How long have some of you been using the same keezer? Continuous usage? Where is it located? I use a chest freezer with Johnson external temp controller to house my kegs in my garage. It comfortably holds 6x sixtels and plenty of bottles. I keep the controller set to around 45 degrees. This week I started noticing that it runs more frequently than usual (no surprise as its getting warmer.) But then it dawned on me that its constantly running... I also noticed there is ice buildup near the top of the front wall of the unit. I checked very closely and there are no leaks for air to get in and cause the condensation. It also rarely gets opened since it is primarily used for my draft offerings. Last evening I placed a thermometer in a glass of water and cranked the controller down to 40 degrees. The temperature in the water this morning is reading 63 degrees. I did some searching prior to posting this and it appears the coolant level might be low. (Simply having someone charge her back up seems silly to me if its just going to leak again.) I also read that I might have killed my keezer by having it in the garage all winter (below 55 degrees in there.) Anyone have any similar symptoms and find resolution other than tossing it and getting a new freezer? This is my second one now that has died and I am getting frustrated with a lifespan of only 2 years or less. (Both purchased used off craigslist.)
I feel your pain. I scored a great upright freezer from CL for 75 bucks, spent a day cleaning, and it looked/operated brand new. Until it stopped 6 weeks later. Unless it's something really simple a service call/repair exceeds the value and I don't know a way around that. The only solace I offer is you are not alone. Keeping a freezer in the garage may cause some harm if your cold temps are extreme (lubricants may suffer). Surprisingly, older models seem to survive the cold a little better than the newer ones.
A consumer-grade freezer is generally not repairable, according to many of the manufacturers (actually, anything is repairable, it simply doesn't make economic sense). If it fails under warranty, it's usually replaced. If you search the internet for parts, you're likely to only find things like handles and hinges. A dedicated freezer will generally work just fine in the garage during the winter. As I recall, my Magic Chef's owner's manual specified an operating temperature as low as -20. A refrigerator/freezer, OTOH, will appear to develop problems in the cold simply because of the way it operates (a single thermostat/compressor maintaining two distinct temperatures has to make some assumptions about the ambient temp). I suspect it would return to 'normal' working condition once the garage temp returns to a nominal room temp. Unless your controller is cycling the compressor frequently (you've set it to a real tight differential), the keezer should last as long as it would storing only ice cream and meat in the basement - five, ten, twenty years, perhaps more. That said, I've had freezers die in as little as 10 months (under warranty). Another upright lasted about 5 years. It's the nature of mass produced, cookie-cutter, commodity appliances. A freezer is a fairly low tech device - that's why they can be had so cheaply. I'd replace it. Either for another $50 steal on Craigslist (they're throwaways at that price), or a couple hundred for a new one (Costco extends the manufacturer's warranty for free, as does American Express. Something to consider)
a few things to consider your utility is more than likely not supplying a clean power supply. it should be 120V within a few V, but it is a common issue. it should be 60Hz, but again this is not typical. electric motors require a clean and stable power supply. if your supply is dirty (and utilities do not deliver clean power, just clean enough) expect your electric motors to pay the price. household appliances will tolerate some swings, tough unless everyone on your block is losing a freezer frequently nobody would ever suspect a thing. you can check this with a multi-meter if you have some skill. buy it from lowes, use it, then return it for a refund. just a suggestion... how old is your house, or specifically, the wiring? you might have some leakage, which is just as bad as dirty power from the utility. keep the cut in/cut out to 5 degrees. start-ups are the death of compressors. it's like pedaling a bike, hard from a dead stop but not so bad once momentum takes over. freezers do not work very well in cold weather, but it should not cause permanent damage. the removal of heat relies on the compression and expansion of gas, if it's too cold this won't happen efficiently. don't recharge. could be a slow leak. works fine for a year, less so the next year, and so on. forget about fixing the leak. not worth the service call. this is your most likely problem. my frigidaire dropped dead exactly one month out of warranty. bastards. Cheers. if you bought used, well, caveat emptor. chest freezers are fairly durable appliances I think and I would guess 20 or 30 years is not asking too much.
As I said, the operating temp of mine went down to -20, so my guess is it won't do any damage, permanent or otherwise. But, in the case of a keezer, it won't be called upon to work in ambient temps below 35 or 40 degrees anway, so this is irrelevant.
I did a bit of Googling and concluded that many (most?) freezers are not rated to operate below a given ambient temp - some as high as 10C (50F). I suspect they'll work fine, but the warranty will be void. It appears that mine may be an exception to the norm (not that it matters, since it's indoors). I just wanted to qualify my otherwise blanket statement, above.
I am an appliance repair tech, and it may work. Old, R12 systems work fine, but current, R134a systems may not. The range is 50F to ~80F. You can run hotter temps if you provide auxiliary cooling for the compressor and hot gas loops (ie a fan). When the sealed system leaks in a chest freezer, it is junk. It is actually illegal to recharge the system without repairing the leak, which is basically impossible. There will be 3 basic problems that are repairable - compressor -expensive and not worth it. Compressor relay, simple and cheap. Temp control, which you provide in the first place in this application. Lastly, there are 2 manufacturers of freezers in the US. Frigidaire and Haier. Excellent Keezer!
