Danby Temperature Modification Question

[elder-of-dogtown]

I have a Danby kegerator which has been having the same temp problems as the other Danby owners seem to have had. I've been reading over the different ways people have fixed the problem and I have a quick question. I was considering adding a 33K ohm resistor to the temp sensor as lunkhead did
Danby Kegerator Improvements
I just wanted to double check how exactly to hook the resistor up before I begin. I've attached a picture of how I believe it should be wired.
Also should I wire the resistor to the lead that comes out from the side of the kegerator or to the section that is right next to the sensor?
Thanks in advance for the assistance.

[psychodad]

lunkhead put the resistor in series which increases resistance, you are showing it parallel which will lower resistance.

[elder-of-dogtown]

Thanks for the reply
If I put the resistor in series does it matter which lead I attach it to?

I was originally under the impression he wired it in parallel because of this:
"Putting a resistor in series with the sensor would only raise the temp in the unit but putting a resistor in parallel with the sensor would should make the unit cycle cooler."

I took the above quote from lunkhead it the thread I linked earlier.

[elder-of-dogtown]

psychodad,
would you suggest I follow the route you did ( with the new temp controller) as opposed to using the resistor?

[psychodad]

I misread lunkheads post, I take it he did put the resister in parallel. As for if I would recommend what I did over what he did... It depends. Both seem to work with his mod being less expensive. However I was glad to rid myself of the Danby daily defrost.

[lunkhead]

Yes I put the resistor in parallel as shown on the little drawing "elder-of-dogtown" has attached I'm trying to attch the picture here, hopefully this works.danbytempsens.JPG Looks like it did. I cut the wires open with a razor blade and soldered it in once I was sure it would work. A couple warnings, if you don't think you have enough electrical experience to do this get some help. Also your temp readings will not be accurate so use a thermometer inside the unit so you don't end up with a frozen keg. Your unit may not act the same way as mine.

[lunkhead]

I However I was glad to rid myself of the Danby daily defrost.

The defrost cycle is a little annoying. Mine does it once a week, but it takes 12 hours, so the beer warms up a little. I pull the plug for a few minutes it will take it out of defrost. But, if you plug it back in to soon it stays in defrost. I wonder what others are seeing for their defrost cycles??

[elder-of-dogtown]

The defrost cycle is a little annoying. Mine does it once a week, but it takes 12 hours, so the beer warms up a little. I pull the plug for a few minutes it will take it out of defrost. But, if you plug it back in to soon it stays in defrost. I wonder what others are seeing for their defrost cycles??

My defrost cycle runs the same as yours does, weekly. I normally disconnect the temp sensor for a minute and it resets, however with a half barrel in there it is difficult to get at the sensor. I have noticed that during the defrost cycle my beer temp will raise a few degrees. This morning during the weekly defrost my beer temp was 47 normally it hovers around 42. My goal is 38.

[lunkhead]

My defrost cycle runs the same as yours does, weekly. I normally disconnect the temp sensor for a minute and it resets, however with a half barrel in there it is difficult to get at the sensor. I have noticed that during the defrost cycle my beer temp will raise a few degrees. This morning during the weekly defrost my beer temp was 47 normally it hovers around 42. My goal is 38.

Probably better to reset it before the beer gets to warm. It's far easier for me to unplug the thing than to dig out the temp sens.

[lunkhead]

Have received a few questions, here's the pics of what my mods look like

danbyblower.jpg

danbyinside.JPG

danbytempsens.JPG

The blower is from MPJA - Power Supply, Power Supplies, Security Cameras, LCD, Fans, Etc.. This is a 24volt unit that I power with a 6volt dc wall transformer with the wires fed thru the co2 tube opening. Note mpja has a min order amount. Everything is mounted to a 1x2 which is attached where 2 of the cooling plate screws are. Just add extra lenght to the screws to make up for wood thickness. The majority of the blower output (which is plenty even at the low voltage) is open blowing up the cooling plate, but it puts plenty of air up the copper pipe to cool the tower. I could not get a fan to do this. The pipe top opening is about 2" below the tower top and you can feel the return air coming out the bottom of the tower. The 33k ohm resistor works good in my unit. I suggest trying a bucket of water in the cooler first just to make sure it will work for you.

