FINALLY! My fermentation chiller

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Dr_Deathweed

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2007
Messages
2,376
Reaction score
49
Location
Bryan
It has begun!

I am starting on my design that I have posted here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=54562 Today after playing with some wiring, I decided to officially start this project. I will be picking up some lumber as well as raiding some construction yards for some various odds and ends.

The goal: build a fermentation cabinet that will hold two carboys at individually regulated temperatures, hold 4 corny kegs in storage, have enough bookshelf space to hold all my text books, be small enough to fit in my tiny office, and try to keep the total bill under $200. Tall order, I know.....

I will try to post pictures and answer questions as I go, as well as post a complete materials list when I am done. I hope to have this finished by Sat or Sun, (or at least to the functional stage) so I can brew this weekend and test this out the right way:D

This is a test run of the electrical system I have planned:
P5140058.JPG
Pretty much I am running 12V DC from a PC power supply through a relay, a digital home thermostat, and a Computer fan. The relay is also connected to the thermostat of the fridge, which will be set on the coolest setting. This way when the home thermostat (set to the temperature I want) flips to cool, it will turn on the compressor to the fridge unit, as well as the computer fan. I will ultimately hook up 2 fans, one on the cool side coils to circulate cool air in the fermentation chamber, and one on the hot side coils, since they will be inside the cabinet and may get a bit warm without some kind of air flow.

Here I have started tearing the fridge apart, and am dismayed to find that the hot side coils are wrapped around 3 sides of the fridge and not centrally located.
P5140059.JPG
I will have to fins a way to fold these coils down to something that will fit inside my cabinet without crimping them.

I finally get the fridge apart:
P5140060.JPG
and the rest of the carnage:
P5140061.JPG

That was fun, but I hope to never do it again:D My next step will be to bend those hot side coils and to pick up the lumber and styrofoam to build the chiller part of my cabinet.
 
Forgot to mention:

The home digital thermostat was modified much like this one. I detatched the thermisister and ran some cable from it, as well as hooked it to the PC power supply on 3V DC (just soldered the wires to the battery terminals.

Here is more information on that from when I started playing around with this idea:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=51604
 
I run my (similar) on AA batteries, and use a cheapo 12v wall-wart for the switched power to the computer fan. It's a whole lot smaller and quieter than running a PC power supply all the time - and even on batteries, the thermostat has been turned on for close to a year now with no signs of stopping yet.
 
I like this idea, not sure if I am up for dismantling a fridge that way but with all the emphasis some excellent home brewers put on controlling fermentation, I would love to be able to program a couple chambers to change temps over time.
 
I run my (similar) on AA batteries, and use a cheapo 12v wall-wart for the switched power to the computer fan. It's a whole lot smaller and quieter than running a PC power supply all the time - and even on batteries, the thermostat has been turned on for close to a year now with no signs of stopping yet.

I had orriginaly thought about using a little wall plug, but this way I:
1)never have to worry about batteries
2)I will be running 4-5 computer fans and 2 thermostats off of this, and I didnt feel like taking the time to shop for a transformer that would handle that when I had a PC power supply sitting around for free
3) I hope to eventually incorporate a built in stirplate, so instead of having to shop for another transformer, bam! I have power allready to go.


are those filled with freon? interesting project. keep us updated

Yeah, I managed to pull that fridge apart without damaging the coils, so it is still charged and functional.

I bet Amanda appreciated the "redecorating" you did. :D

I made sure I cleaned up my mess, and all she saw was a freshly repainted office;)
 
I picked up my lumber and foam today!
P5150063.jpg

I know I should have planned a little better, but after all that time on sketchup, I just wanted to get STARTED. I hope I got enough material....
Included was:
2 sheets 3/8" plywood
6 8' 2"x4"
4 10' 1"x10"
3 sheets 3/4" extruded polystyrene

Because for some reason down here in Texas no one carries 2" foam insulation. the closest I found was an hour and a half away for 1". So instead i went with a sugestion I had gotten from Jas0420 and glued 2 3/4" sheets together with some foam specific liquid nails:
P5150064.JPG

While I was waiting I decided to get going on the frame for the door that will be on the fermentation side of my cabinet. Please do not make fun of my handy work, for some reason I could not cut straight today... Just remember that even though the corners look ugly they will be all covered up in the end and wont look near as ugly as Biermuncher's keggle:D
P5150065.JPG

After that and after cleaning my office out a little more, I went back and started to cut out the foam for the fermenters insulation. I found that a big sharp knife went through it with only a few passes. Even though the edges look pretty rough, I got some canned foam to seal up any gaps I might have.
P5150066.JPG

I will update again when I have more to report.
 
