So I've just got my hands on a free undercounter fridge on gumtree. I tested it and the lowest temp I could reach was 3*C. However when I put a fermenter (at 19*C) in it struggled to lower the temp. After two days it reached 9*C. I took the fermenter out and in less than an hour it was down to 5*C.
The probe was just sitting behind the fermenter in a central position. I'm not using a thermowell or anything at this stage.
Has anyone come across this problem?
Most fridges won't go down to 2, this time of the year it's 3 with current ambient.
By putting 25l in it that's a huge amount of cooling to do.
Tips to help you are place temp probe half way up the fridge wall or better still in your beer using a thermowell.
Insert a 12v computer or other fan, which are very efficient to transferring cold and heat around fridges, they will get the job done quicker saving electricity and keep ice spots off the rear and condensation down. 3 fridges and redneck ferment chamber and they all have fans👍
Cheer CH. I'll stick a computer fan in it and see if there's any improvement. I'll rarely need to go that low anyway as it'll mainly be for fermenting in.