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08-18-2010, 10:13 PM
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#1
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Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: portland
Posts: 628
Liked 2 Times on 2 Posts Likes Given: 2
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Son of Fermentation Chiller x2
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Maybe I should call it Fermentation Chiller's siamese twins?
Anyway, I was going to make 2 of the regular ones, but then I realized that I could just build one bigger one, making ice switches easier, and if I isolated the chambers with separate fans/thermostats I could have 2 different temps. This is what I came up with:

It's been in test mode for the last day and a half and the wheat on the right is chugging along at 70 while the porter on the left is holding steady at 66. I'm sure that I would have more problems if I were to try a bigger temperature differential, but we'll see when it comes time to cold crash. I think I'll put a bucket of water in one side and check the temps while the other gets chilled. Also, I put the fans in the very bottom of the divider wall. I need to add an air dam between them and the ice chambers, but other than that the thing has been a total success.
I know there was another thread on temp probe placement, but I figured that once the system is dialed I can adjust the temp at the thermostats to provide a nice steady carboy temp, it may just have to be a few deg lower to compensate for heat evolution.
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08-18-2010, 10:30 PM
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#2
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Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 2,856
Liked 52 Times on 51 Posts Likes Given: 35
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That's awesome,
I was contemplating doing something similar, but sill ended up building the single chamber.
I don't think you're going to have problems with a large delta of temperatures . I just think you are going to be switching ice more often.
__________________
"There is no strong beer, only weak men"
"Pretty women make us BUY beer, ugly women make us DRINK beer" - Al Bundy
"Give a man a beer, he'll drink for a day. Teach a man to brew, he'll be drunk for the rest of his life."
Primary: Hoppy Wheat, Porter
Kegged: Reaper's English Mild (OO), BBK Jr., Lagunitas IPA, Fireman's #4
Bottled: None
Notable Empties: Oaked Black IIPA, BBK I, Red IIPA, Burning Bush, Apophis "The Destroyer", Vanilla Porter
On-Deck: The Titan BW, Ale of Olympus
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08-19-2010, 02:52 AM
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#3
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Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: portland
Posts: 628
Liked 2 Times on 2 Posts Likes Given: 2
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So, I put a 4" high airdam around the fans a couple hours ago. My immediate observation is the fan on the warm side runs more often now. I'm pretty sure that the airdam is decreasing convection currents, where before the cold air was able to spill into the fermentation chambers. I've also noticed that there is a ton of condensation puddling around the ice bottles. I caulked all the seams, so I'm not worried about it leaking, but I also don't want it just sitting there. I found some glad containers to set the water bottles in. Hopefully this will make it easy to remove most of the condensation. How does everyone else deal with the water issue?
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08-19-2010, 05:33 PM
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#4
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Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 2,856
Liked 52 Times on 51 Posts Likes Given: 35
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I use cold packs now instead of water. They last longer, don't expand, and seem to produce les s condensation. For the remaining condensation, I put towels under them.
__________________
"There is no strong beer, only weak men"
"Pretty women make us BUY beer, ugly women make us DRINK beer" - Al Bundy
"Give a man a beer, he'll drink for a day. Teach a man to brew, he'll be drunk for the rest of his life."
Primary: Hoppy Wheat, Porter
Kegged: Reaper's English Mild (OO), BBK Jr., Lagunitas IPA, Fireman's #4
Bottled: None
Notable Empties: Oaked Black IIPA, BBK I, Red IIPA, Burning Bush, Apophis "The Destroyer", Vanilla Porter
On-Deck: The Titan BW, Ale of Olympus
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