Son of Fermantion Chiller

Has anyone done one of these things? I find this design inconvenient because you have to replace the ice every 2 days. I mean, that sounds like a lot of ice...is it actually as inconvenient as it sounds? I have an old fridge thats being partially used but I could fix a way to fit my fermentor in there, would it be better just to buy a temp control unit? And, are they easy to use?

Yeah, Desertbrew has one. It doesn't sound as if he thinks the ice is an inconvenience......

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1024&highlight=desertbrew+chiller

I have a Ranco controller and it is simple to setup. As a plus, it can control the refigerator when I need to lower the temperature or a small heater I use in the winter. Takes about 2 minutes to change all of the settings.

For a chiller, if you have a large enough freezer swapping bottles out every other day is no big deal.

Ok yeah, that was the one I was planning on making. Sounds good and looks friggin' sweet. I was wondering, could you use ice-paks instead of actual ice. Like the commercial onces with frozen gel? Because if I bought 4 of those, I could place two in and two in the freezer amd easily switch them. Maybe I would need 8? The good thing about these would be no melted ice and just one charge (I think I already have a couple). What do you think? Do you think they would melt faster?

P.S. Pardon my spelling in the title...it should be fermentation

I think that it is obvious that a refrigerator converted into a fermentation closet is without a doubt the better option. However, the son of fermentation chiller idea has certain advantages for some of us without refrigerators.

1. It is small and you can store it away easily when not using it.
2. It is much cheaper and economical than acquiring another fridge and converting it for use as a fermentation chiller.
3. It does not use electricity.

This project serves a purpose, but if you are like me, there is only so many fridges you can have. The next one I get is going to be converted into a kegerator, so a ferm chiller like the one you mention is a more realistic idea for someone like me who doesn't want three fridges in his garage.

Yeah definitely...but what about frozen-gel-packs man ...do you think those would work instead of ice?

What about cutting out the ice chamber, and integrating a mini dorm fridge in it's place? I'm looking at a small 1.8cu ft fridge, then taking the door off and taping/caulking it up real well. Do you think this would work better because you wouldn't have to swap frozen bottles? And would one big open chamber work ok, or would a fan still be needed? I'm thinking this approach might work a little better, and could double as a chiller and a lagering box. Anyone done this?

Oh yeah, I think I remember you or someone talking about this when I searched the forum. So you would basically have a mini-fridge plugged in and running but removing the door and attaching the fermentation chiller minus the ice chambers. Thus, the cooling air of the mini-fridge would be expanding into the chiller. After writing this, I have come up with another question. Since you would be using a fridge you would require one of those temp-controller units right? I think the whole point of the fermentation chiller was to avoid this expense + the extra fridge + plus insulation...The write of "Son of Ferm. Chiller" said total max expenses would be $~70...At Best Buy, a dorm fridge is $~70 and a temp-controller from morebeer.com is $~55...this is much higher...unless you already own the fridge...then

If you have the fridge space, I would say use the fridge as a ferment chiller... I just got a Ranco temp controller last week and put my first brew in the ferment chiller last night... I had an extra fridge, so there wasnt much cost other than the temp. controller... now there's no worries about high temps or swapping out ice... good luck...

Jester

Just get the controller easy and done with , takes 1 min to set up! Your LHBS should carry them or be able to order you one. Had mine for 2 months and keeps the temp exactley where I put it.

That is all true--if your already own a fridge. Building a fermentation chiller is cheaper than buying a fridge (used or new) and a temp. controller. Plus, it doesnt take up the large space that a fridge does and it also doesn't consume as much energy. One of the things I love about homebrewing is that it involves so many different aspects of other hobbys to make one mega-hobby whether it be construction, chemistry, electrics, or reading. Thus, I do not have a problem spending a saturday making one of these awesome gadgets. The main questions here are whether you could use those gel-ice-paks instead of ice or a mini-dorm fridge attached to half of the chiller. A mini-dorm fridge wouldn't hold a fermenter but could contribute "icey air" if the door was taken off. Any thoughts?

I just built a fermentation chiller and I'm experimenting with the ice packs now; well yesterday. I'll post again in a couple of days as it has only been up and running for 1 day. I hope the ice packs work. I even thought about placing about one pound of try ice on one side and maybe not have to change the ice packs for 3-4 days. that'll be experiment #2.

Yeah totally, lets keep this thread going. Any real experience or observations is the best. I plan on making one pretty soon so I will take notes and report back. Any things to look out for in the construction process?

