[kozman1215]

Hi All - - I'm planning on starting to ferment in a fridge, but have one question:

Will the Ranco/Johnson temperature control override the freezer compartment of the fridge once I plug the fridge into it, or do I need to find a freezerless fridge?

Cheers
Kris

[In The Sand]

Yes you can use it with a fridge that has a freezer.  It's basically just a relay that cuts the power on and off depending on what you have the temperature set to.  You can adjust the temperature differential based on how much temperature variation you want.

[kozman1215]

Thanks!  Also, do I need to set the fridge at a certain temperature setting or does that not matter since I'll have the Ranco or Johnson controller?

Appreciate it!

[morticaixavier]

Thanks!  Also, do I need to set the fridge at a certain temperature setting or does that not matter since I'll have the Ranco or Johnson controller?

Appreciate it!

set it to the lowest temp setting. that way you don't have to worry about the fridge itself kicking off before the controller would if you are fermenting a lager or similar.

[In The Sand]

Thanks!  Also, do I need to set the fridge at a certain temperature setting or does that not matter since I'll have the Ranco or Johnson controller?

Appreciate it!

The Ranco will be the new temp controller, so your fridge temp setting doesn't matter much.  I would just leave the fridge temp at wherever you would normally use it, 35-38 F, just to ensure it runs when the Ranco tells it.

[beersk]

Thanks!  Also, do I need to set the fridge at a certain temperature setting or does that not matter since I'll have the Ranco or Johnson controller?

Appreciate it!

set it to the lowest temp setting. that way you don't have to worry about the fridge itself kicking off before the controller would if you are fermenting a lager or similar.

This is what I'm finding, as I've just converted my old fridge style kegerator to a fermentation fridge. Set on it's warmest setting, the compressor would stop before the controller was down to the temp it was set to. I thought it didn't matter and that the controller was supposed to override any of that. Guess I was wrong. So I now have it set on the coldest setting and it's working fine. However, on my chest freezer kegerator, I have it set on the warmest setting and it's still working fine at 38F.

[rapurcell85]

The way a refrigerator or freezer works is that the refrigeration unit kicks on when the temperature rises above its setpoint. In many cases, this may just be set with a nob that has a blue bar on it. When the unit senses it is back to or just below setpoint, the unit kicks off. Therefore, if the temperature on your controller is below the refrigerator setpoint, the refrigerator will kick off before you get cool enough. You should set your refrigerator temperature as low as you can. If you are trying to control your freezer to a specific temperature, you may need to adjust it with each temperature move, unless you have one of those fancy dual unit types. If you only care about the refrigerator portion, then DWHAHB. If you just want it as cold as possible, set the differential to its highest setting, set the fridge temperature to the highest setting you will use, stick a thermometer in the freezer, and see how cold it stays. If it stays below about 30 degF, you have a freezer, though not the best. If not, you have a really cold storage spot that sometimes gets to freezing.

[klickitat jim]

+1

I'm pretty sure that thermostat is either on or off. So there's not much to do about over shooting your target temp. My freezer usually over shoots my cold set point by a couple degrees after the control shuts it off, but it rises back and stays at set point pretty quick. I have it set at 65, the air fluctuates between 63-67, but usually it's right on 65. Probably because it's easy to change air temp but less easy to change the temp of 5-15 gallons of beer