Just bought an upright freezer and now I am so bummed.

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WayFrae

WayFrae

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I just bought an upright freezer that is 24 cubic feet and only cost me $80! I was so stoked to finally get a fermentation chamber up and running. I got it transported to my house and into my basement and then got my stc-1000 all set up and then I went to pull the shelves out of the freezer and found out that the cooling coils run through all the shelves. I can't believe I didn't notice that before. I am so bummed and just came here to vent. Oh well, at least I have a nice freezer now.
 
I don't know. I am scared of cracking the tubing and ruining it. I kind of tried to gently bend them but it required much more force than I wanted to apply.
 
I'm not sure on the exact model but it says Amana DeepFreeze on the front. I will probably just work on finding another one with removable shelves.
 
If you are adventurous and can't return it, you could always build a collar for it that will give you a surface for your fermenter to sit on, yet still be inside the cooling chamber.
 
edroberts said:
If you are adventurous and can't return it, you could always build a collar for it that will give you a surface for your fermenter to sit on, yet still be inside the cooling chamber.
Click to expand...

If its like my upright ( and it sounds like it is) there is only about 15" between the shelves so the fermenters just won't fit...
 
augiedoggy said:
If its like my upright ( and it sounds like it is) there is only about 15" between the shelves so the fermenters just won't fit...
Click to expand...

Exactly. That's why, if needed, you can build a collar in front of the shelves wide enough for your fermenter. You're not moving the shelves. You're increasing the size of the freezer by adding space between the door and shelves.
Of course, if you can return it it's all the better.
 
Tough break. However, I offer these thoughts:

-$80 - good deal
-$80 and some sweat is not the highest cost screwup most of us have made at one point or another in pursuit of beer
-sounds like it would make an awesome beer fridge, if you like to bottle some of your brews like I do
-many homebrewers support a varied collection of refrigeration devices for an array of purposes. Maybe you should just consider this one of many to come
-I am actually just today beginning to covet just one more refrigerator (5 devices and counting) to support an advanced yeast colonization effort. That freezer would be perfect for that.
-if you're short on space inside like I am, you can keep a fridge in your garage our a covered outdoor space

Hope this helps!
 
I (VERY CAREFULLY) bent the coils back against the back wall and it worked well for about a year. Made a small wooden base for the bottom to hold the fermenter and was good to go. I had to remove the coils from the shelves first.

It.lasted a year, but I don't know if it was the coils being bent, or just the fact that it was an old a$$ freezer.

Good luck!
 
WayFrae said:
I just bought an upright freezer that is 24 cubic feet and only cost me $80! I was so stoked to finally get a fermentation chamber up and running. I got it transported to my house and into my basement and then got my stc-1000 all set up and then I went to pull the shelves out of the freezer and found out that the cooling coils run through all the shelves. I can't believe I didn't notice that before. I am so bummed and just came here to vent. Oh well, at least I have a nice freezer now.
Click to expand...

That's a perfect freezer for storing bulk hops and starting a frozen yeast ranch since it doesn't have a frost-free cycle (i.e. defrosting cycle). Leaves you plenty of space to buy half a pig and some bulk beef too :D
 
stpug said:
That's a perfect freezer for storing bulk hops and starting a frozen yeast ranch since it doesn't have a frost-free cycle (i.e. defrosting cycle). Leaves you plenty of space to buy half a pig and some bulk beef too :D
Click to expand...

Yeah haha I think that is what I am going to do. I already have half a pig that is taking up the entire regular freezer upstairs so it will be nice to free up some space in that freezer.
 
philipmeese said:
Tough break. However, I offer these thoughts:

-$80 - good deal
-$80 and some sweat is not the highest cost screwup most of us have made at one point or another in pursuit of beer
-sounds like it would make an awesome beer fridge, if you like to bottle some of your brews like I do
-many homebrewers support a varied collection of refrigeration devices for an array of purposes. Maybe you should just consider this one of many to come
-I am actually just today beginning to covet just one more refrigerator (5 devices and counting) to support an advanced yeast colonization effort. That freezer would be perfect for that.
-if you're short on space inside like I am, you can keep a fridge in your garage our a covered outdoor space

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Haha thanks! All of that is true! I have plenty of space for it. I already have a fridge in the garage that I use to store all my bottled beer but this will probably just get used to store bulk meats. My fiancees father raises us a pig every year so that is probably what I will use it for.
 
Bummed? More like charmed life! For $80 you just made your fiancée (and her family) very happy with you.

(And me very envious of your yearly whole hog!)
 
agrazela said:
Bummed? More like charmed life! For $80 you just made your fiancée (and her family) very happy with you.

(And me very envious of your yearly whole hog!)
Click to expand...

Haha I know, first world problems right? I was just so excited to finally be able to brew some lagers that it bummed me out to have to wait.
 
What do you ferment in? Bucket, carboy, conical, something else? I've found the largest size mini-fridges work pretty good for buckets. 5-6 gallon carboys should also fit, but the 6.5 carboys are a little too wide to fit without some mods. Conicals are too tall. Cornies can also potentially fit if the freezer cooling coil is bent down.
 
I ferment in 6 gallon glass carboys. I will have to look for some large mini-fridges (haha quite the oxymoron)
 
Do you keg everything? What about getting a dual stage temp controller for it and keeping it for bottle storage, i.e. keep it at 70 to bottle condition or at 55 for long term storage.
 
mr_samsonite said:
Do you keg everything? What about getting a dual stage temp controller for it and keeping it for bottle storage, i.e. keep it at 70 to bottle condition or at 55 for long term storage.
Click to expand...

No I don't have any kegs actually. Right now I store all my beers cold in a fridge in my garage. I do have a dual stage temp controller and that might actually be a good idea to bottle condition beers in this freezer because right now it is about 50°F in my basement so it takes forever to bottle carbonate anything haha.
 
I like the mini fridges for fermenting, kegging etc. they're easy to move around if need be and You can find them at pawn shops for about 20.00 in the SLC area, there was a pawn shop on 4500 and state that had a haier for 20.00 I silicone a wood skirt on the front to get everything to fit, I have the ability to ferment up to 12 gallons in my ferment chamber and 3- 5 gallon cornys in my keggerator.
 
yewtah-brewha said:
I like the mini fridges for fermenting, kegging etc. they're easy to move around if need be and You can find them at pawn shops for about 20.00 in the SLC area, there was a pawn shop on 4500 and state that had a haier for 20.00 I silicone a wood skirt on the front to get everything to fit, I have the ability to ferment up to 12 gallons in my ferment chamber and 3- 5 gallon cornys in my keggerator.
Click to expand...

Oh that is a good idea. I will have to check pawn shops. I have just been searching ksl religiously but people are asking like $20 under retail for mini fridges.
 

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