Fermentation Fridge dual temperature ?

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korndog

korndog

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I just scored this bitchin' fridge for next to nothing. Do you think it would be possible to compartmentalize it for two temperatures? I was thinking one section at about 50F and the rest at 62F. Any ideas? The chilled air comesin at the top right of the unit.

freezerlg.jpg
 
What kind of fridge with what layout? Is it an upright side by side? Because I have an extra one of those and have been wondering the same thing. Can you use the two sides for two different temperature zones....

If it is a chest freezer with a cold air in blower, I would think you could divide the cold box and run a fan controlled by a love between the compartments.
 
The pic link isn't working.

If it's a single compressor fridge this may be a moderately technical thing to do. Maybe not. Eiather way, I don;t see it as impossible. If it is a dual compressor unit with a single coord, you'd just need to figure out how to power the compressors individually.

On the coldestr side, a single stage should suffice to hit the coldest setpoint by cycling the comp on and off. On teh warmer, I think it would need a dual stage with the cooling stage controlling a fan to draw the cold air fron the cooler side as needed and the heating stage controlling some kind of heating device (light bulb, terrarium heater, etc..) to maintain the proper balance.
 
Hard to tell from the pic but, it looks like it might actually already have two compressors. Nice find. Set ya' back much?

Is that a Love "like" controller there in the middle top or just a digital temp display?
 
I would throw in a good amount of insulation... say 4" between the two sections you want to have... Use a temp controller to run the compressor on the right (compressor side) then cut 2 holes in the top of the insulation big enough for some 4" pvc.have a piece of pvc only about 2 ft with a fan on the end bolwing into the ale side. This fan would then be controlled with a second temp controller and will kick in when The ale temp gets tooo high. Run the other PVC pipe from the lager side to the ale side on the top of the insulation with no fan. This will allow you to have 2 individually controlled areas with little to no permanent damage. Since this is a 3 door unit... Just repeat it and make sure you have 2 pipes running into each section running from the compressor side. This will then allow you to have 3 individually controlled areas.
 
GilaMinumBeer said:
Hard to tell from the pic but, it looks like it might actually already have two compressors. Nice find. Set ya' back much?

Is that a Love "like" controller there in the middle top or just a digital temp display?
Click to expand...

Actually, it was basically free. I had to haul it away and one other piece which I am selling or scrapping. The moving was a bit pricey of course. The digital display is just a temperature monitor. The other piece is a really cool wok stove that would make a great rig project if anyone interested. It's really heavy; you can see it in this thread.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/wok-stove-brew-rig-77013/

mnadamn said:
I would throw in a good amount of insulation... say 4" between the two sections you want to have... Use a temp controller to run the compressor on the right (compressor side) then cut 2 holes in the top of the insulation big enough for some 4" pvc.have a piece of pvc only about 2 ft with a fan on the end bolwing into the ale side. This fan would then be controlled with a second temp controller and will kick in when The ale temp gets tooo high. Run the other PVC pipe from the lager side to the ale side on the top of the insulation with no fan. This will allow you to have 2 individually controlled areas with little to no permanent damage. Since this is a 3 door unit... Just repeat it and make sure you have 2 pipes running into each section running from the compressor side. This will then allow you to have 3 individually controlled areas.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all that information mnadamn. i would love to see some photos of an example if anyone has done this.
 
korndog said:
Thanks for all that information mnadamn. i would love to see some photos of an example if anyone has done this.
Click to expand...

Actually it is basically the same concept as the son of fermentation chillers, except you would lager in the area the ice is stored... Here is a link to one that has a fermentation chamber on top of a keezer... That is another option you can do.... have one at serving temp with a cppl taps on it, one at lager, and one at ale....

any way, here is the link The-Mother-of-All-Fermentation-Chillers
My only recomendation is to run both the intake and exhaust lines on the top... that way, any air leakage would be warmer air into the coldest chamber. This will allow for more accurate temp control as the cold air in the lager side wouldnt be leaking into the warmer air on the ale side as would happen if you had the tubes on the bottom....
 
I should have stated this before... but the lines that run from the lager side to the ale side should be low on the lager side and high on the ale side.... that way, you blow cloder air into the ale side and the fans have to work less....
 
OK, thanks guys. I need to digest this and check out some other threads with photos. Looks like I can get a variety of functions out of this beast, which is very cool!
 
korndog said:
Actually, it was basically free. I had to haul it away and one other piece which I am selling or scrapping. The moving was a bit pricey of course. The digital display is just a temperature monitor. The other piece is a really cool wok stove that would make a great rig project if anyone interested. It's really heavy; you can see it in this thread.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/wok-stove-brew-rig-77013/



.....
Click to expand...

I like it!

Don't think UPS would be too keen on delivering that to my door tho'. I could use that for sooooo many things. I love commercial kitchen tear downs. If I was a pac-rat I'd have so much crap stored from working demolitions it's rediculous. Once on a demo project, I came across a 1 year old 100g nat gas boiler. Was tempted to load it into the back of the truck but, opted to watch it get crushed and loaded into a roll off instead. Wasn't brewing back then. Prolly a good thing I didn;t take it cause my gas bill would be through the roof right now.

I did take a deep well, 3 bin, pots and pans sink tho'. Still waiting for the kitchen remodel to happen so I can build it in.
 
So if I am getting this right, I just insulate one section and cut two holes in the insulation; one high and one low. I have a fan that pushes code air from the cold section to the ale section controlled by a Ranco or similar. Do I need dampers or other control or will the temperatures stabilize?

KD
 
I was just going through all my temp control subscriptions and ran across this thread again. so sorry for the late response, hopefully it helps

korndog said:
So if I am getting this right, I just insulate one section and cut two holes in the insulation; one high and one low. I have a fan that pushes code air from the cold section to the ale section controlled by a Ranco or similar. Do I need dampers or other control or will the temperatures stabilize?

KD
Click to expand...

You have this right, dampers are not really needed on top, but would probably be a good idea on bottom. what I would pobably do is just find some really thick plastic or rubber (pond liner is a good 60 mil rubber) attatch to the top of the vent and weigh a little on the bottom, this should seal enough to prevent flow back into the tube...

Have you done anything to this lately? Do you have any updates? Also, what happened to that wok setup you have?
 
mnadamn said:
I was just going through all my temp control subscriptions and ran across this thread again. so sorry for the late response, hopefully it helps



You have this right, dampers are not really needed on top, but would probably be a good idea on bottom. what I would pobably do is just find some really thick plastic or rubber (pond liner is a good 60 mil rubber) attatch to the top of the vent and weigh a little on the bottom, this should seal enough to prevent flow back into the tube...

Have you done anything to this lately? Do you have any updates? Also, what happened to that wok setup you have?
Click to expand...

I have not started this project yet. i sure would like to get it done, so thanks for the information. Sounds pretty simple this way; I think I will get to it after the first. I love that fridge though.

I have the wok range in my garage and would like to unload it. It weighs early a ton! If anybody wants it, come and get it. Bring friends! It's a great project for the right person.
 

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