Freezer as a fridge?


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Old 01-08-20, 06:03 PM
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Freezer as a fridge?

OK - I've been on the lookout for a good, used all refrigerator for some time now but nothing has become available. The object is to find a unit that I can set to around 8C (47F). I cure salami at home and need a cool dry place for storage.

The problem is that all fridges are hard to find but upright freezers are a dime a dozen. My meat curing chamber is a commercial fridge on a temp/humidity controller. I know the temp controllers work well.

If I plug an upright freezer into an external temp controller, will that work? Or is there something else with the cycling or coil that would make the freezer inappropriate for use as a fridge, above freezing temps?

Or, is a freezer nothing more than a fridge with a stat with a lower temperature range?
 
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Old 01-08-20, 09:18 PM
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Thermostats is one major difference and many freezers aren't self defrosting.
Other than that.... you can use your freezer as a fridge.
 
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Old 01-09-20, 02:45 AM
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I might add that a freezer used as a fridge will not be a dry location.
In removing heat from the freezer the walls of the freezer will go below freezing temperature and collect frost or moisture.
As said you would need to use a fan type freezer that has a defrosting system and means to handle the defrost water.
A freezer with cold plate shelves or in-wall tubing will be a wet/damp mess.
 
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Old 01-09-20, 04:18 AM
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Look at home brewing forums and websites. It is very common for them to convert chest freezers into keggerators and fermentation chambers. They sell thermostats that you plug your freezer into then set your freezer's thermostat to the coldest setting. They also make dual mode controllers that allow you to plug in a heater (heating pad) so if the freezer is located in a very cold area it can warm to hold the exact temperature you want.

 
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Old 01-09-20, 05:01 AM
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Good to know about humidity. Would if be safe to say that if the freezer is “frost free” I will not run into humidity issues when using it as a fridge?

I’d planned to use this type of controller that has worked very well for my curing chambers.

https://www.ink-bird.com/products-te...r-itc310t.html
 
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Old 01-09-20, 05:07 AM
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I use a similar type of controller in my salami curing but that’s a repurposed retail beverage fridge. It works very well but I assumed I was dealing with a different sort of beast

 
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Old 01-09-20, 05:54 AM
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You will want an older unit with a mechanical thermostat and a mechanical defrost timer.

If the defrost timer is electronic then it will rest every time it shuts down and will never defrost.
 
 

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