Is it possible to convert a chest freezer to a fridge/freezer combo?

I thought I've heard of it being done before, but could not find anything searching.  I guess the idea would be to put an insulated wall in the freezer so it didn't get too cold in that part.
I don't know, but it seems like it would be more efficient than two small chest freezers (one would be converted to a refrigerator.

Another thought I had was using two small chest freezers and sealing the sides together. Then put an adjustable vent in between them to control how much cold can pass through.  Only one freezer would be plugged in, and the second could be a fridge.

Thoughts? Anyone tried anything l like this before? Or am I best off running a second converted freezer?

I know several folks who have done this though I have lost contact with them.

Maybe someone who has done this will help.

How to turn your chest freezer into a fridge - [DIY Project]

After some more research, the evaporator runs through all of the walls in the freezer so cutting it is a bad idea. It looks like two separate freezers with one converted to a fridge is my best bet.

I've seen someone do a fridge conversion where they needed more height for kegs and they added an extension to raise the lid to provide clearance. I'd imagine something like this could be done with ducting to a box on the side and temperature controlled fans to keep things in the proper range for refrigeration without freezing. Of course you wouldn't be able to infinitely expand this without exceeding the capabilities of the freezer, but I could see a well insulated box working in certain situations.

Another issue would be how often it is being used. For one or two people being careful it could work out, but a whole family trying to move a bunch of stuff in and out in a small period could push it to the point where the freezer wouldn't reliably keep stuff frozen.

The last time I picked up a couple of small chest freezers from Costco they came with a dial on the bottom that switches it from freezer to refrigerator.

Replicating something like that might work well. I'm planning to stick one of them in our new house's farm washroom so we can drop in five gallon buckets of produce when we're harvesting on a hot and need to get the produce cooled fast.  

Hi Teri,

Welcome to Permies.

Teri Capshaw wrote:The last time I picked up a couple of small chest freezers from Costco they came with a dial on the bottom that switches it from freezer to refrigerator.

Replicating something like that might work well. I'm planning to stick one of them in our new house's farm washroom so we can drop in five gallon buckets of produce when we're harvesting on a hot and need to get the produce cooled fast.  

Hi Teri, do you have a model number or a picture of some sort? I've seen a thermostat on them before but its usually for adjusting the freezer level... I would really like if this was available.

Yeah I've done it. I bought a $70 temp controller 10 years ago to make a kegerator ("keezer") back when I used to brew beer. Now days I am sure you can buy something much cheaper that's just plug and play and be in business!

Thank you!

John F Dean wrote:Hi Teri,

Welcome to Permies.