Whats actual temperature compared to liquid temperature?

[BigBadJohn]

Im trying to figure out what temperature I should expect my refrigerator to be if I want the beer to be a certain temperature. Didnt know if there was a degree difference or if it was more of a ratio.

I want my beer to be around 36 degrees.
What are your guys fridge temps and beer temps? Maybe I can graph it out with a scatter and median line graph in xcel

So everyone, please try and tell me your fridge and beer temps as Id like to get as accurate guess as possible

Thanks
John

[edramshaw]

The main difference between these two temps is that the air (or fridge temps) have a much bigger swing then the liquid will. For instance, a fridge that is 38 degrees with the door shut tight, theoratically will be holding liquid at the same temp. Open the door and the temp may rise 5 degrees but the liquid will be a little more constant as it will take more to change (more volume). The other variable is the differential on the thermostat. If it is +/- 5 degrees then your fridge will (using the 38 degree example) will turn its compressor on at 40.5 and off at 35.5 degrees. Hope that helps a little.

[BigBadJohn]

Oh. So if I dont open the fridge, the beer should be the same temperature as the temperature inside the refrigerator?
I didnt know if there was some temperature difference from air to liquid.
Thanks

So if I want my beer temp to be 36 degrees and I plan on having a minifridge to get things out of rather than the kegerator, I should set my refrigerator at around 36 degrees as well?

Didnt know if the temp would be lower than 30 in fridge to keep beer at 36 degrees because I put a thermostat in that turns on a light bulb at anywhere between 30 and 60 degrees and 30 is the lowest it would go
In case the fridge got too cold out in the garage this winter

[psychodad]

Originally Posted by BigBadJohn

So if I want my beer temp to be 36 degrees and I plan on having a minifridge to get things out of rather than the kegerator, I should set my refrigerator at around 36 degrees as well?

You should set your fridge at the temperature that gets you the temperature you want in the second glass of beer poured right after the first in the same glass (pour one, chug it, pour a 2nd in the same glass and measure the temp). This can be trial and error.

[cubby_swans]

Originally Posted by psychodad

You should set your fridge at the temperature that gets you the temperature you want in the second glass of beer poured right after the first in the same glass (pour one, chug it, pour a 2nd in the same glass and measure the temp). This can be trial and error.

OR, pour one, give it to your buddy, then pour another for yourself, so you don't have to drink the warm beer.

[beerdrinker13]

I do have a temperature question. I just bought a brewmaster digital thermometer controller off the website. I set the temp at 38 degrees,this is with the sensor in a glass of water inside the kegerator. I'm getting a steady readout of 38 degrees on the controller, but when I pour my 2nd glass of beer and take the temp of the beer, I'm getting a 41 degree readout of the temp of the beer. Should I keep taking the temperature down on the controller until I can get a readout of exactly 38 degrees in the 2nd glass of beer that I pour out of the tap? The temp of the beer in the glass would be the true temp of the beer inside of the keg, right? Also, I did install a fan inside my kegerator with an air tube going up into my beer tower to circulate the cold air up the tower and then back down. Thanks for all the help!

[psychodad]

If I recall, when I had lagers in my kegerator I was setting the controls to about 36 to get my 38 measured in the glass.

Try taking the probe out of the water as well. I once thought the cup of water a good idea but have since backed off of that.

[beerdrinker13]

Thank you, I will give that a shot overnight!

[golfnmotorcycles]

You might also check the location of your sensor. I detailed my story (POS Avanti, still first beer foam) about having the sensor (in liquid) located to close to the cooling plate. After moving it away from the cooling source, I get a more constant internal temperature and my poured beer temp is right at what the control says.

After only a few days of setting my control at 38 I was drawing beer at close to 45 degrees when I realized what was wrong. Couldn't imagine sensor location making that much of a difference but it did.

[SamR]

I'm finally getting the beer temps i want after doing a resistor mod and fan upgrade to my danby and its great. my beer temp is at a constant 34F but the air temp fluctuates between 33F and 36F using a digital thermometer i keep inside the kegerator. The outside danby thermometer usually reads 36 or 37.

[beerdrinker13]

You know, I never thought about my senser on the thermometer being too close to the cooling plate inside of the kegerator! Does anybody happen to know where the cooling plate is located on the kenmore kegerator? Or, can anyone tell me what I need to be looking for? Thanks for the help!

[Scott Zuhse]

A recent post recommended taping the sensor right to the bottom of the keg. Anyone test this?

