Fermentation Chamber Size

NoisufnoC · 08-25-2009, 06:00 AM

Hello.

I've been unable to brew in Las Vegas for months now because of the temperature here and have decided to build a fermentation chamber. I have a 1.8 cu. ft. Haier HSW02 Haier HSW02 (1.8 cu. ft.) Compact Refrigerator Details and Product Specifications - Epinions.com that a friend donated to my cause and was thinking of building something along the lines of this http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/4-6-cu-ft-fridge-10-1-cu-ft-fermentation-chamber-conversion-88554/ chamber under the workbench in my garage.

Here is the work bench it'll go under

The back wall is insulated and the floor is a concrete slab. I was planing on boxing it in, insulating the box, and butting the opening of the fridge into it (as described in the project linked above). How large of a chamber can I build using this small fridge as the cooling source? I was thinking of something big enough for maybe 2 to 3 carboys.

Let me know what you guys think. Is this even a good location to put it?

NoisufnoC · 08-25-2009, 06:01 AM

on a side note, that picture of my work area was from when i bought the house. the fridge in the corner is now my kegorator

win!

johnnyc · 08-25-2009, 03:42 PM

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/my-new-fermenter-131260/ Here's what I did. It's big enough for 2 carboys and since I built it then slid it under my workbench its only as tall as the bottom of it. I can't put an airlock on a carboy but a blowoff tube works fine. Its double insulated w/ insulator board that I attached with 3M spray glue. I mounted a computer fan connected to an old cellphone charger in the freezer part of the fridge to circulate the air that I leave plugged in all the time whenever I'm fermenting. Its worked fine so far and it sits in my un-air conditioned garage that prob hits 100. I was able to take it down to 50 no problem. Haven't tried lagering in it yet though.

winstonofbeer · 08-25-2009, 03:51 PM

Personaly i would think 2-3 would be the max. I dont think you could box in your entire bottom of your work bench with a door of some sort every few feet without some major fans.

I could be wrong here, And if i am...I am sure i will be corrected.

If you would go to long of a distance away from the fridge, The 1st carboy would be the coldest...the last the warmest.
I am going to guess even with fans going,It will be around 5 degree temp hike anything past 3 carboys wide.

Hope this helps.

TwoHeadsBrewing · 08-25-2009, 04:32 PM

I have a larger mini-fridge for my ferm chamber and it holds 3x 6-6.5 gallon carboys. It easily handles the temperature even in the hot garage (120F+), and now I wish I had made it a couple feet longer. I do recommend wiring up a computer fan, or even something a bit bigger to circulate some air throughout the chamber. This will help equalize the temperature and keep all carboys at the same temp. If your fridge is underpowered, you can always replace it with a cheap used window A/C unit.

NoisufnoC · 08-25-2009, 08:24 PM

thanks for the comments and ideas, keep them coming...

I have a couple 120mm PC fans laying around my house (i'm in the IT industry), whats the easiest and safest way to wire them in?

I'm not super concerned about exact temperature control right now, i just want to start brewing again. I was getting good results with carboy's in my spare bedroom closet in the winter so i dont mind if the temperature varies a few degrees.

TwoHeadsBrewing · 08-25-2009, 08:45 PM

For mine I used a small 5v DC power supply from an old wireless router. Just took the positive and negative and wired them up to the fan wires. It's a bit underpowered for the fan I have, but it moves enough air to keep the temps even throughout the chamber. A 9v or 12v power supply would be better for your 120mm fans. Another option is to just get a cheap small house fan and place it in the chamber.

johnnyc · 08-25-2009, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwoHeadsBrewing

For mine I used a small 5v DC power supply from an old wireless router. Just took the positive and negative and wired them up to the fan wires. It's a bit underpowered for the fan I have, but it moves enough air to keep the temps even throughout the chamber. A 9v or 12v power supply would be better for your 120mm fans. Another option is to just get a cheap small house fan and place it in the chamber.

I first ran my 120mm fan w/ a 12v power supply. It was a freakin' wind tunnel! I'm now using a 6v from a cellphone charger and it seems to work fine.

NoisufnoC · 08-27-2009, 01:55 AM

started a new build thread. http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/yet-another-under-workbench-fermentation-chamber-build-133970/#post1509361

Please lock this thread or whatever you mods do with them