Fridge "reclamation" project (pic heavy)

[shilala]

Originally Posted by BigAsh

I think the Johnson controller will take care of that....externally set the temp to 65-70.....freezer should never come into play....I think anyway....anyone with experience in this?

Yes, it will certainly come into play, it's your evaporator. It's the part that makes the cold.
Every time the compressor comes on it will get cold and all the water vapor in your fridge will condense on it.
You'll need to arrange some fans to dry the inside and outside of the evaporator (freezer) or it will drip all over your stuff.
You could insulate the outside of the evaporator very carefully and just put fans on the inside and that should work. Depends where the coils lie in the evaporator.
You really couldn't have picked a worse kind of fridge to make workable.

[BigAsh]

Originally Posted by shilala

.......
You really couldn't have picked a worse kind of fridge to make workable.

.....are you dressed in black, with a hood, holding a sickle?
Just workin with what I got bro'.....now you gotta rig something up for me

[shilala]

Originally Posted by BigAsh

.....are you dressed in black, with a hood, holding a sickle?
Just workin with what I got bro'.....now you gotta rig something up for me

I could figure something out if I could see the evaporator configuration.
A drip pan under the whole thing would work, but you couldn't put anything in it.
If just the top and bottom have the coils in them, the freezer could be cut down and made smaller.
You got me stumped and I design refrigeration for a living.

Is the "metal freezer body" part of the unit or just a box?

Can it be removed to just expose the coils you talk of?

If so why not just make a small pan to collect the water and drain it out the back into say a gallon jug?

It could be sealed so no air exchange takes place from inside to out and could be emptied as it fills up.

How much condensation are we talking here, a gallon a day, a week a month?

Chas

[shilala]

Originally Posted by ChasDen

Is the "metal freezer body" part of the unit or just a box?

Can it be removed to just expose the coils you talk of?

How much condensation are we talking here, a gallon a day, a week a month?

Chas

Usually the coils are soldered onto the freezer body, or built in.
Not likely.
Did you see the ice clunker?
That's how much water vapor it'll rape from the air.
That's why we build closed systems for cigars, so we can maintain humidity without adding or removing water from the confined area.
If you collect water in a jug and then use a fan to recycle it back into the beads or air, you have a zero net loss/gain. That'd work. That's what you want.
If you keep taking water out, you gotta put it back in. That's a pain in the ass. You have to fill hydras, add sponges, and do all sorts of stuff, and you really never gain control or stability.
That's the problem I have with my big leaky display.
On the other hand, vinos and wine fridges work great if you plug the drain and let the fan run because the water constantly recycles itself.
This fridge can be made to work, but it'll take some ingenuity.
If the evaporator can't be cut down, all that freezer space will be lost because anything that touches it will get wet when it turns on.
A drip pan underneath could catch water, then a fan could be used to dry things and recycle the condensed water to the air, creating a zero net loss/gain of water.
There's all sorts of stuff that could be done, it just depends on that evaporator.
In that particular type of fridge, the INTENTION is for frost to build on the freezer section. That's what cools the fridge below and holds the condensed water (in ice form) from dripping on your food.
It's cause that's the way they work.
It's an old fridge, too. Through the years they devised lots better ways to do things.

Thanks for all the info Scott

Looks like a tough road ahead

Chas