Jonson Controls A19AAT-2C Freezer Temperature Controller (D132)

I need to convert a chest freezer into a refrigerator to temporarily hold large amounts of produce that needed processing. This worked like a charm. It is easy to use, but make sure you have a thermometer to double check your temperature against the converter's settings. Mine runs a few degrees warmer than the setting, so I have to set the temperature a few degrees lower. Other than that, everything is perfect.

I bought 2 of these to turn some Frigidaire (FGCH25M8LW) chest freezers into refrigerators. It looked simple enough and I could not find any real evidence to suggest that this thermostat shutting off the power to the compressor was going to harm the life span of the freezer.The one thing that I didn't do correctly (that in hindsight was fairly obvious) was that initially I left the gas filled sensor inside the freezer and ran the remaining 6 feet of copper tubing outside the freezer to the controller. I realized that was probably dumb as it would leave a significant surface area exposed to the outside temp that could skew the thermostat settings. OK, simple enough to fix. I just coiled the copper tubing back up, secured it to the inside of the freezer and mounted the controller to the outside leaving only a few inches of exposed copper which I insulated. Overkill? Maybe, but for that absurdly difficult change it's no longer a problem to with which to concern myself.So if you are looking at one of these to make a freezer into a fridge, it was simple and so far (2 months as of this review) it's worked without any fiddling needed. I'm happy. Unrelated to the actual product but related to its use. I have had a freezer and "converted" fridge running though Kill-a-Watt meters for about a month. The Frigidaire freezer takes about 45 watts per hour to run at the factory set freezer temp. The modded fridge is set with the Johnson controller to 38˚F and run about 15 watts per hour.

This item is just the ticket to convert a chest freezer into a chest refrigerator. Country folk know its smart to keep a backup freezer, there's a lot of valuable food in the primary one and if it goes down the lost food can easily exceed the value of the freezer. That empty freezer can come in real handy at times, especially if one can accurately control its temperature. Too much garden produce to fit in the refrigerator and you can't process it for several days, or want to accumulate more before spending a day processing the produce? No problem, just set the temperature you desire and you have the equivalent of a second refrigerator. The most common reason people give for not liking wild game is that it tastes "gamey". Ever eat freshly slaughtered beef? It tastes gamey too. The primary cause of a gamey taste is failure to age the meat. Even the cheapest beef is aged a few days before its hits the supermarket. The bovine served at expensive steak houses is frequently aged about a month. That's why its so good and so expensive. Aging naturally tenderizes and improves the flavor of any meat. Most people can't tell the difference between properly aged venison and supermarket beef. This temperature control unit is easy to use and allows you to maintain the proper temperature within a precise range to age your own meat or keep garden produce for extended periods. Add a pan of water to maintain a high humidity and you've virtually duplicated the conditions in a commercial aging room. Have a fruit tree but not enough room in your refrigerator to store several bushels of fruit while you process it for long term storage? Problem solved! Use your imagination, any process that requires a constant temperature below normal room temperature is solved by this unit.

I bought this to complete a kegging system project using a cheaper scratch and dent apartment size refrigerator from one of the big box stores. The problem I was having was that the keg would keep icing up due to the air not circulating like it would in a better quality refrigerator. This solved the problem. I placed the sensor at the base of the keg since settling of the cool air seemed to be what was causing my icing. IT WORKED. An additional benefit could be the energy savings with the refrigerator being completely powered down running less. The temperature setting is accurate. Now we have ice cold beer without the ice.The capillary tube is very thin so it doesn't effect the seal of the door. It might take some creativity mounting of the controller and running of the capillary tube. It does come with a chain to hang it or keyhole slots on the back. I have a heavy duty magnetic coat hook that I stuck on the side of the refrigerator and hung the control unit from it.

I have collected three or four of these units over the years to control a chest freezer and mini fridges for beer making/serving. The latest such unit, I purchased from an Amazon seller.I will say I was surprised by the accuracy of the dial on the most recent unit I bought. My others do not control the temperature to the same level indicated on the dial, so I simply keep a thermometer inside the appliance and adjust accordingly.I know you can buy digital controllers for a little more money, but in my mind it feels like analog will be more durable -- that a digital model could fail more quickly. I could be completely making that up.This controller comes with a rather long power cord that may be longer than you need. At any rate, the power cord to the appliance itself will need to be the same length since it plugs into the controller's plug end. The temperature probe is attached to a long metal capillary tube. At 6 feet, it's plenty longer than I ever need; the excess stays coiled up. The tube is malleable and you can kind of bend it to take whatever configuration you need.

Brings upright freezer to 38 degrees and holds it