Old Fridge Turned Computer Controlled Fermentation Chamber

jcdillin · 06-24-2009, 01:44 PM

So as if I didn't have enough projects around the house

In the spare few minutes I have here and there i've been working on converting an old side by side fridge into a fermentation chamber.

My plan is to keep the sides separated so that I can run two different temperatures. I am going to have a computer fan in the duct that connects the two chambers that will cycle on and off to blow cold air from the freezer to the fridge side.

Here is the fridge as I started out. I first removed the ice maker since I needed the space and it ended up being the perfect place to mount the controller and LCD. I'm going to paint a piece of plexiglass black and mount the LCD and encoder to it. I should also be able to fit the control relays to turn the compressor on and off.

Here you can see the inside of the freezer door, i'm going to be replacing the panel that went here with a simple sheet of thin plexi. The original door cover had all the pockets for the freezer and the ice maker which make it very deep.

Here is the inside of the fridge compartment, I still have to build the wooden shelves for the carboys/kegs. It has enough room to stack 2 sanke kegs on top of one another with room to spare. I am going to be fermenting in the kegs now.

This is a picture of the duct that runs from the top of the freezer section to the top of the fridge section. I'm going to be putting a computer fan into this hole to pull the cold air over from the freezer. I don't have a picture here but I removed the duct that goes from the cooling unit to this hole so that when the fridge is running it no longer blows cold air into the chamber on it's own. I'm hoping since cold air falls that it will allow me to accurately control the chamber temp. If not I may have to figure out some sort of valve that will close when the fan is off.

jcdillin · 06-24-2009, 01:45 PM

And finally you can see the freezer section which holds one corny on the bottom and 2 on the top. I still have to replace that metal basket with a wood shelf. I'm not sure if I want to use it for conditioning or just make a 2nd kegerator for the brewshed

camiller · 06-24-2009, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcdillin

... I may have to figure out some sort of valve that will close when the fan is off. ...

Dryer Vent Louver, 4" White # 2676W by Lambro

Should be available locally as well.

**cyberbackpacker** · 06-24-2009, 01:53 PM

Brilliant!

(as always)!

chumprock · 06-24-2009, 01:57 PM

Subscribed, that looks like an awesome project!

MMW · 06-24-2009, 01:58 PM

What are you using for the controller? Arduino?

Arduino with the little wireless shields (xbee, I think) would kick butt. Check/change temps from the office/road/living room

jcdillin · 06-24-2009, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camiller

Dryer Vent Louver, 4" White # 2676W by Lambro

Should be available locally as well.

I didn't even think of that, awesome idea!

jcdillin · 06-24-2009, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMW

What are you using for the controller? Arduino?

Arduino with the little wireless shields (xbee, I think) would kick butt. Check/change temps from the office/road/living room

Very close to it, we are using the sanguino.

Since i'm the hardware developer for the BrewTroller, we've been working on new firmware that you can upload to a BrewTroller that will turn it into a fermentation controller. That way you can use the same hardware for either purpose.

It allows for full logging output so if you attach it to a computer you could log to a file to keep tabs on everything. One of our users is currently working on a remote control software that will allow you see values and make changes to settings from a web interface. I know he is working on it for the brewing side, hopefully he will extend it to the fermenting side as well.

MMW · 06-24-2009, 02:32 PM

That ought to cut it

chumprock · 06-24-2009, 02:50 PM

Someday brewtroller... someday...