Before I get started today, here is a quick update of what I got done last night:
P5160068.JPG

I was a little impatient with the glue, I mean who out there would REALLY wait 24 hours to let it cure..... So I had to implement a little of the handy man's secret weapon to clamp everything in place. I also filled that door frame with the foam board and used a little canned foam to fill in the cracks and crevices. I still have some gluing to do this morning, but I propped everything up last night to kinda see how it all fit together.
P5150067.JPG

Goal of this morning is to cut the plywood and possibly get started on the bookshelf part of this project.
 
Report on my morning activities:)

I got most of my plywood and 2x4's cut to size when i realized a couple design flaws....
1) stability. This thing is going to be VERY top heavy with all my text books, and while vertically stable, I was worried any horizontal movement might yield in disaster. So I decided to add some cross braces to my design with no harm done. I will just have to go pick up another 2x4 or two when I get around to framing the second door.
2) size of the fermenter. When I started measuring I was ending up with an inch in length missing in my frame and and inch too much on my foam. After about an hour of scratching my head on sketchup I realized where I had gone wrong. My original design had a 1 inch divider between chambers, while my new one(and the plans I followed) had a 2" divider. I love sketchup, but when pieces overlap and you cant tell its kinda annoying. Everything looks square and aligned, then oops.... here is an inch of over lap I didn't see... no harm done, I will cut a 1" divider and shave an inch off the length f my chamber.

After the head scratching, I got some of it framed up while enjoying a pint of a modified version of Orfy's Hobgoblin clone.
P5160070.JPG

I did a little mock up to make sure that 4 cornies would fit where I planned
P5160071.JPG

And a mock up in the room where it will be located
P5160072.JPG

With the door open:D
P5160073.JPG

That is about all I can do on the cabinets for now. I am waiting to get me some Hardy backer board for the bottom, and a 2x6 that will have a latch for the doors. this afternoon I may start on the bookshelves, or just kick back and enjoy the wonderful weather outside with another pint or two:rockin:
 
I don't recall if you were planning on having a "back" to all of this or leaving it open, but you might consider that too for a solution to your horizontal stability concern.... Just a sheet of thin plywood or masonite will go a long way to stabilize things.
 
I don't recall if you were planning on having a "back" to all of this or leaving it open, but you might consider that too for a solution to your horizontal stability concern.... Just a sheet of thin plywood or masonite will go a long way to stabilize things.

I was planning on putting a back over the cabinet side, but leaving the back open behind the fermentation chamber. I may reconsider this though.... I think that the half-back plus the two cross braces I have already done should get me the stability I am looking for.
 
Today was going great until I started smelling smoke, but I will get to that...

P5170029.JPG
P5170030.JPG
I got the base on and finished framing it up, as well as got the compressor and most of the foam insulation put in place. I used OSB for the base, but glued some Hardy board on top where the fermenters will be. this stuff is supposedly impermeable to water, so if I ever have condensation of an overflow, I do not have to worry about ruining my wood..
P5170075.JPG

With most of my stuff in place, IO decide to start wiring it as a single chamber so I can let it run overnight to see how well it holds temperature. I hook up the power supply to the thermostat and....
P5170076.JPG
it works!!!!

Now to just add the relay and hook it to the compressor and.... I start smelling smoke.... A test i ran at least a dozen times, but now it doesn't work. I look around and see this:
P5170080.JPG

The neg battery terminal has cooked through. I hope I didn't fry my thermostat... I look around and everything seems to be wired correctly, the only difference between my successful test run and now is the addition to the cooling circuit and the relay, and those are on a different power supply than the thermostat... I think I am done for the day, I will scratch my head over this one tomorrow. Now to spend some time with the neglected feeling SWMBO.
 
