vmpolesov

Recipes 

I am weighing my options.


free craigslist fridge

pro: free, big, doesn't matter if you bugger it up.
con: may be old, energy inefficient, smell weird, etc. you have a bigger disposal/relocation problem someday

sanyo 4912

pro: new, energy efficient(?), easier to lug around, smaller disposal/relocation problem someday.
con: not free, small, limited to 2 taps max (for 5 gal corny), you bugger it up you lose $$.

abracadabra

Recipes 

It's a no brainer as far as I'm concerned.

You won't be opening the door on the fridge much if you put taps on the outside. So that should help with the efficiency. Blow all the dust off the cooling fins, that'll help too.

The freezer section is great for storing hops, making ice, freezing wort for starters.

Plus the extra room inside is great for storing commercial beer, soft drinks and grain if you were to buy some and not be able to brew.

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Do what you like!
Brew what you like!

sirsloop

Recipes 

I got a sanyo 4910 off craigslist for 65 bucks. There should be TONS for sale in a couple months when school lets out

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~~~~~~~_/_______| |____NOW TRIPLE HOPPED______|~~~~~~~~~~
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~~|=(*)[________]==(*)(*)=| \________/=(*)(*)=|~~~~~~~~~~

rabidgerbil

Recipes 

And don't forget the vanilla ice cream for the chocolate stout floats...

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What I do on the side for brewing money
My LHBS

srm775

Recipes 

I think it's pretty easy choice. Start off with the free one and go from there. Clean it real good with a bleach and water mixture. Spray the entire thing down with lysol (unscented if you can get it) and let it sit for a day to dry. Then, plug it in.

If you see a big spike in your electrical bill, then clean the condenser coils and etc. and see if that helps, if not, scrap it and start over again.

With a bigger fridge, you can add more corneys, use it to lager/cold-crash and a variety of other things.

vmpolesov

Recipes 

how about a fridge that was 'turned off for a while and smells funny?'

i ask because i heard that at some point, they get funky beyond the point of no return. i.e. after Katrina a lot of fridges just had to be junked, although they were fine mechanically, the funkiness just got too deep into the areas you cant clean (insulation, etc). any truth to that rumor?

vmpolesov

Recipes 

Went with the Lowes 5 cu ft. 'Holiday' brand chest freezer. Seems like the best bang for the buck and the fewest unknowns.

Also stopped by the welding shop and got some pricing on tanks. Wildly different quote ($90 fro 5 lb Al tank, $20 for CO2) than when I looked a few weeks ago and a different guy was working there ($67 for 5 lb Al tank with CO2. Maybe I looked like a tradesman the first time and they quoted me the insider's price, and today I looked like desk job joe and they wanted to soak me.

srm775

Recipes 

Well, I think that most of those fridges suffered severe water damages and that was a big reason why they were scraped. Also, because of the overwhelming number of fridges there was, it would have taken forever. Not to mention, but I think there is pretty big difference between what happened with those fridges, and a fridge that just happens to sit for awhile and gets a little funky.