Price: $60.00
Pros: easy to build, light weight, most parts can be found on ebay
Cons: have to maintain more then using a minifridge
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Great concept, easy to build, easy to understand instructions, fairly cheap to build, and low energy consumption, only requires a small 12 volt charger

Price: $30.00
Pros: Cheap and easy to build
Cons: Looks cheap
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Used a mini fridge attached to back to control temp.
Got from scrap material at work.

Price: $35.00
Recommended? Yes

Comments: test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review

Pros: maintains up to 25 below ambient temperatures, lightweight
Cons: ice change required every 1-2 days, condensation can cause mildew
Recommended? Yes

Comments: I didn't go all out with mine. i didn't bother with the pegs to hold it tight. Mine is held together with duct tape across the front and magazines on top for a nice, tight seal. if it starts to tear from the tape, just add more tape.

this, of course, makes its use life a bit shorter, but i still use it and it's been a couple of years. i threw it together in just a few hours.

i would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a cheap fermentation temp solution without the hassles of a water bath.

just be sure to watch for water leaks and put a plastic mat or something under the chiller. when condensation on the ice containers occurs, you will get a bit of mildew. it doesn't seem to grow very well on the foam (i rarely clean it) but it does like to sneak down into your carpet.

8/10 for fermentation control.

Can't do much better without a fridge or building an insulated mobile wooden cabinet. I'm just finishing one right now which will hold four carboys and runs of a small 5000 BTU air conditioner.

Recommended? Yes

Comments: Dredging this up...

I live in the South and I want to keep brewing throughout the hot summer months. I keep my house between 80 and 85 degrees during the summer so I need something to keep my fermentors about 10 to 20 degrees colder than my house. I have found multiple sites about DIY fermentation chillers but I still have a few questions maybe someone could help me with.


1: Can an old fridge be rigged to stay at the proper temp for fermentation? If so, what is required?

2: I bottle condition so... what about the bottles? Don't they need to be kept at around 68 degrees as well? If I build the fermentation chiller described in the link in Pumbaa's post were do I cool my bottles?

Pros: very easy to assemble
Recommended? Yes

Comments: I built this chiller when I first started brewing. It worked great, but now i have a fridge and use it seldom. I do plan on doing some Lagers in the fridge so i will use it for a few more ales. It was actually a lot easier to make then I thought!

Pros: keeps beer at a constant temp while fermenting
Cons: have to change out ice as needed
Recommended? Yes

Comments: http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF

I just finished building mine and I have to say it was pretty damn easy. I'm not a handy guy and not good with wood working skills and DEFINETLY not good with electricity and even I completed it with satisafactory results.

I did modify mine a bit making it large enuff to hold 2 6.5 gallon carboys with air locks and I am using 2 liter soda bottles to hold my ice. I also added a light to let me know when the fan is running but I need to either add some sort of resister to it or find a bulb that can handle the 12 volts because the ones I have now are rated at 6 volts and last a whooping 5 minutes befor they burn out.

Take care when you are making your cuts and try to keep everything as square as possible. I had a couple small issues with keeping everything square and have 2 small leaks but they are easyly taken care of with a couple of old scrap towels over each of them.

Mine cost me about $100 but it's also bigger then the one laid out in the plans. Could easly build one as descibed in the plans for $70

I'll try and post a photo soon but I already got a batch of cider in the bad boy 8)