[SamR]

Originally Posted by Scott Zuhse

A recent post recommended taping the sensor right to the bottom of the keg. Anyone test this?

i taped my senor upwards as far as the wires would go against the side of the kegerator with the senor itself bent slightly out so its not touching anything.

my thoughts are that heat rises and the best way to control the temperater is to base it where it could be the warmerst :dunno:

[beerdrinker13]

After giving it some thought, I decided to take my thermostat sensor out of the glass of water(thermostat on controller was reading 38 degrees while the temp in my 2nd pour of beer was reading 41 degrees) and I taped the sensor as high up the kegerator as I could get it. My temp on the controller instantly went from 38 degrees to 50 degrees! I let the kegerator cool back down to the 38 degree mark on the controller, and then I poured my beer and now I'm getting a reading of 36 degrees on my 2nd pour! I feel like I can't win in getting exactly 38 degrees on my 2nd pour of beer! I now decided to take the glass of water and place it on top of the keg and put the sensor back in the water, to see if it makes a difference with the glass being higher up this time. If this dosen't work, I guess I will go back to taping the sensor up as high as I can get it, and then raising the temp on the thermostat to maybe 40 degrees to try to get the 38 degree temp inside the keg. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[wsf0817]

Just a clarification, what placing the sensor in water will do is help even out the swings of the temperature to create a "smoother" temperature output.

We do this for refrigeration equipment that is being charted, typically placing the probe in glycol or something similar. This way, every time you open the door it is not registered as a large fluctuation. However, we do the opposite with the probe that is controlling the cycling of the unit. This way the refrigeration system responds more quickly, to keep a more consistent temp.

Its kind of pointless in a kegerator where you aren't opening to door. Once it reaches equilibrium, everything inside the box will be the same temp.

[bonefish]

Do you have anything circulating air? Circulate the air!

[beerdrinker13]

Yeah, I definetely have air circulating in my kegerator. I have a fan with an air tube going up into my beer tower, and I have another fan inside the kegerator, at the top of my beer keg, pointed right at the beer line that's coiled up on my keg. I'm not for sure if it's better to have the fan at the top of the unit, by the keg, or at the very bottom of the unit, blowing the coldest air up? I'm getting a 36 degree temp readout at the bottom of the unit, and a 33 degree readout at the top of the unit, where the fan is at. I'm getting a 36 degree readout on my 2nd pour of beer, and I have my psi set at 15 for coors light. My only probelm is, I'm getting tons of foam on every pour of beer.I'm also getting some big bubbles in my foam. My beer tower is a little cramped with my 1 inch air tube and my 3/16 beer tube going up the tower, but I can feel air from the tower returning back into the unit. I started with a 5 ft beer line, then I changed to a 7ft beer line, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I need to increase my beer line even more? My pours are still kind of fast, but I wasn't sure if that was caused by my psi pressure? I'm just stumped on why all my beer pours are coming out so foamy! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[beerdrinker13]

I have a question about my temperature sensor. I have a temperature control that turns my kegerator on and off. I did have my temp sensor taped to the very bottom of the kegerator, and my temperature control was kicking my system off when the sensor reached the set temp of 36 degrees. The problem I was having was, the top of the unit(have a digital thermometer set on the top of my keg) was reading a higher temp then the 36 degree temp of the bottom. I installed a fan near the top of the unit, to circulate air around the top of the keg, but then the temp at the top of the keg dropped below the 36 degree mark on the bottom. I then decided to take my temp sensor and tape it to the top of the keg, thinking that maybe I would get a more constant temp inside the kegerator, if I had the sensor up toward the top of the keg. My temp on the temp display instantly went from 36, up into the 40's, and when I woke up this morning the temp control was reading 36 degrees, but my water tray in the back of the unit was completely overflowing! Did I freeze the unit by moving my temp sensor to the top of the unit? Not for sure if I should keep the sensor at the top of the unit, or move it down to the bottom? Just trying to get an accurate all-around temp in the unit! Thanks for the help!

[bonefish]

How's the beer situation? Empty the water tray.
Sean

[beerdrinker13]

I have the kenmore model, and I don't think the water tray in the back of the unit comes off. The instruction manual says that the water in the tray will evaporate. Unfortunately, when I got up the next morning and was planning on pouring a beer and checking the beer temp, my keg ran out before I could even get a 2nd pour! I was very curious to see what the beer temp would have been since I had my temp sensor taped to the very top of the keg, and the water tray was completely full of water! I think I'm just going to shut the entire unit down and wait for all the water in the tray to evaporate, before I go out and get another keg. I do have a 10 ft beer line on the way, so maybe that should help with slowing down my pours, and hopefully eliminating a lot of my foam. Thinking about getting a keg of miller lite next time, does anyone happen to know the C02 Volume for miller lite? Thanks!