[psychodad]

I like lunkhead's blower setup.

[lunkhead]

I like lunkhead's blower setup.

Thanks psychodad, you got the ball rolling on these danby mods. I even surprised myself at how well this blower setup works. It just plain moves air. You can almost hear it with the door open, not at all with it closed.

[jyoho]

I added a 33k ohm resistor to my Danby on Thursday. That value also reduce the temperature in my Danby by 5-6 degrees as it did for Lunkhead. I am off to purchase a blower now. I actually pulled the pins out of the connector, soldered the resistor to the crimped part of the pins, and clicked them back in the connector.

I am going to try it this way for awhile.... if the defrost cycle gets on my nerves I may buy a temp controller later.

Thanks everyone!!!
Jason

[Cajun]

I picked up a Danby unit from Sam's on Friday. I am picking up my 1st keg tomorrow. I have already done the resistor fix (big thanks to lunkhead) and I am seeing a 5-6 degree difference as others have noted. I will pick up a blower tomorrow from frys and I will probably use flexible copper tubing since it will be easier to work with.

I have 2 questions:

For those of you with the resister mod what temp are you setting the unit at?

Did you guys add more insulation inside the tower if so was it similar to the stuff that was already there?

[lunkhead]

Depends on the beer and your taste as to what temp to set it at. With the unit set to it's lowest setting, 36deg, you'll get 31-33 deg beer. For me I like this with Mic lite. With a non lite lager (mic or labatts) I set the temp to 37, gives me 34-35 deg beer. Note it's not a linear change. Other beers may / will have their own temp / pressure requirments. As for extra tower insulation I wrapped a couple layers of foam floor underlayment, it's thin, over top of the existing foam.
Note: these were temps before I calibrated the thermometer, add 2 degrees to the readings.

[Cajun]

Thanks for the quick reply lunkhead. I picked up my fan today and ended up using regular copper pipes as you did. My setup looks exactly like yours except I used velcro to hold my blower in place. The copper pipe after assemble basically stayed in place by itself I just taped it to the Co2 tube for added support. I do need to add insulation in the tower as it gets very cold to the touch now, but thats much better than before.

One question has anyone looked into the voltage available at the standard danby fan? I am thinking of powering my fan from there rather than using an external supply as I am doing now.

Thanks.

[lunkhead]

The fan I removed from my danby is 12v at .1amp, stated on the unit. The fan only ran when the compressor ran so it will not always circulate air. The tower would need to be insulated very well in order to stay cool when the blower is not running.

[psychodad]

The fan only ran when the compressor ran so it will not always circulate air.

Even when it ran with the compressor I don't think it circulated any air IMHO. In fact I'll wager I can flatulate harder than that thing can blow.

BTW, I think I'm going to do the tower cooling piping like you did but use PVC instead of copper tubing.

[Cajun]

Even when it ran with the compressor I don't think it circulated any air IMHO. In fact I'll wager I can flatulate harder than that thing can blow.

BTW, I think I'm going to do the tower cooling piping like you did but use PVC instead of copper tubing.

Yea my plan was to use the 12volt power from their fan to power my blower. But since it only runs with the compressor I will scratch that idea and keep my external power supply.

Regarding the pipe I suggest copper over pvc. For one its not as thick and since the opening is only about 1.5-2" you don't have much room to begin with also its very conductive so copper will get cold and that will even help a bit. You don't need to worry about soldering the pipe just cut the 3 pieces to length and slide them them in the 90 deg couplings.

[dbigrunner]

Ok, I would really like to try the resistor mod...

I have never, ever in my life: cut a wire, soldered a wire or even really looked at a wire.

What do I need to do? Pic's would be great.

I need a:

razor blade
solder & gun
Electrical tape?
Electrical Engineering degree from Princeton?

thanks!

Also, I have a temperature contoller (Johnson Controls Dial) do I still need this or can I send it back and get my money back?

thanks

[dbigrunner]

Where do I buy a 33k ohm resistor ?????

[dbigrunner]

33K ohm 1/2W 5% Carbon Film Resistor pk/5


I found this on Radio Shack... for .99

will this work?

