CheeseForum.org ยป Forum

GENERAL CHEESE MAKING BOARDS (Specific Cheese Making in Boards above) => EQUIPMENT - Aging Cheese, Caves => Topic started by: Annie on June 22, 2012, 01:00:02 AM

Title: Fridge-Freezer - Using Fridge As Cave & Freezer As Milk Storage Fridge?
Post by: Annie on June 22, 2012, 01:00:02 AM
So, I'd love to shop around, but it looks like my one option is to buy an 18 cubic foot basic refrigerator with wire shelves (yay!) but only two (pout).

It has a separate freezer compartment (different doors), but afaict, only one control for the whole thing.

I really seriously need for my freezer to act as a refrigerator so that I can put my milk in it until I can make cheese!!!!! Because otherwise I would need to buy a bigger fridge for the regular food so I could fit in all the milk, and use the current food fridge for the cheese. (Gosh I hope that makes sense)

So I looked at the threads about fridges as caves, but none seemed to really address what I need to know, which is how can I make the freezer be higher than freezing while the cave part is higher still?

Mostly it seems that people put an external device on which runs the whole thing according to the thermostat, but I don't know what effect that has on the freezer area?

Please help as I need to do this quickly!

BYW< I put all the cheeses in the cave in our chest freezer to freeze, since the milk was entirely filling up the food fridge, so I hope this sojourn in the freezer won't be harmful to the young cheese?Thanks so much!
Title: Re: Fridge-Freezer - Using Fridge As Cave & Freezer As Milk Storage Fridge?
Post by: hoeklijn on June 22, 2012, 06:19:41 AM
As far as I understand your story you want to use the freezer-part as fridge and the fridge part as cave? That will only be possible when the appliance has two compressors, which makes it two machines in one body. In that case you will need buy two external thermostats. One thermostat has it's sensor in the cave and is switching the power of the compressor for the cave, and the other thermostat is doing the same for the fridge-part. IMHO, it needs somebody with some knowledge about electricity and appliances to accomplish that safely....
Title: Re: Fridge-Freezer - Using Fridge As Cave & Freezer As Milk Storage Fridge?
Post by: Annie on June 22, 2012, 09:57:35 AM
As far as I understand your story you want to use the freezer-part as fridge and the fridge part as cave? That will only be possible when the appliance has two compressors, which makes it two machines in one body. In that case you will need buy two external thermostats. One thermostat has it's sensor in the cave and is switching the power of the compressor for the cave, and the other thermostat is doing the same for the fridge-part. IMHO, it needs somebody with some knowledge about electricity and appliances to accomplish that safely....
Thanks so much!

Ah, good, I was clear :) That is precisely what I want to do.

But... our old refrigerator only has one compressor... I am not sure how that all works myself.
Title: Re: Fridge-Freezer - Using Fridge As Cave & Freezer As Milk Storage Fridge?
Post by: hoeklijn on June 22, 2012, 10:30:50 AM
I'm also not completely sure how it can work with one compressor, probably it has to do with 2 thermostats  and valves.
I guess the only possible way to try it, is to bypass the thermostat for the fridge-part, but that will be tricky and a specialist job.
Title: Re: Fridge-Freezer - Using Fridge As Cave & Freezer As Milk Storage Fridge?
Post by: Annie on June 22, 2012, 12:54:25 PM
Hi Herman,
Thanks so much! As it turns out, the super-basic refrigerators I am checking out only cool the freezer, and then the cool air drops from the freezer into the fridge compartment. It took a while before I was able to figure out how to search for that.

So have to go and investigate the thing itself.... it seems the dual-control ones, the fridge control regulates the size of the opening from the freezer, and the freezer control regulates the way the compressor works.

Who knew!

Thanks so much for your help!
Title: Re: Fridge-Freezer - Using Fridge As Cave & Freezer As Milk Storage Fridge?
Post by: Annie on June 22, 2012, 12:55:00 PM
Hi Herman,
Thanks so much! As it turns out, the super-basic refrigerators I am checking out only cool the freezer, and then the cool air drops from the freezer into the fridge compartment. It took a while before I was able to figure out how to search for that.

So have to go and investigate the thing itself.... it seems the dual-control ones, the fridge control regulates the size of the opening from the freezer, and the freezer control regulates the way the compressor works.

Who knew!

Thanks so much for your help! It helped clarify my thinking :)
Title: Re: Fridge-Freezer - Using Fridge As Cave & Freezer As Milk Storage Fridge?
Post by: Boofer on June 22, 2012, 02:14:30 PM
Annie, you can edit a posting you have made here by clicking on the Modify  button at the top right of your post. Then just add/delete/correct as you may and Save it. That helps to make a cleaner dialogue.  ;)

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Fridge-Freezer - Using Fridge As Cave & Freezer As Milk Storage Fridge?
Post by: hoeklijn on June 22, 2012, 03:00:31 PM
You're welcome Annie, glad I could assist...