internal dimensions of between 152cm to 158cm high, so just about possible for two rows. Some fridges have widths just under or just over two corny widths, so again possible to get two columns, but not always.

But in terms of depth, the compressor lump means you could only get two cornies on the bottom row. And the depth even on the top row can vary between 44cm to 46cm to the door opening, and then it gets messy as some doors are concave but most have fixed intrusions to a greater or lesser degree.

So, I'm concluding that with a bit of careful measuring, the most you could expect to get in a domestic larder fridge is probably 6 cornies. Although if you can get one with a door that can be hinged either side (and therfore can be detached by design), presumably one could make brackets and wotnot to add a forward extension without knackering the warranty, and so get a total of 8 cornies in - or in my head deeper, to 12, as the extra surface area/heat-losses would be offset by (at 12c) having a lower temperature differential then the fridge is designed to take.. ?!?

Cheers
kev

[Fil]

when shopping take a few 12" cutout paper disks with you to sit on the fridge floors to see how kegs could tessellate. a tip i spotted on another brewsite..

[Aleman]

when shopping take a few 12" cutout paper disks with you to sit on the fridge floors to see how kegs could tessellate. a tip i spotted on another brewsite..

No, what you need to do is take 8 empty kegs with you and see how they stack.

Don't worry about the hassle from the shop assistants . . . I took mine down to the local white goods retail park with 3 major chain stores, to try and find the fridge or freezer that was perfect for my needs.



. . . . . As a result of the exclusion order I am also unable to assist the wife with the shopping . . . . Unfortunately it expires soon

[Aleman]

Oh, and what kills fridges and freezers left outside during very cold weather, is that the lubricant oil that is added with the refrigerant gas to keep the compressor running smoothly increases in viscosity dramatically. This, coupled with the fact that the compressor runs very infrequently, means that the compressor has much more resistance to turning on start up . . . and if it does run it may do so with no oil . . . eventually compressor failure is inevitable.

As Kev said I did put a small heater (Heat Belt) with a thermostat around the compressor to avoid this . . . Unfortunately I forgot to turn it on last winter with the result that one day I went out to the shed to hear the compressor bearing screaming at me . . . no cooling but the compressor was running . . . now the compressor just does not run at all.

[Kev888]

Thats most useful, thanks. I think that if I buy new I'd want something that will last a while so I'll try not to take any shortcuts with the temperature capabilities.

Cheers
Kev

[rossa]

[quote="Aleman"]Oh, and what kills fridges and freezers left outside during very cold weather, is that the lubricant oil that is added with the refrigerant gas to keep the compressor running smoothly increases in viscosity dramatically. This, coupled with the fact that the compressor runs very infrequently, means that the compressor has much more resistance to turning on start up . . . and if it does run it may do so with no oil . . . eventually compressor failure is inevitable.

As Kev said I did put a small heater (Heat Belt) with a thermostat around the compressor to avoid this . . . Unfortunately I forgot to turn it on last winter :oops: with the result that one day I went out to the shed to hear the compressor bearing screaming at me . . . no cooling but the compressor was running . . . now the compressor just does not run at all.[/quote]


I had that terrible sound coming from the shed too! Scary. Don't know how mine is still running. I might start knocking it off in winter if just to get another year out if it...it must be 10yeats old. 3+ in the shed.

[Kev888]

Just thinking more about this; I had similar sounding problems when I over-stretched my last fridge in summer. I'd assumed that it was simply over-stressed, but as the heat exchanger iced up completely, maybe it actually (and ironically) cooled the lubricant too much.

Cheers
kev

[vanish]

If its so damn cold as to increase the viscosity of the oil, why do you need to have the cooling running. Unless of course you like your beer ice cold.
My freezer has a vivarium heat pad controlled by a TC-10, during the colder months the freezer is unlikely to be running and the heat pad comes on or off as required. I only want my beer at around 12c.

[Aleman]

Exactly what my TC-10 was set to

[barneey]

when shopping take a few 12" cutout paper disks with you to sit on the fridge floors to see how kegs could tessellate. a tip i spotted on another brewsite..

No, what you need to do is take 8 empty kegs with you and see how they stack.

Don't worry about the hassle from the shop assistants . . . I took mine down to the local white goods retail park with 3 major chain stores, to try and find the fridge or freezer that was perfect for my needs.



. . . . . As a result of the exclusion order I am also unable to assist the wife with the shopping . . . . Unfortunately it expires soon

Kev if you follow this advice and take some kegs with you, dont forget to take the camera along...

[themadhippy]

No, what you need to do is take 8 empty kegs with you and see how they stack

And for added amusment ensure each keg is suitable labled,things like Anthrax ,botulinum,sarin and ricin tend to get the best reaction,for added entertainment ensure at least one keg has a nice yellow and black nuclear warning symbol on prominent display

[Aleman]

For added entertainment ensure at least one keg has a nice yellow and black nuclear warning symbol on prominent display

Or a couple of Biohazard symbols

[barneey]

Yep thinking about it I have quite a few disposable overalls, masks and googles spare I can send you FOC, just for good measure.

Wonder if I can get the East Midlands news sevice in the S.E. or you might even make the 6 o clock if your lucky, dont forget to mention Jims + research when interviewed.

[themadhippy]

Wonder if I can get the East Midlands news sevice in the S.E

freesat channel 952