Any specs to look for or tips/guidance when doing a chest freezer to chest fridge conversion?

[mularkey]

I'm interested in converting a chest freezer to a chest fridge for this first time. I'm currently navigating used freezer options on various local listings (e.g. Craigslist, Nextdoor, the others).

Do you have any tips/guidance when it comes to freezer selection for doing this conversion? Are certain models better, do some have better insulation, etc? Any potential issues or features to watch out for?

This is a bit of an experiment, nothing critical, so pretty low stakes. It will be an alternative fridge at home to start. Any advice, tips, recommendations are much appreciated.

 

[42OhmsPA]

Scroll down below this post and check out similar threads... They should be helpful to you.

Freezer to fridge guys, need a recommendation please!

So I had this BRILLIANT thought that if I got a chest freezer and just set the thermostat to 1 that it would hover right around the freezing mark.... Yeah, not so much... BUT having seen videos of people doing it I know there is some sort of magic relay/thermostat/probe/thingymabober out there...

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Freezer to Fridge Conversion: Good performance or shitty Freezer Selection

I am on a off-grid situation so I tried solving my fridge problem with the infamous "chest freezer" conversion. I bought a brand new Magic Chef Chest Freezer from Home Depot and a digital controller from Amazon. I also have a EcoFlow River Pro battery that runs the fridge. The battery is...

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[mikefitz]

I used this,

STC-1000 12/24/110-220V LCD Digital Temperature Controller Thermostat Sensor | eBay

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[Rednecktek]

I used the Inkbird temperature controller for my conversion, worked great! It has its own thermostat probe so I just ran it in through the lid hinge gap and zip tied it to the racking inside to get it pretty central to the space.

As far as which freezer to use, whichever one has the lowest Estimated Annual Cost on the yellow sticker because that'll generally have the best insulation and most efficient cooling coils.

 

[featherlite]

In my conversion, I have used both the Inkbird model posted by mikefitz and the Inkbird model posted by rednecktek.

The first model required me to install a relay wired to the inverter's on off switch to cycle on and off the inverter. I have always worried about the inverter failing due to repeated cycling on and off. I use this technique to avoid inverter idle draw when the fridge was not drawing power as the fridge cycles on and off.

The second model is plug and play. The inverter stays powered on at all times.

I like the latter model better for ease of installation and less strain on the inverter.

As an aside, my first Inkbird model failed last week after I powered my 12v system on and off while performing maintenance on an unrelated device. I replaced it and now keep a spare.

 

[wme]

Homedepot... Vissani 5 cu ft 214 KWH a year
Vissani 7 cu ft 249 KWh a year
These are chest freezers, converted to a refer power consumption ????
For comparison a Vissani 7 cu ft upright refer with top freezer is 375 KWH a year