Large fermentation chamber

Here is my new fermentation chamber, almost finished. It is build to fit two of my 60 gallon inductor tank conicals. I'm going to cover the open side with styrofoam panels as I couldn't think of an easy way to have a regular door while still being able to remove one or both conicals/stands for cleaning etc. Planning on brewing 30g Sunday to try 'er out.

Very nice. I may be going down this road soon and was just curious what the dimensions are? Also what size AC unit is it? What temp will it get down to (I.e. lagering)? Thanks.

I have a similar contraption: http://www.restlesscellars.com/photos.php?view=preview&category=1&image=9

sub

Hm pretty nice project.

A/C unit looks like a 5000btu.

Yup, its a 5500 BTU unit. The inside dimensions are 5' 3" W x 3' D x 6' 10" H. I made it just big enough to fit the conicals as I didn't want to take up more space than necessary in my house.

As for the temperature I am not sure; I haven't actually used it yet. The controller temp probe goes into a thermowell on the side of the conical, so that the temp of the beer is controlled as opposed to the air temp. I have no doubt it would do lager fermenting temp. Actual lagering temp? Maybe if I sealed it up real well. I will have to do a test before I put the first batch in here.

SteveWPG said:

Yup, its a 5500 BTU unit. The inside dimensions are 5' 3" W x 3' D x 6' 10" H. I made it just big enough to fit the conicals as I didn't want to take up more space than necessary in my house.

As for the temperature I am not sure; I haven't actually used it yet. The controller temp probe goes into a thermowell on the side of the conical, so that the temp of the beer is controlled as opposed to the air temp. I have no doubt it would do lager fermenting temp. Actual lagering temp? Maybe if I sealed it up real well. I will have to do a test before I put the first batch in here.

Click to expand...

You may be a little optimistic with a small AC and so much space. I have that same AC and my chambers is less than half as big. If I cool my wort down to 50F I can ferment a lager at 53-55F but the AC runs a lot of the time. At 57F it barely runs, For that much space I would have gone with at least an 8000BTU unit. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure your chamber will be great for ales at low temps, but it's gonna be hard to maintain low 50's with your setup.

Yeah, as I said I'm not sure but I don't intend to make many lagers. I could always lager in kegs in another chamber/freezer.

I would be happy if I can keep the beer at ~60. I have had success lagering in a similarly sized chamber with a similar A/C unit. The design of that one made it much easier to keep in cold air, it was just a pain to get into (open top). I am optimistic that if I seal it well it will do what I need.

I have a bigger A/C unit (12k BTU) sitting around but I was hoping to sell it. It is huge, heavy and power hungry but I guess I could use it.

EDIT: On Saturday I will turn it on and sit inside to simulate the heat of fermenting beer and I will let you know how cold it gets.

How'd it go Steve?

corkybstewart said:

You may be a little optimistic with a small AC and so much space. I have that same AC and my chambers is less than half as big. If I cool my wort down to 50F I can ferment a lager at 53-55F but the AC runs a lot of the time. At 57F it barely runs, For that much space I would have gone with at least an 8000BTU unit. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure your chamber will be great for ales at low temps, but it's gonna be hard to maintain low 50's with your setup.

Click to expand...

You're also in New Mexico while he's in Manitoba. He may be able to accomplish lagering just because the climate is so much colder.

NateLTB said:

You're also in New Mexico while he's in Manitoba. He may be able to accomplish lagering just because the climate is so much colder.

Click to expand...

Good point-he probably needs a heater as much as an AC.

Never got to really test for lager temps, no time.

I used it for an ale fermentation (Oatmeal stout using Wyeast 1318), so it didn't have to work very hard. I actually only had it closed for the first two days.

My tap water is getting cold, and as a result I accidentally chilled the wort more than I meant to. (A problem I know you southern brewers would love to have. I have no problems chilling 190F wort to 55F in one pass through a plate chiller.) I let the beer climb to 69F before I turned the AC unit on. The beer dropped to 65F overnight. It then finished up before getting up to 69 again.

Ambient temp in my basement is about 62F; this fermentation could have probably been accomplished with a fan blowing on the conical. I will have to get back to you guys when I attempt to make a lager. Shouldn't be long, I have a bag and a half of Munich that's begging to be made into a bock. :rockin: