Temperature control... on a budget

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Saccharomyces

Be good to your yeast...
HBT Supporter
Joined
Jun 17, 2008
Messages
5,438
Reaction score
166
Location
Pflugerville, Texas
So, folks seem to like my solution, so I thought it was worthy of a post.

Meet the redneck illegitimate child of fermentation chiller:

DSC01662.JPG

-and-
DSC01667.JPG


(HBT logo not a requirement ;))

* 32 gallon can $12
* Box fan $12
* Old T-shirt free
* Re-usable ice blocks (soda bottles filled with water to 1" from the cap) free.

With the fan on low, and ambient temp 72-74 it stays 66-67 in there, a solid 6-7 degree drop from evaporative cooling. Adding two 24oz soda bottles twice a day drops the temp down to 62-63.

I figure if I wanted to get REALLY fancy I could nest this can in a 55 gallon can and stuff the gap with blankets for insulation, then I could do lagers in it if I used enough ice. But I digress, since the whole point is really cheap, easy temperature control for ales. No more excuses for fusels and fruity stouts...

The liquid pool is old Star-san, I threw the contents of my homer bucket in there when I mixed up a fresh batch of Star-san so the blowoff tube could go right into the "moat". No worries about slime.

Messy blowoff from barleywine not included. :D
 
Was setting here looking at your ferm cooler. Nice....

If you wanted to let things get just a bit cooler without adding more ice etc you could increase evaporation by punching some 1 inch holes just above your water line, then place the fan blowing up and out of the can. You will get a jet of air rushing in over the water and crashing into the ferm. Evaporation will go up, temps will go down.

If you make this upgrade I request you find a turbo, or supercharged sticker and put on your setup.

Cheers.
 
Great idea! If SWMBO will get onboard, I may make one of these.

You could even wrap insulation around the sides of the garbage can to improve its performance.

And add a rack to the bottom so the carboy will be exposed to cool water.

And add a nozzle to the side making it easier to drain the water out.
 
Dumping the blow off back into the cooling liquid looks nasty. Interesting concept, but IMO, too sloppy for practical usage.
 
I'll have to remember that when it get's to 120° this coming summer. It beats the hell out of sticking it into an oversized tub under the Air Conditioner with half a box duct taped to the AC unit to redirect the air flow.
 
That beer (imperial porter in my dropdown) was the only I've ever done that blew yeast all the way through the tube. I've used the same method many times since, and never had a mess. I've had the same StarSan in the chamber for two months now.

I'll be doing a 10 gallon batch soon so I am getting ready to upgrade my system. That means buying a second can and filling more soda bottles with water for the freezer. ;)

The air ducting idea for evaporation is an interesting one. I'll bet I won't need ice at all (after dropping to pitching temp) if I do that. Though this time of year the room is cool enough I only need extra temp control during the first 48 hours while the yeast are budding giving off heat, after that it drops back to room temp.
 
Sorry for reviving the old thread, but this is a great idea.

One suggestion. You will get a great deal more airflow if you let the air escape another way than through the top (back through the fan). If you cut some holes out just above the water line the fan would be able to move more air much more easily. Same costs, cooler temps.

Just an idea...:mug:
 
Yep I thought about that, just never tried it. This summer I rolled with just ice since I had the fermenter in a room next to the A/C unit which was a cozy 68-69*F. If I go back to fermenting ales in my office, which is a bit warmer, I'll do that to improve the airflow.
 
You are the man of the hour, Saccharomyces. I'm going to use this technique on brewing up your Irish Red recipe tomorrow (PM version). Going to sub Willamette for the Goldings however, and add a little CaraPils.

Cheers to you :mug:
 
Great ghetto ferm chamber. I love simplicity. Only problem I have is I don't want to lift my full carboys......... Need one with a side door..
 
You are the man of the hour, Saccharomyces. I'm going to use this technique on brewing up your Irish Red recipe tomorrow (PM version). Going to sub Willamette for the Goldings however, and add a little CaraPils.

Sounds tasty. I did an American red ale with willamette, it came out awesome. I'm not a fan of EKG but I love willamette.

Glad folks are liking my method. I have a ferm fridge now, but I still use the ol' trusty water bath from time to time when I need to squeak in an extra batch.
 
Did you try just throwing a blanket over it when using ice and not using the fan at all? Seems like the fan would be good when NOT using ice but seems the fan would just melt the ice faster when using ice. Once the carboy is submerged you've already got great heat transfer between the bath/carboy so I don't really see what the fan is doing when using ice.

I use something very similar but I sort of close it up and insulate it (with bubble-wrap, ha). It's too humid here anyway and the bubble-wrap keeps the condensation down.
 
Dumping the blow off back into the cooling liquid looks nasty. Interesting concept, but IMO, too sloppy for practical usage.

If you're man enough to dunk the carboy in a trash can full of water, you're man enough to let the blowoff hit the mote.

The water is sanitized. Blowoff makes it brown, ever so slightly grainy, sanitized water. If you can't handle that, seriously, how do you handle drinking beer at all?

Oh my goodness, I really should learn to read post dates... Oh well!!!!
 
I'm so new at brewing that some would say I don't know the difference between a lager and an ale, but I know good ol' fashion "make it happen" think'n when I see it. Good job dude.
 
very nice, most people already have these items, lol i think everyones got a box fan. Wish I would have seen something like this before
 
Back
Top