[lunkhead]

33K ohm 1/2W 5% Carbon Film Resistor pk/5


I found this on Radio Shack... for .99

will this work?

Yes, the RS resistor will work fine, here's what it looks like; http://www.micromatic.com/forum/us-e...bytempsens.jpg. If your not sure about soldering the sensor it can be removed and you could have some else do it. It could even be soldered to the pins in the black connector, take them out first. If you have the J.C. controller you might be better off using that. The temp swings are much less and no defrost cycle which can be a pain. Psychodad's posts are in great detail on connecting it. Just check out the 5star thread.

[lunkhead]

Yea my plan was to use the 12volt power from their fan to power my blower. But since it only runs with the compressor I will scratch that idea and keep my external power supply.

Regarding the pipe I suggest copper over pvc. For one its not as thick and since the opening is only about 1.5-2" you don't have much room to begin with also its very conductive so copper will get cold and that will even help a bit. You don't need to worry about soldering the pipe just cut the 3 pieces to length and slide them them in the 90 deg couplings.

Psychodad's right on about the stock danby fan, Don't even have mine installed it's so usless in that box. I used the copper pipe over the pvc for the same reasons Cajun did. I have 3/4" of both, but the copper has a much thinner wall and conducts temperature. No need to solder or glue the pipe to the elbows either. It got a little warm here in Michigan yesterday so I was hittting the keg pretty good, the faucet had condensation on it, its that cool. Never had that happen last summer before a modified the unit.

[Cajun]

Well I taped my 1st keg tonight. Shiner Bock brewed in Texas. Its a dark beer and I have the unit set to 37 deg. A temp probe in the beer is showing 44 deg. That's perfect for me although the wife finds it a bit warm. I cranked the unit down to 36 and the beer is now showing 41. I assume by tomorrow I will be seeing much cooler results. If I am wrong you guys let me know. I know it took overnight for my 4 gallon bucket of water to reach near air temp. (30 deg water temp with the air at about 28)

This does give me slight concern as my plan is to expand my margarita machine rental business to include kegerator rentals and if the time to properly chill the keg becomes an issue I may have to scrap the idea.

As of right now based on the amount of money I have spent I am happy with the results of the danby post the mods I have done.

[psychodad]

I work for what is likely the top manufacturer of PVC pipe fittings in the country, so I'm biased and have a supplier. And the ability to transfer cold isn't a factor in a box where it circulates the same air all day, day after day. And for the application, the PVC wouldn't have to be glued just as the copper doesn't have to be soldered.

[dbigrunner]

Well, I soldered the reistor just like the photo showed...It worked great!!!!

I set the digital temp on the front of the danby to 39 last night...woke up this morning and the t-stat I had in the fridge said the ambient temp was 33degrees...poured a glass ( a lot less foam on the first pull only about 2 inches) and stuck my liquid thermometer in it, read @ 36 degrees! PERFECT. I didn't add the fan or pvc pipe or anything.

Soldering Iron: 7.99 @ radio shack
Pack of 5 33k ohm reistors: .99 cents
10 Mintues to shave the plastic off the wires and solder the ends together
2" of electrical tape: free

Ice cold Fat Tire with .5 inch head....

PRICELESS

Couldn't have done it without all your tinkering and experiences that have been logged here.

Thanks agian!!
Darren

[lunkhead]

I work for what is likely the top manufacturer of PVC pipe fittings in the country, so I'm biased and have a supplier. And the ability to transfer cold isn't a factor in a box where it circulates the same air all day, day after day. And for the application, the PVC wouldn't have to be glued just as the copper doesn't have to be soldered.

Guess you gotta go where the bread is buttered. Looks like 2 more success stories.
Cajun, it will take several hours for the keg to get down to temp.
dbigrunner, get that tower cooled, it only gets better.

