cooling plate icing problem

[fanotunes]

any help for a newby here?

have installed a kegerator conversion kit in a frost free deep freeze. have also replaced the thermostat.

no problem keeping temperature fairly steady at 38 degrees for about two weeks. but then icing takes over on the cooling plate. becomes increasingly difficult for the freezer to maintain 38 degrees. temperature gradually creeps up from there... have lost a $160.00 keg as a result!

have moved capillary tube away from the plate and out into the freezer compartment, and have installed an outlet timer that cuts the freezer off twice, for an hour each time, during the wee hours of the morning thinking this would give plate a chance to defrost. these steps may have bought me a few days at best.

any suggestions? I can't put another keg in there until i get this resolved. help!

thanks!

[bonefish]

Make sure the door seal is good. You want low humidity. A couple of boxes of baking soda may help. I do the outlet timer, too. And it works pretty good. But, Sometimes I just have to unplug and open the door for an hour.
SEAN

[fanotunes]

thanks for getting back to me Sean! appreciated!

the door appears to seal fine. and i lock the door as that seams to draw the door up even tighter. yes, i guess i could put a box of rice in there to absorb moisture (as folks put a bit of rice in their salt shakers to combat moisture there). hadn't thought of that.

so, it won't hurt the keg if i simply unplug the freezer and let it stand with the door open for about an hour every now and then? i can unplug the freezer and let it stand open while i do my bi-weekly line and tap cleaning, for example?

and i should, of course, keep the opening of the door to a minimum since that allows fresh moisture into the freezer every time i open the door. my frequent temperature checks are only adding to the problem very likely.

hmmm, i bet i can figure a way to mount that liquid thermometer in the door...

[bonefish]

You've got it. I'll leave the door open while I'm getting ready for work. It easily recovers before I'm home in the evening. The cold beer helps the fridge recover the cabinet temp in less than an hour, and the keg in about 4. Keeping the door closed is important. Once you are set, a peek inside every other day is fine. I monitor the situation by measuring the beer in the glass.
SEAN