There seems to be quite a bit of problems associated with Danby and other competing brands of keg coolers in Danby's price range. One of the most common problems I think is foamy beer. This foam problem is often blamed on the nonstandard faucet. And while I think that may be true to a certain degree, I think most of the problem stems from the fact that the liquid temperature of the beer does not get to 36-38 degrees Fahrenheit. Just because the nifty looking digital display says 36 degrees, it doesn't mean that the cabinet temperature is actually 36 degrees and it certainly doesn't mean that the beer temperature is 36 degrees.
Now none of this is to say that you should be complacent with Danby's (or whoever made your keg cooler) problems. If you have the opportunity to return your cooler and you feel that the best option, then do so. As it is, I'm going to make the best of it and maybe not only make my keg cooler better, but perhaps even great. I've already done a couple of inexpensive little changes which I intend to be only temporary. I'll share them and throw out some ideas that I plan on doing in the future as well. I won't imply that anyone should do these things or take any blame if you mess up your kegerator or spoil a keg of beer.
The first thing I decided was that to control liquid temperature (which is what we want to do) I needed to know the liquid temperature. The temperature sensor in the Danby is not a very good one to begin with. Also I don't think it is in the best location. I pulled the grilled cover that holds the sensor and removed it. I then took a glass of water and placed it in the back of the cooler and then submerged the sensor. The reason I did this was because when I was comparing the temperature displayed on the Danby digital display with my Fluke 87V, I found several degrees difference. When I placed the Fluke's temperature lead in a glass of water after 24 hours, I was indicating 40 degrees Fahrenheit while Danby showed me 36. This was not good. I then placed the Danby temp sensor in the same glass as the Fluke and then they were in agreement within a degree. Within minutes the temperature in the glass was down to 36 and shortly after that my beer was much colder and far better tasting. This of course is a temporary fix. I have a temperature switch that is going to assume the duties of compressor control.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg...?ItemKey=2E728 This switch has a 3-1/2 degree differential so short cycling the compressor I hope won’t be a problem. I'll leave the sensor hooked up because I do like to walk by and have an idea what the temperature is.
In the Danby cooler I have, the fan is smaller than the CPU fan on my computer. This fan is for the most part useless. I doubt one would notice if this thing was operational or not. I took a trip to the fan aisle and picked up a cheap 6 or 7 inch fan. I removed the top of the cooler and routed the cord through the hole for the tower, across the top of the cooler to the back and then plugged it into the wall. My first thought was to place it on top of the keg pointing up towards the tower but I found I got better results hanging it off the top of the keg blowing downwards. By blowing the air down the cooling element at the back of the unit, I found that my liquid temperature got colder and less ice formed on the cooling element. This also is temporary. I plan on adding a blower that will duct cooler air from the bottom of the cabinet to the tower as well as a fan to circulate air inside the cabinet.
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-...pid-2C782.html
Taking control of the compressor away from Danby is going to mean that I will no longer have automatic defrost. This shouldn't be a big problem. For those that remember freezers before automatic defrost, it wasn't quite as bad as beating clothes on a rock down by the river or chopping wood. Given that the frequent opening of the door contributed to frost buildup in those old units and that a kegerator