Small room cooling - Is this feasible?

I've been using the spare bathroom in my apartment as my fermentation/everything brew related room for the last few years now, but the summer temps always put a damper on things. It's fairly small, 7.5'x5.5' with a full tub, but no windows. I'm thinking about a portable air conditioner, I could dump the condensate right into the tub, but could I vent the exhaust through the vent fan, rather than outside?

That would depend on the vent. You need a fairly big vent for a portable air conditioner. I would also see if the vent fan is ducted outside. I would not vent into the attic. All that moisture would cause problems.

I have a portable in my basement. I got a "Y" fitting and a couple of "flapper valves?" that allow the air to pass in only one direction and fitted them into the dryer vent.

Most of the good portable, roll around, AC's are self evaporating. You still can put it in the tub anyway. I am sure you can vent it out of your vent fan. Maybe you could cut a piece of plywood that would fit on top of your tub and you could store your AC there plus use it as a shelf.

The shelf is a good idea, and could free up some floor space, which is already at a premium. I don't imagine that the humidity generated would be more than gets sucked up during a shower everyday, although that is my biggest concern. I ferment in corny's, so it's a toss-up between a big chest freezer in the basement, or a portable AC in the bathroom. I already have a temp controller, so the price is about the same for either option.

I actually have a really similar setup. I do all my fermentation in the guest bath tub. I built a shelf that rests on the sides of the bathtub so that I can have stuff sitting on it and still use the tub for cleaning, rinsing, etc.

I want to build a ferm chamber to put on top of the shelf in the bath tub. I have a small mini-fridge and I'm considering using that, but I still need to be able to move the chamber to the laundry room for the 2-3 times per year that we actually have guests stay with us. I'm worried that a mini-fridge ferm chamber will weigh too much to move.

I also don't know if the SWMBO would be keen on me running electrical from the sink, across the vanity, all the way to the tub.

I also don't know if I might be risking electric shock somehow with this setup. The tub is never full of water, but I'm thinking that running electrical along the bathroom floor would have some risks.

The easier route is probably just trying to use the tub to do the ice bottle method, but I would need to somehow section off the tub so that I don't have the entire thing filled with so much water. I would have to section off the tub in some sort of non-permanent manner.

Let me know if you figure something out.

uncle_jimbo said:

... I would need to somehow section off the tub so that I don't have the entire thing filled with so much water. I would have to section off the tub in some sort of non-permanent manner.

Let me know if you figure something out.

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Why not just put a big rubbermaid storage tub in the bathtub? Fill tub with ice/water and you're good to go. If you really want to make it a DIY project - add a drain valve so you can drain right into the tub.

XXguy said:

If you really want to make it a DIY project -

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I've thought about the Rubbermaid tub idea and it's a good suggestion. The quote above shows that you get me, though.

The wife doesn't get it, but this DIY forum does.

An old fridge off craigslist might be a lot cheaper to buy and run, but if you have your mind on a portable AC go for it.

Glad I found this thread. I'm having a similar issue. My local HBS said I need to make sure my wort isn't exposed to a lot of light and kept cool. Since I'm having problems finding anyone on CL that will deliver (don't have a large vehicle to pick up a fridge) I'm thinking of buying about a 5-7 Cubic Foot chest freezer (new, since HD and Lowes will deliver) and using a thermostatically-controlled outlet adapter to keep the freezer at about 70 degrees or so. Do you think that would work? I thought about a mini-fridge, but I'm not sure it would be big enough inside to hold a 6 gallon Better Bottle and airlock.

Newsman said:

Glad I found this thread. I'm having a similar issue. My local HBS said I need to make sure my wort isn't exposed to a lot of light and kept cool. Since I'm having problems finding anyone on CL that will deliver (don't have a large vehicle to pick up a fridge) I'm thinking of buying about a 5-7 Cubic Foot chest freezer (new, since HD and Lowes will deliver) and using a thermostatically-controlled outlet adapter to keep the freezer at about 70 degrees or so. Do you think that would work? I thought about a mini-fridge, but I'm not sure it would be big enough inside to hold a 6 gallon Better Bottle and airlock.

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That would work, but put that freezer to use and turn it into a keezer. I'd measure the dimensions of a mini fridge first. A simple swamp cooler with a comforter or old sleeping bag around it will keep it at 65-70 by swapping out a couple 20 ounce frozen bottles each day.

Heh... Yeah, I don't know that I've got the kind of money to invest in converting a freezer to a keezer... at least not initially. I'll run by Lowes and HD and see if the inside dimensions of the small, sub-$200 fridges would hold my 6 Gallon Better Bottle and airlock. If not, I'll go ahead and get the mini-freezer. One reason I'm not in a hurry to make a keezer is that I have no kegs to use, and will likely be bottling my brew for the foreseeable future, due to lack of funds.

Most portable ACs have two ducts one for intake and one outlet so hooking one of them up to your bathroom fan probably won't work. Additionally if it did just have an exhaust the blower in the unit is designed to exhaust thought the 8 foot Jose that they give you not the 8 foot hose plus the 30 feet of (typically) poorly installed and very restrictive ducting in your attic. Best case scenario it works with limited success and costs 3x as much to operate as if it were running as the manufacturer intended. Be prepared to spend $100/month to run this during the summer in a mild climate (like new England). My advice is get a chest freezer. My wife and I can move the empty freezer pretty easily and the 7 cuft frigidaire will fit 6 cronies with an 8" or so collar.

P.s. I am a licensed gas fitter, sheet metal worker, and NATE certified in heat pump and ac installation and service.