Can that fridge run in a confined space? I made something similar, but had to remove the sides covering the fridge as it got really hot with a lack of air movement. Mind, my chamber is a bit bigger, and running in my non-air conditioned garage. Ambient temp in the room ran over 90 F during the summer.
Can that fridge run in a confined space? I made something similar, but had to remove the sides covering the fridge as it got really hot with a lack of air movement. Mind, my chamber is a bit bigger, and running in my non-air conditioned garage. Ambient temp in the room ran over 90 F during the summer.
It's got cooling coils on the back. It's be shoved into one side of an entertainment center now for over two years, so I'm pretty sure overheating won't be a problem. Plus, I don't plan on leaving it running all the time. Only when I've got something fermenting in it.
Well, it took a while to get back to, but I finally managed to get the inside insulated and sealed up. All the seams are caulked and covered with foil tape, and I put weather stripping around the door. Hopefully that'll keep the air leaks to a minimum. I also had to swap out the sliding latches with some swing latches to get the door to close over the weather strip. The Johnson controller should be here next week, then I can really see what this baby can do. Then I just have to finish off the counter top.
I left it running empty over night at the lowest setting and the thermometer I left in there showed it down below 30. I've got a carboy full of water in there right now and after about 12 hours it was down to 45*. With any luck it'll get down to the 35* range and I can use it to lager if I want to. Either way, I now know I can use it to ferment anything I could possibly want, so I'm more than happy.
This may seem like a dumb question, but are you getting your temp (below 30) without a Johnson controller? If so, do you actually need one? I ask because I have a larger (40" tall or so) dorm size fridge and I plan on converting it to a fermentation chamber for lagering. When I turn the temp all the way down I'm able to freeze low ABV beer in it. I was thinking that if I can build a cabinet that's sealed and insulated properly, I could leave it as is without adding a Johnson controller. Any thoughts?
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Primary - Black IPA
Primary - Emma's Ale
Primary - Air
In the Que - Chinook IPA, Lefse Blonde, Dawson's Kriek Ale
Bottled - Dunkelweissen
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Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. -Benjamin Franklin
This may seem like a dumb question, but are you getting your temp (below 30) without a Johnson controller? If so, do you actually need one? I ask because I have a larger (40" tall or so) dorm size fridge and I plan on converting it to a fermentation chamber for lagering. When I turn the temp all the way down I'm able to freeze low ABV beer in it. I was thinking that if I can build a cabinet that's sealed and insulated properly, I could leave it as is without adding a Johnson controller. Any thoughts?
The purpose for me building this wasn't just for lagering, but for maintaining fermentation temps. So it needs the controller to keep the beer at whatever temp it needs to ferment at, whether it's 68, 60, 45 or whatever. Lagering was just an added bonus. I wasn't sure it would be able to maintain lagering temps after adding so much more space than what the fridge was originally designed for.
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