It seems to me that the ice packs would melt faster because they're smaller than the ice blocks that others are using. I could be wrong, but I do think they'd melt faster.

Yeah I thought about that too. When you say ice blocks...what do you mean? Like frozen water bottles?

runhard said:

I just built a fermentation chiller and I'm experimenting with the ice packs now; well yesterday. I'll post again in a couple of days as it has only been up and running for 1 day. I hope the ice packs work. I even thought about placing about one pound of try ice on one side and maybe not have to change the ice packs for 3-4 days. that'll be experiment #2.

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did you use polysterene(however it's spelled) insulation or styrafoam board? where did you get the parts?

nick1023 said:

did you use polysterene(however it's spelled) insulation or styrafoam board? where did you get the parts?

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Home depot or Lowes has that stuff.

BTW, here is another alternative to ice bottles: http://www.techniiceamerica.com/

I'd like to get around to building one of these this summer.

I've also thought about making a double compartment one afterwards. It may of may not work, but either way I will be mounting them on a dolly so I can move them around easily.

AdIn said:

BTW, here is another alternative to ice bottles: http://www.techniiceamerica.com/

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Well..for some reason I kept thinking that you need to buy a bag of ice and place it in containers haha but at the end of the "Son of Fermentation Chiller" instructions it says that using bleach jugs are extra durable and you can just filll em up, freeze em and you have solid ice man I'm going to do it this weekend for sure.

I'm currently searching for chiller parts and it needs a 12-volt DC adapter. Would "12VDC 200 MA WALL TRANSFORMER" be the same thing? I'm looking on All Electronics and Jameco. I'm getting alittle confused...the chiller instructions don't specify the full names of electronics. Thanks...Also, what exactly is AC and DC (besides the rock band) in terms of an adapter? Thanks! [FONT=Verdana, Arial]
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Somerville said:

I'm currently searching for chiller parts and it needs a 12-volt DC adapter. Would "12VDC 200 MA WALL TRANSFORMER" be the same thing? I'm looking on All Electronics and Jameco. I'm getting alittle confused...the chiller instructions don't specify the full names of electronics. Thanks...Also, what exactly is AC and DC (besides the rock band) in terms of an adapter? Thanks! [FONT=Verdana, Arial]
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That should work fine for driving some small fans.

AC = alternating current -> comes out of your wall, for instance
DC = direct current -> comes out of battery, for instance.

The two are not at all interchangeable and since your wall is AC and the fans are DC you need to convert.

Well, I went to rashioshack and blew 40 bucks on a fan, ac-dc adapter, electrical tape, and butt connectors (apparently I have to cut the wires coming out of the ac adapter to twist them to the fan. The radioshack guy thought that it would be a fire hazard to have them sitting out--thus the electrical tape and butt connectors. OSH didnt have polystyrene but I know Lowes does and the thermostat. I have a couple questions...Do I need extra wires for connecting the thermostate to the fan ? If so, which?
Also another question about the panel construction. I didnt understand his explanation of the wood panels and weather stripping...how does this work? Also his explanation of the grommets and stuff --I dont understand (do I really need these to make it snug?) Thanks

I don't think you'll need to cut the wires on the adapter if you use a different design. I have a 12v power adapter that I'll be using for my stir plate and the chiller when it gets built. What I plan on for power to the chiller, is doing the same that I did for the stir plate. By an extra Panel mount coax DC power jack, drill a hole for it, wire it up, then epoxy it in. I plan on having it stick out just a little from the side of the chiller, then using canned foam insulation to back fill the hole it's in. This way I can use 1 adapter for 2 things. And...there will be no cutting of wires.

After a couple of days of the "blue ice/polar ice" packs, I found they melt way too fast, but I do live in Texas and it's been in the 90s so my shed must be at least a solid 95-100F. I had 4 packs on one side and 2 on the other. Each pack is about 4 in x 5 in x 2 in. I'm going to try a small amount of dry ice along with a 3 liter soda bottle and see how that works. Those PETG type bottles are fairly tough, maybe even a little tougher than the HDPE - type such as a bleach bottle but I'll defer that debate to someone who knows plastics and associated properties.

Yeah, I'm skippin on the ice packs. I'm making mine this weekend so I'll be sure to take some detailed pics and post them on the forum...maybe even with some directions for people lookin into it. I found the orginal directions by the creator to be a bit disorganized. There isnt a list of items that you need-- you have to go through the whole thing and find them. On top of that, the descriptions of the electricals aren't that detailed. Though the design itself is rather straightforward and looks like its going to be easy. Runhard, is it possible for you to take some pictures of your electricals in the chiller and post them?

