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Author Topic: Kegs freezing in the winter  (Read 4585 times)

Offline ANDREW.GROGAN1

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Kegs freezing in the winter
« on: September 12, 2017, 08:05:19 am »
I have a 3 keg system in my un-insulated garage.  I have a relatively small house so it's really the only place I can put it.  I live in New England and in the dead of winter (3 months), my keg fridge becomes unusable because the outside temperature gets so low, my kegs freezes.  Short of insulating my garage, is there anything I can do to keep the fridge from freezing?     

Offline factory

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  • Virginia Beach, VA
Re: Kegs freezing in the winter
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2017, 08:11:18 am »
If you have a couple of temperature controllers, you can add a small ceramic heater inside the fridge and set it to maintain temps above freezing. Use the second controller on the fridge itself to kick on if it gets too warm.  I do this to maintain a narrow band of temperature +/- 2F.

Offline EThome

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Re: Kegs freezing in the winter
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2017, 11:20:35 am »
I'm in suburban Chicago with a 4 tap kegerator that I built from our old refrigerator when we remodeled the kitchen a couple of years ago. It has been in our detached, un-insulated garage for the past two winters with no issues.

Granted, the last two Chicago winters have not been of the polar vortex variety, and possibly not as cold as you have gotten, but pretty cold nonetheless.

The only concern I ever had was the taps themselves seizing/freezing-up since they are obviously on the outside of the insulated refrigerator box. But they never did. I just assumed that the insulation wrapping the frig was/is enough to maintain the temp inside the frig.
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Offline 802Chris

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Re: Kegs freezing in the winter
« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2017, 12:28:14 pm »
I have fought this battle as well (Northern Vermont). I have found that a minute on the tap with a hair dryer works ok. I have also found that using a small ceramic bulb or heat pad can work wonders in a closed fridge, much like a ferm chamber. Typically for me it is just the tap that freezes up, not so much the whole keg. So, you can also disconnect your taps for the winter and run with cobra taps inside the fridge.

Offline ANDREW.GROGAN1

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Re: Kegs freezing in the winter
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2017, 07:17:36 am »
I have fought this battle as well (Northern Vermont). I have found that a minute on the tap with a hair dryer works ok. I have also found that using a small ceramic bulb or heat pad can work wonders in a closed fridge, much like a ferm chamber. Typically for me it is just the tap that freezes up, not so much the whole keg. So, you can also disconnect your taps for the winter and run with cobra taps inside the fridge.

I too am in Northern Vermont.  Unfortunately the hair dryer wouldn't work as it's my whole keg.  I may try to the ceramic bulb route. 

Offline PORTERHAUS

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Re: Kegs freezing in the winter
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2017, 08:55:43 am »
I have fought this battle as well (Northern Vermont). I have found that a minute on the tap with a hair dryer works ok. I have also found that using a small ceramic bulb or heat pad can work wonders in a closed fridge, much like a ferm chamber. Typically for me it is just the tap that freezes up, not so much the whole keg. So, you can also disconnect your taps for the winter and run with cobra taps inside the fridge.

Pretty much what I do as well as switch to cobra taps over the winter. Having an extra temp controller for a heat device is very handy.