Probably too late for this....but:

1. Some people ferment in cornies using foam control drops. I'm seriously looking at experimenting with this, as the footprint/durability/mobility is WAY better. You could really cut down the size of this thing with cornies vs. carboys.

2. Probably obvious, but make sure you can fit it thru the door. I made that mistake once building a cat condo. Never again. :D

3. This thing is gonna be heavy. Especially with that backerboard and 2x4"s...it adds up real quick. Maybe you could treat some plywood with a waterproof stain?

I know this is unsolicited advice, but if it helps at all, I'll be happy ;)
 
Probably too late for this....but:

1. Some people ferment in cornies using foam control drops. I'm seriously looking at experimenting with this, as the footprint/durability/mobility is WAY better. You could really cut down the size of this thing with cornies vs. carboys.

2. Probably obvious, but make sure you can fit it thru the door. I made that mistake once building a cat condo. Never again. :D

3. This thing is gonna be heavy. Especially with that backerboard and 2x4"s...it adds up real quick. Maybe you could treat some plywood with a waterproof stain?

I know this is unsolicited advice, but if it helps at all, I'll be happy ;)

Thanks for the input, I had thought of most of those things already:

1. I had thought about this, but I ran into a hieght issue if I wanted to do a bookcase as well. Plus I like to see whats going on with fermentation, and try as I might, looking through stainless steel is a bit of a chore:D

2.&3. This thing is actually a bit smaller than it looks in pictures. It is only a couple inches longer than 5' and about 18" wide. The backer board I am using is only about 1/4" thick, 3' long and 18" wide, just big enough to cover the bottom of the fermentation chamber. I am still able to move it quite easlilly by myself, albeit a bit akward. With this size I can stand it on end to move through doorways and hallways. The bookshelf top will also be seperateable in case we ever have to move. 2 smaller pieces are much easier to carry that one giant one....
 
How did the coil bending go, and how did you do it without crimping the lines?

I'm thinking about making a fermentation chamber with one of those dorm fridges, albeit much simpler - one chamber for two 5-gallon buckets/carboys.
-keith
 
While not finished, she sure is functional!!!! :D

Because I was doing mostly wiring today, I did not take many pictures, but I will get some pictures tomorow when I start finishing it out.
P5190081.JPG

I did get both thermostats up and running, but it took me a littlewhile to get the wires run for the fans and all that wired up

P5190082.JPG
My first test run hit 65 on the first chamber, and 70 on the second within 5 minutes :D It didnt hold the temperature too well because the door wasn't closed all the way so I could peer in and make sure the fans swapped on and off like they should.

I am taking a break for today while I moniter tempertures and how often it cycles. I have ~6gal of a golden in there right now holding steady at 70deg off one cycle about 15minutes ago.

How did the coil bending go, and how did you do it without crimping the lines?

The lines were surprisingly resistant to crimping. While I was not able to to bend them in any orginized manner, I did get them pretty much stuffed into the space I needed..

post 17 should have a picture.
 
Woke up this morning and it is still holding temperature strong! I decide to seal a few more cracks with canned foam then put the back on my structure. I did take your advise Jas0420 and put a full back over the entire cabinet to help stiffen up whatever shimmy there may have been left in the structure.
P5200083.JPG

Here is a look at the back opening to the compressor compartment. That fan in the upper left corner flips on with the compressor to circulate outside air over those coils. I know it looks like a giant mess in there, but there is SOME method to the madness... That piece of wire wrapped around the fan will come off, it is just holding it in place until the glue dries. That should clean up a little of the mess going on in that picture.... :D
P5200084.jpg


I open the chamber up to take a gander at my brew and to snap a shot of the inside. I also glued up a gasket around the door to ensure a tight seal when it is closed. In a couple hours I will move her into place and start work on the top half!
P5200085.JPG

Those wires hanging down are the thermistors from the thermostats. I ran the wires from the thermostats, around the door frame to the hinge side, up over the top of the chamber and dropped them through. This way I can tape them directly to the fermenter so it is registering the fermenter's temperature rather than the ambient temp.