I built a chiller a couple years ago, but made it a little bit bigger. Basically took 1/4" plywood and insulated it with 1/2" styrofome. Beefed it up a little bit - 2 fans, room for 2+ gallon ice jugs, and room enough for a 7 gallon carboy and airlock. That thing works great! I've successfully brought it down to 55 degrees in a 72+ degree room and changing the ice daily. If you want to just drop around 5 degrees, you can leave the ice longer.

I'll see if I can find some pics tonight for you.

I'm looking at the thermometer and inside it has a wire going to RH and into RC right next to it. Then a wire connected to the circuit board and going into Y. It states right inside the thermomter that "Y" is for gas heat and "A" is for elec. heat. The chiller directions say put the AC wire into RH and the fan into G. Do I leave the wires the thermomter already has? Can two wires go into RH? Anyone experience this?

In case some does in fact know something about this, I got the fan to turn on through the thermometer but it doesn't turn on when I switch it to "AUTO"...anyone know why?

does anybody have a resource for the Extruded Polystyrene?

My Home Depot only carries the styrofoam type materials.

I am currently in the process of building a fermentation chiller. Here is where you can find pictures of my progress: http://picasaweb.google.com/kurt.padilla/FermentationChillerConstruction

My chiller will follow the plans set forth on the Son of a Fermentation Chiller site, except that I do not want to use an AC adapter. Rather, I'd like to use a few D cells. I can check them everyday with a voltmeter and I don't have to worry about the power going out, as it is apt to do durring Connecticut summers.

In the San Diego area I was able to find the extruded polystrene at Dixieline. It was called foil 2 sides, it has a thin foil like layer on the outside, it has cut and glued fine so far.

I still need a little guidance on the wiring though. I have a dc converter and the fan so far. I should have the thermostat monday, but then i'll need to figure the wiring.

Same with the stuff I found. It's made by DOW and it came with a reflective layer on both sides.

SCORE

(repost from the board crash earlier last week)

While at one of my sites, contractors were re-roofing and tearing off 2 to 3 inch PolyStyrene panels, many 5 X 5 or larger.

I snagged 6 of them and threw my chiller togather on Friday.

MAN what a difference.

It has been well over 100 degrees here for the last week my my carboy is a steady 65.

Even with the heat, I change ice only once a day, and only a single gallon jug at that.

The 2 inch seems to be much more efficent than the 1 inch, go figure.

I have changed the "standard design" to use Bungee Cords as fasteners. I assemble the cooler, and strap bungee cords around it to hold it togather. I have re-enforced the corners with some aluminum angle stock to prevent abusing the edges and it works well. The dowels seems to be an iffy fastening system since they do not offer support to keep the edges tight, which is a concern to me. Particularly since my salvaged pieces are not exactly square and flat.

I also changed the ice compartment to a single large area and made the air inlet high up in the assembly and the exhaust outlet in the very botton on the theory that the warmer air is on the top of the cooler and the cooler air on the bottom. By grabbing air from the top and moving it out on the bottom, I believe it improves circulation.

I will take and post some pics later today.

If anyone lives in the Sacramento area dn wants a virtually unlimited supply of the 2 inch stock just give me a shout.

Cheers,

knewshound

I've used my s.o.f.c for the last two batches of brew, I ferment in my spare bedroom it's small and is not in the way. changing ice is not a problem, use a 12v adaptor, batteries will not work the 12v fan will drain them fast. the chiller works great.... so have at it..

I was able to complete my two chillers, and so far the one I have used works very well. Without an active fermentation in it I was able to get it down to 44.2 F with a room temperature of 85 F. That was a full load of ice and the thermostat set as low as it could go. I know the ice wont last long like that, but it was a nice benchmark.

With the fermentation going in it now I can hold it anywhere I need it between 50-67 F without too much strain on the ice.

Does anyone have a method to determine the wort temp. without constantly opening the chiller? (I have a strip type thermometer attached to it now.)

I use an indoor/outdoor thermometer to measure the interior air temp, but that doesn't always equal the wort temp. I was thinking about using another indoor/outdoor therm. to attach to the fermenter somehow so I would have both measurements (it might just measure the air temp from the side of the fermenter though?). I had contemplated putting one inside the wort after sanitizing it, but I always try to avoid any extra possibilities for contamination, so I'm not sure if I want to go this route (and a good seal on the lid might not be possible this way). Any input is always appreciated.