Dorm Fridge Fermentation Chamber

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gtn80

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Hey guys, just thought I would put up some pics of my fermentation chamber I just built, just to have another one out there in case it helps anyone with ideas or another way to skin a cat.

I used a scavenged dorm fridge to cool the thing. In the summer it is holding 65 like a champ for ales. I tried it out, it can get down to 45 and hold it, but I don't want to burn out the condenser, so it will be ales in the summer while my basement hovers around 80, and lagers in the fall/winter when it hovers around 65.

The frame is made out of 1x3's, with two sheets of one inch foamboard on all sides. It is skinned with 1/4" plywood. In the bottom section I also added another sheet of 1/4" foamboard because I had it lying around, so figured why not reinsulate the bottom. Here is the cross section of the bottom as I built it:

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I used plexiglass I scavenged from work to line the entire inside, so the dimensions of the plexi kind of dictated the build. Here is the bottom built with the plexi screwed in:

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Here's a wall, without the installation added yet:

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Once I got all three walls up, it was time for insulation:

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Filled any gaps with spray foam to insure insulation. I put a plywood skin around the whole thing:

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And wired up a couple fans. The fans turn on when the Johnson turns on the fridge.

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It will hold three buckets and a couple kegs. I can't wait to use it for some lagering.
 
VERY nice!

You put a lot more effort into yours than I did mine. I just glued the 2" pink foam together, caulked up the seams, and used aluminum duct tape to seal and hold it together.

Mine is big enough for two 6 gallon better bottles, with a 5 gallon squeezed in by half of it extending over the threshold into the fridge.

I have an 8 gallon batch of Accidental Amber Ale fermenting in it at a steady 62*F now.

:rockin:

ETA: What kind of temp controller did you use? That sensor wire looks copper.
 
I probably overdid it a bit. I had everything except for the foam lying around, so I figured why not? Thermally I can't imagine it would be much difference without the plywood, so they're probably not that much difference in the end.
 
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