Also notice there is a fan over those cold coils. It flips on with the compressor as well to circulate some air over those coils and help prevent freeze-ups and increase cooling efficiency.
 
Whew! Today has been busy! I admit I am no craftsman, but things are starting to fall into place. After I got the seals glued into place I went and got my corny kegs to make that last final check to make sure they fit (not that I could really do anything at this point if they didn't... other than cry...)
P5200086.JPG

With everything starting to look like I had imagined, I started working on cutting the last of my lumber for the bookshelves and getting all the panels into place. This was kinda fun because apparently one of my braces was a little warped and threw the right side of the cabinet about 1/2" off. I managed to manhandle it into place and get it (semi) squared away.
P5200087.JPG

With that done I hung the right hand door and installed the latch for it. Unfortunately my woodworking skills had improved a small amount by now and the door on the right is much more square and much better looking than my fridge door :D I did hang the door a little low which I didn't notice until after I had finished installing the hinges and stood up to look at it. I will move it up a little later when SWMBO gets home and can give me a hand. It's kinda difficult hanging a door by yourself....
P5200088.JPG

Next step: bookshelves. I knew this part wouldn't take me long, but I have still been putting it off because if everything isn't just square I cant cover it up with a little trim and paint.... an hour and a half and 2 beers later it starts looking like it might just hold books!
P5200089.JPG


With the shelves pretty much put together, I cut the back for them and nail it all together. With a little creative leverage using my desk chair, step stool, and some scrap lumber, I manage to leverage it up and lift it to where I can slide it onto my cabinet:
P5200090.jpg

I still have to put some center braces on those shelves, but that may just wait until tomorrow. While no Fermoire, with a little sanding, paint, and some trim, she may just start looking like the fermoire's ugly step-sister :D.

I am happy to say that the whole time that I have been in here, I have only heard the compressor cycle a half dozen times, and each time was only for a minute or less. I have the thermostat set with a 1deg tolerance, so it is holding temperature pretty well!
 
Very w00t! I've been lurking throughout this project and I'm really impressed with what you've accomplished!

I'm drafting similar ideas now...... buahahaha.......
 
Very w00t! I've been lurking throughout this project and I'm really impressed with what you've accomplished!

I'm drafting similar ideas now...... buahahaha.......

Yeah, not bad for a week's work!:rockin:

If you have any questions while drafting yours, I would be glad to answer. I learned quite a bit putting this thing together.
 
saweet. so you are using a single fridge compressor/cooling system to control 2 different
"climates" ?? can you set each "climate" to a different temp is desired ?
 
saweet. so you are using a single fridge compressor/cooling system to control 2 different
"climates" ?? can you set each "climate" to a different temp is desired ?

Yep, the trick is to put what i want to keep cooler towards the coils, and put my warmer ferment on the other side. It has worked like a charm for many batches already!
 
When you first torn down the dorm fridge, there weren't any coils or anything on the bottom, were there?

From your pics, it doesn't like there was.
 
There were no coils in the bottom of that fridge. But I wont vouch for every fridge out there ;)
 
It is fully functional and has been in heavy use over the last year. I have not put stain or trim on it, but I was in desperate need of the book case and ran out of free time to work on this. I still plan on staining and cleaning it up, but that will probably happen when we move next.

Besides, I am a huge fan of function over form, so as long as it is working I am happy even if the wood is unstained :D
 
This thread has given me some good ideas for my impending fermentation station. I'm using an old side-by-side fridge right now and it is too big and small at the same time. It takes up a lot of space and the freezer side is largely a waste (though I do store my grain in there), and the fridge side will only hold one 6 gal bucket and two Mr. Beer fermentors.
 
It is fully functional and has been in heavy use over the last year...

Besides, I am a huge fan of function over form, so as long as it is working I am happy even if the wood is unstained :D

That's what matters. Well done, deathweed.

Push E.
 
Back
Top