New Fermentation Chamber

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More photos and description here http://www.singingboysbrewing.com/The-Blog.html?entry=new-fermentation-chamber

Bought the freezer on craigslist, funny ad - "Small five cubic foot freezer, $50. He used it to store his meat. He's gone, I want this gone too" or something like that. I half-expected to find him chopped up into little pieces in the freezer . . .

chamber-56162.jpg
 
If you insulate the probe with foam and put it next to the side of the fermentor you will get a more accurate gauge of the temperature.
An alternative is to wrap the probe in a ballon or latex glove, seal it, and then place the probe into a pint or quart of water.

This will keep your freezer from turning on and off frequently.

My setup turns on for about 10 minutes every 2-2.5 hours.

If your using the 2nd method, during the initial and very active fermentation stage u will need to cheat the system a little because the prob is reading the water in the container and not the actual temp of the fermenter.

I use the second method because my probe isn't long enough to reach the fermentor. So if my target temp is 68F I set my controller to turn on > 65F. The water temp in mason jar I use will read 65 and the fermentor with the active fermentation will read my target temp of 68F. After 3-4 days I will change the controller to the set mark of 68F.
Different brews with higher / lower gravities and different yeast will have different scales, so you can adjust accordingly. But if i'm within +- 3F i'm a happy camper.
 
scubastan said:
If you insulate the probe with foam and put it next to the side of the fermentor you will get a more accurate gauge of the temperature.
An alternative is to wrap the probe in a ballon or latex glove, seal it, and then place the probe into a pint or quart of water.

This will keep your freezer from turning on and off frequently.

My setup turns on for about 10 minutes every 2-2.5 hours.

If your using the 2nd method, during the initial and very active fermentation stage u will need to cheat the system a little because the prob is reading the water in the container and not the actual temp of the fermenter.

I use the second method because my probe isn't long enough to reach the fermentor. So if my target temp is 68F I set my controller to turn on > 65F. The water temp in mason jar I use will read 65 and the fermentor with the active fermentation will read my target temp of 68F. After 3-4 days I will change the controller to the set mark of 68F.
Different brews with higher / lower gravities and different yeast will have different scales, so you can adjust accordingly. But if i'm within +- 3F i'm a happy camper.
Click to expand...

Thanks, the controller has a setting to keep it from constantly cycling on and off, and the temp differential seems to be 60-63F. I was thinking about getting a thermowell (is that the right word?) but taping directly to the side of the fermenter sounds good too.
 

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