[golden draak]

I just want to thank every one on this forum for the mods to the danby, I have been drinking warm foam for a week now ,I found this sight and did the 33k ohm resistor to the temp probe last night , woke up this morning to a pleasant 34 degree kegerator ! normally drank 40 -42 degree. I am going out today to find the supplys for the tower cooling . thanks again , lunkhead I would buy you a beer anytime . happy beer drinking

[lunkhead]

I just want to thank every one on this forum for the mods to the danby, I have been drinking warm foam for a week now ,I found this sight and did the 33k ohm resistor to the temp probe last night , woke up this morning to a pleasant 34 degree kegerator ! normally drank 40 -42 degree. I am going out today to find the supplys for the tower cooling . thanks again , lunkhead I would buy you a beer anytime . happy beer drinking

Better buy psychodad a beer too, or two. He's the guy that got me going on that temp sensor and the air cooling in the tower for that matter. Happy cold beer drinking to all.

[psychodad]

I think I'm going to add a resistor to mine too. But I'll add a pot in series with it to "dial in" so that the readout agrees with my thermometer reading. I'll still use my temperature control that I have that is working well, but I'd just like to have the readout be more accurate.

[lunkhead]

I think I'm going to add a resistor to mine too. But I'll add a pot in series with it to "dial in" so that the readout agrees with my thermometer reading. I'll still use my temperature control that I have that is working well, but I'd just like to have the readout be more accurate.

Not sure how well that would work to correct your temp readings. The air temp in my unit (when set to 36 deg) gives me a 32 to 40 swing on the display but actual 28 to 36 in the box. If your readings are too high then a parallel resistor would lower it but 33k is too low. You might want to start at 60k-70k and go up from that. If your readings are too low than a series resistor would raise your readings. But in either case not sure how linear the readings would be as the temp varied. I know that changing my temp control from 36 to 37 raises the beer temp 2 degress instead of 1. The danby fun never ends

[psychodad]

What I was thinking was that I'd put a pot in series with the resistor, and then put them both in parallel with the sensor. I wasn't expecting the displayed temp to be perfect, just closer. All I use the diplay for at this point is a general indication of if the thing is cooling or not.

[elder-of-dogtown]

First, I would like to thank psychodad for deciding that Danby owners have the right to cold beer and initiating the Danby modding.

Second, thanks to lunkhead for his research which determined the 33K ohm resistor was the proper size to add in parrallel to the temp sensor.

I added the resistor and am very pleased with my 36 degree beer! I have the other parts but have yet to setup the blower and tower tubing, although my expectations are high.

psychodad, I also wanted a digital temp readout that was close to accurate so I purchased and indoor/outdoor digital thermometer for $11 with a 10ft lead for the outdoor(kegerator) temp. I ran the temp sensor lead through the hole the gas tubing goes through and set the unit on the top of the kegerator. With only a glance I know the air temp of the kegerator. The thermometer also remembers the max and min temps, which I also enjoy.

Don't put up with warm beer, Mod your Danby

[lunkhead]

That's a nice idea using an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer for inside the kegerator temp. I have a wireless unit laying around somewhere, gonna have to find it and give it a try.

[crawdaddy]

I tried the resistor setup. I get an "EE" flashing on the display. Is that normal?
Did I do something wrong? When I remove it(resistor) it reads the temp.

[psychodad]

Did you use the right resistor? 33k ohms should be 3 orange bands.

[crawdaddy]

I think that's where I screwed up. I was to hasty to have a nice cold brew. Put the right resistor in and it works great!. Thanks every body for you're work and generosity(especialy since summers around the corner).

[Soaperstar]

Hello everyone. Just bought a Danby last week and am having the same problems as everyone else. I did the resistor mod about 4 hours ago, but have not noticed any changes yet. I have a 1/2 keg of Miller Lite in the Danby and set the temp to the lowest Danby allows. Still gets lots of foam - should I notice something in as soon as 4hrs? Another question - I live in FL and keep my Danby on my screened in porch (in the shade). The temperature has not been too hot yet (highest in low 80's) but will this be an issue? I was so anxious to fix the foam problem that I did not take temperature readings to compare the before and after of the resistor mod. Is there a any way to know if I did it wrong? Thanks in advance guys, I really appreciate all your posts and help.

[psychodad]

Soaperstar, keep in mind that these mods are not necessarily to get the beer to the coldest possible temperature. They are to get the beer to the proper temperature. The correct liquid temperature is just part of the puzzle. Now that you should be able to get your unit cold enough, get a good thermometer and take your liquid temperature. Once it is right, evaluate your need for air circulation, tower cooling, et. And of course make sure you have the co2 set properly.