Nate loves Beer.
Earlier this week I discovered that my newly converted kegerator had a condenser that would not quit running. I double checked the coils to make sure they were all clean and looked around the seal to make sure I wasn't losing any cool air out of it. Coils looked great and the seal was intact so I was really confused by the non-stop running condenser. I was messing around with the fridge Friday night and ended up turning the cooler completely off with a switch inside. My plan was to wake up Saturday morning, turn the switch back on and see how long it takes to cool enough for the condenser to turn off. Or so I thought.
I wake up Saturday morning and open the door to the kegerator. I'm not quite sure which emotion I was feeling when I discovered the inside of the fridge was abnormally hot. This confused the shit out of me. I quickly turned the fridge back on and after I could hear the condenser running I double checked the coils and the seal around the fridge. The coils still looked fine but for some reason when I was checking the seal I noticed a little crack in the top left corner where it seals against the fridge with light shining through. What the....
Curious as to why the lightbulb is still on in the fridge even when the door is closed I quickly reopened the fridge and searched for the light switch. I quickly located the switch on the ceiling of the fridge. The tray that was on the door is what turned the light off when it was closed. Since I had removed that part of the door to fit both kegs inside the light had been on non-stop. It's amazing the heat a 40 watt bulb will put off in a small, enclosed area. I grabbed some electrical tape, taped the switch to the off position and shut the fridge door.
I had to head into town for a couple of basketball games (I coach one of the finest second grade basketball teams in all of Cowlitz County) but when I got home I noticed the condenser was off. Sweet! I opened the door and checked the temperature and it was nice and cool. So I reached in and pulled the light off and closed the door. I spent my weekend in Seattle visiting my lovely girlfriend and when I returned home this morning I made sure to check on the kegerator. The condenser was still off and everything inside was nice and cool.
I'm extremely relieved that I figured out the problem but at the same time feel like quite the dumbass for not figuring it out sooner. Luckily we didn't have any beer in the fridge yet. We are going to be kegging the CCWA NWPA tomorrow night and since I'm force-carbing we should be sampling it by Friday evening.
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That is a jacked scenario! Glad you figured it out now. If you have a stick thermometer, here is a good idea. Take an empty beer bottle and fill it with water. Drop the stick thermometer into it so that it is suspended in the water and the dial should sit on the mouth of the bottle. Let it sit for 24 hours then check the temp. Personally, I dispense at 36 to 38 degrees. A little cool, I know, but I tend to get sidetracked and the glass gets a bit warm.
Also, another trick to help clear the beer is to Crash Chill it. Throw the whole Carboy in the fridge and cool down to serving temp. This causes the remaining yeast to drop. Since you are force Carbonating you don't need to worry about keeping the yeast. Not to mention, it takes less CO2 to carbonate beer at 36 degrees than at 70 degrees. If you need any help at kegging, give me a call! Don't forget your lube!
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