Fermentation temperature control
 

I have been thinking about building a fermentation box out of foam. I have even bought a thermistat to alter for this project. I remembered my house that is rented, has a storage unit that i share with my slum lord. They have some appliances in there that is a real pain in the but. I have to scouch my table saw past this fridge every time i need to take it out. Wait a minute "there is a fridge right in my way". It is sort of outside. It is in a poorly insulated shed like thing with power about 5 feet away. I am not sure what the temps are in there but it is close to outside with temps running from 10- 45 degrees with less variation in the shed. I would like to take advantage to get a few lagers in before it gets to warm to use the natural cold outside.

My concern is in order to have consistant temps for fermenting then lagering in there I will need heat at times and refrig at times. Is there a system or thermostat that can do this? I was thinking of converting a Home Depot Thermostat but for 10 bucks more there seem to be premade ones. What would be easiest for my setup?

As i see it I would need two temperature controls. One for a lightbulb in the fridge to heat and another to engage the fridge if it gets warmer than needed. Are there any other options?

In case anyone is interested in how to do this. There is such a thing as 2 stage thermostats that can do this made by Ranco. The one draw back is the switching in it causes a limit in the Amperage it can handle. From 16A in the single stage to 9.8 amps in the 2 stage models. I planed to plug it into a fridge with a lightbulb inside to prevent too cold conditions but not sure what a fridge draws in amps will check when i get home. I am hoping that the cold snaps have ended and I can rely on a light bulb to keep it heated and just turn on the fridge and set a 1 stage thermostat it on the days it may get too warm.

Check this out as well http://www.dwyer-inst.com/Products/Product.cfm?Group_ID=622&sPageName=Ordering , more than sufficient to control a frig.