Undercounter fridge with digital thermostat?

RomfordNavy

Anyone know of an undercounter fridge with a proper (digital) thermostat rather than the simple mechanical which is affested by outside temperature?

Best I have found so far is the Liebherr TP1760 although that is quite expensive for an undercounter fridge.

EssexExile

Liebherr are indeed the best for refrigeration but, as you say, they are not cheap. I don't know what you mean by "affected by outside temperature", whether it's a thermostat or a thermistor or whatever it keeps the fridge cool.

that

there are diy ways to make it digital for about £30, if function is more important than form. it would mean you turn the fridge to maximum cooling then install an Inkbird ITC-308S from ebay to switch the power off and on.

RomfordNavy

EssexExile wrote: »

Liebherr are indeed the best for refrigeration but, as you say, they are not cheap. I don't know what you mean by "affected by outside temperature", whether it's a thermostat or a thermistor or whatever it keeps the fridge cool.

As far as I know most have a simple bi-metalic strip type of thermostat which seemingly results in the fridge running warmer during the summer and cooler during the winter. A digital thermostat keeps the temperature constant.

PasturesNew

In the main, you plug a fridge in and it works.... and you open the door and can feel it's cooler than the room ... and, if bothered, you can stick something inside to check ... then forget it forever more.

Is there a particular reason you need to monitor your fridge? Most people just open the door, chuck stuff in, open the door, get stuff out .... and never think about it.

RomfordNavy

that wrote: »

there are diy ways to make it digital for about £30, if function is more important than form. it would mean you turn the fridge to maximum cooling then install an Inkbird ITC-308S from ebay to switch the power off and on.

Very interesting, didn't know these devices exist. However in this case not sure I could get away with having this extra mess laying around, also not sure how I would get the temperature sensor inside the fridge.

RomfordNavy

PasturesNew wrote: »

In the main, you plug a fridge in and it works.... and you open the door and can feel it's cooler than the room ... and, if bothered, you can stick something inside to check ... then forget it forever more.

Is there a particular reason you need to monitor your fridge? Most people just open the door, chuck stuff in, open the door, get stuff out .... and never think about it.

During the winter the fridge can get so cold the food freezes unless the thermostat is turned down, during the summer the thermostat needs to be turned up otherwise the food is too warm. Without a digital controller it just doesn't seem able to maintain a constant temperature.

EssexExile

RomfordNavy wrote: »

During the winter the fridge can get so cold the food freezes unless the thermostat is turned down, during the summer the thermostat needs to be turned up otherwise the food is too warm.

I've never come across this, I've not heard of anyone changing the settings seasonally. Whether the temperature sensor is hydraulic or electronic it just measures the temperature & tells the compressor when to start.

The biggest things that affects the temperature in the fridge are how much is in there & how often the door is opened. If it's empty & the door is opened a lot then all the cold air escapes & the temperature goes up. If it's full not so much air escapes & all the cold stuff in there helps keep the temperature down.

that

RomfordNavy wrote: »

Very interesting, didn't know these devices exist. However in this case not sure I could get away with having this extra mess laying around, also not sure how I would get the temperature sensor inside the fridge.

Drill a hole, stick the sensor through, use expanding foam to close the hole. Instead bet there will be a silicon plug/cork somewhere that you can sort of cut in half to sandwich the cable in and fill the hole.

Those inkbirds are used also for fermentation in brewing and they fit both a heater and a fridge to the two sockets included. you can use it for a Sous Vide cooker using a slow cooker. I needed a thermostat that went above 50C that was affordable.

The device is quite small and light, you can put a sticky hook on the wall behind the fridge.


I have a fridge thermometer. I had to adjust my old and current fridges in summer and winter. As the days get get colder, the freezer becomes warmer inside. Rum and Rasin ice cream that did not set too well days after purchase was the issue a two weeks ago

RomfordNavy

that wrote: »

there are diy ways to make it digital for about £30, if function is more important than form. it would mean you turn the fridge to maximum cooling then install an Inkbird ITC-308S from ebay to switch the power off and on.

Just thought of one problem with this, there would be no internal light unless the fridge happened to be in an on cycle. Unless that was rewired but I wouldn't want to invalidate the warranty on a new fridge by chopping it about like that.

coffeehound

Polar do a nominal 130 litre undercounter (64L usable) which Nisbetts have for £336 delivered. Not sure if that's in your price range.

https://www.nisbets.co.uk/polar-under-counter-fridge/cd610

Apparently okay from 5 to 32 deg C ambient.
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