Fridge Conversion Questions

[drnez]

Working on my fridge conversion and had a couple questions. I've been looking around for the steel i'm going to use, Home Depot carries 30ga galvanized sheets. Would this be thick enough for what im trying to do? Also, is it a problem that its galvanized? I know you aren't supposed to weld galvanized without a breather, but what about in an oven? A local steel place carries 22ga raw steel sheets, but its much more expensive, and since I do not have a break, I think it would be too difficult to bend by hand.

For the door gasket, is there anything I can use for it other than actual oven door gaskets? I dont think I will have enough from the cannibalized ovens to go all the way around it. Should I bother getting high temp caulk to seal the inside of the compartment? Should I have a vent of some kind?

I will have a fan to circulate the air, but should I position it on the top or the bottom. The bottom would be more convenient, As there is a lip on the back of the fridge where the motor/compressor/electronics were at. I could make it face towards the door. Or I could mount it up top. Should it be blowing up or down?

Thanks everyone for your help, this site has been a great resource!

[holeshot87]

30 gauge is to thin i think but i used only 26 gauge for my oven and it works fine.the gasket for the door, i went to a place that sold wood burners and they have the gasket for the door.for the fan i really dont know the best place to put it. hope this helps.

[holeshot87]

about the vent. i have one on vent my and it heats up faster.

[drnez]

Just went ahead and bought the 30ga. This is mostly an experiment, I plan on building a much larger oven in the future, so we'll give it a shot!

My plans with the fan is to place it at the bottom faning towards the door from the back, this way, it will not blow directly on the piece I am curing. I will run a 5 or 6" dryer vent hose up to the top for the input. Sound right?

[JTW37]

What size is your oven? Also you might want to rethink the dryer vent tube. I don't think it would take the temps you will have. I had bought some 4 inch furnace chimney pipe. It was for a 6' hi oven and it all only cost me around $12.00. The fan works up or down. Your wanting to move the hot air around, so it will be the same temp over all. Heat rises, so you would need to move it around to make it equal. I won't put one in my 3' oven. But I do have one in the 6' oven.

I used 28 ga. for my oven and wished I would have spen the extra cash for heavier gage. But it works for now. I may change it later.

[drnez]

my oven is roughly 2x2x5. I'll take your advise on the duct, i was thinking the same thing, but havent seen what kind of heat those things can handle. thanks!

[drnez]

I got my sheet metal all mocked up yesterday, Did a pretty good job considering I do not have a sheet metal break.

Ordering some mineral wool today from ATS Acoustic. They sell panels in 2" thickness. Heres a quick question, I have 2.5" allowed for insulation. So should I fill the other 1/2" with fiberglass insulation and have the mineral wool close to the sheet metal? Or should I just leave a 1/2" air pocket?

I also picked up my ovens yesterday. I'm keeping 1 intact for smaller jobs, and pulled the other one apart for the big oven. There was a lot less wires than I originally thought I was going to deal with, should be pretty simple.

[Hobweld]

Having done one of these, I would say add the extra 1/2", as long as you don't pack it tight it will only add to the efficiency of the oven. You would be amazed how much gasket you get out of one stove. I had enough to go across the top and about 3/4 of the way down the side. I would add in the broiler element right away. It really speeds up your heat up time. Mine went from 20 minutes to 5. I used the original control panel on mine. Just opened it up and removed any wires I wasn't going to use, like the top elements.
As for the fan I mounted mine on top. Used the fan that was mounted on the old fridge compressor. Wired it in with the light switch. Also placed the blade on the shaft so as to pull the heat up and force it down the walls like a ceiling fan in reverse. Get us some pics of the progress.
Ken

[JTW37]

Have to agree with Hobweld, add the other insulation with the Mineral Wool next to the heat.