Show me your DIY Fermentation Chamber!

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Brewing Clamper

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So after using a chest freezer for a while, I'm thinking of actually building my own to better space efficiency and control. My chest freezer has a huge footprint but crappy space usage inside. I also want to have the beer up above ground lever so I can use gravity to transfer it. I might try to use the freezer guts for the built, or use the guts of a small dorm fridge I have... I would love to see what you guys have built so I can use it as inspiration. Thanks ya'll!
 
Mine is on my website

Here is a direct link

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Nice setups guys... I'm going to see if I can take apart my current chest freezer and build around that... I would like to get better use of the volume. Thanks.
 
I'm about ready to start building one of these. I would like to use an LED as an indicator for when the fan is turned on, but don't know anything about how to wire one. Do you simply put the LED in line on the positive wire (much like a switch)? Will any LED work or does it have to have a particular "impedence" (or something equally esoteric)?
 
Nice setups, guys. I documented my build in another thread, but I figured I'd add it to this one as well. After a couple years, it's still kicking and actually fermenting a Hefeweizen at 64F as we speak. Cheers!

The chamber with the front door open.
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The back side showing the compressor/coils/controller.
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The build thread...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/fermentation-chamber-w-refrigeration-35125/
 
I'm almost ashamed to post this given all the nicely constructed chambers are on this site. 2 sheets of 8x4' 1" insulation from HomeDepot ($14 each), 1 roll of foil tape (< $5), 1 mini fridge off craigslist with front door taken off ($15), 1 analog temperature controller from Homebrewheaven.com ($49).

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The new fermentation chamber is complete! With room for several carboys now and a Blickmann Ferminator (14 gallon) in the future, I have finally succeeded in my seemingly endless venture into the upgrade to the fermentation chamber.

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I still have to add the internal lights (that's what the uncovered switch on the front is for. It's not live yet so don't panic) and add some varnish and edge trim to the outside.

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View of the interior prior to wiring and door installation. You can see the large squirrel-cage fans that manage air circulation, pulling it from the bottom and moving it to the top via plastic down-spout as well as the 5 gallon water bottles that can give you an idea of the scale. I added internal A/C outlets to the inside through the supports that frame the doors, both switched by the Johnson Controller and always on (not shown).

I started trying to cool this 44 cu. ft. insulated box with a compressor and coil from a 2.5 cu. ft. dorm fridge. For anyone contemplating this, it's a dumb idea. Get a compressor rated for the volume of space you are trying to cool.

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The final solution uses a 5000 btu room a/c from Home Depot. My, "I give up and I'll pay $99 to make this work" solution. In the background you can see the wiring and hockey-puck style under-cabinet lighting that I still need to install.

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As you can see from this image, it is fairly effective. I, once again, have to credit the members of this list in helping me get this together.
 
Sorry to high jack this thread Here is a wooden box i want to make into a fermentation chamber...I need to build a collar and insulate but was wondering what the easiest solution would be to cool this...I dont see taking the door off a mini fridge being an option, unless I can detach the coils and parts and add them to this...Will a small Air condition Unit work? Im really clueless and my searches come up with mostly converted fridges or AC units. Any direction would be greatly appreciated!

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i have been wanting to build a 2 chamber fermentation and kegging/ cold storage chamber. i have a massive fridge that you would normally see in a
7-1 or convenience store. i wanted to keep one chamber at fermentation temps and 1 chamber at serving/ storage temps i.e.. 38ish deg. anybody see how this is possible with one cooling unit. i want to stay away from upper and lower chambers and do side by side as i do 20 gallon batches and I'm almost ready to buy my blichmann conical. 3 Dog is that what you are doing with your unit ?
 
$50 dollar Craig's list freezer, circa 1970, avocado green baby!!!

I added the temp controller and the bottle rack:
(the duck tape down at the bottom left hand corner keeps the door shut.)

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Thats a pool thermometer hanging down. The outside glass got broken in the pool, but it is still pretty accurate.
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I'm building a modified version of Son of Fermentation Chiller. My thanks to the developer for sharing the design plans for this.

I'm changing the dimensions to fit my fermentor, which is slightly larger than a standard 5 gallon bucket (16" dia instead of 15). I'm also going with top access only to keep the cold in when opening the chiller. The lid itself will be split in two pieces so that I can keep the chamber insulated when changing ice bottles. I'm also shortening the height to reduce head space and internal volume. I managed to get it all out of one 4x8 sheet by changing where pieces overlap during assembly. If it works well, I'm planning to build a icebox-style cabinet so that I can keep it in the family room.

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I'll be building one of the following two boxes to hold the chiller. The first is going to be a lot more forgiving to make as it's just 1x6 fence boards trimmed and screwed together with exposed slot head screws. I'll get a vinyl transfer stencil made for painting the logo on the front. The second design is finished to look like the Ikea black-brown furniture I have in the family room. Not sure which way I'm going to go yet.

The foam lids will be drop in place. Omitted for clarity in the renderings.

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For anyone looking to build a SOF chiller, don't be put off by the high cost of high density foam. Just stay away from the big box stores like Home Depot, and you'll pay a significantly lower price and probably get a better product too. HD sells the blue R10 stuff for more than $70 per 4x8 sheet where I live. By comparison, concrete and siding companies in my area are selling R13 4x8s at about $50. Some offer 2x8 sheets as well, making it easier to transport if you don't have a truck.
 
I'm in process of building one now and it strikes me how everyone has a different idea of how to skin this cat.
I wish I had seen this thread beforehand so I might have incorporated some of these ideas...I really like the drawer idea...then again my chamber is more vertical so this might actually tip it over when extended.
Looking at these I feel I may have also gone overboard on the foam board...I have 2.5" around most of it.
I'll post some pics later.
:mug:
 
For anyone looking to build a SOF chiller, don't be put off by the high cost of high density foam. Just stay away from the big box stores like Home Depot, and you'll pay a significantly lower price and probably get a better product too. HD sells the blue R10 stuff for more than $70 per 4x8 sheet where I live. By comparison, concrete and siding companies in my area are selling R13 4x8s at about $50. Some offer 2x8 sheets as well, making it easier to transport if you don't have a truck.

4'x8'x1" sheets are ~$14 at Menard's.
I think the 1.5" thick were only ~$16.
 
I completed my build for the most part...may end up putting a fan and a light in there but haven't yet.
It's constructed of 2x2 framed sides, new 3/4" plywood and old 1/4" plywood, 1.5" and 1.0" thick foamboard, screws and adhesive.
The fridge is a small cube fridge that sits atop the main box and vents down through an opening in the top.
Heating is done with a seedling map bungied to the carboy.
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Control is provided by an Ink Bird ITC 1000F.
 

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I'm curious if anyone has used this type of construction and the guts of a mini fridge to build a serving chamber with taps and all. I've been looking at chest freezers for months and agonizing over what size will suit my needs and how to make it look nice enough to belong in our living room, which is the only place I can fit one in our smallish townhome. My conclusion is that a chest freezer may not be a suitable starting point. One of the big sticking points for me has been the problem of lifting full cornies in and out of it; I've torn a rotator cuff already loading a full fermonster into my rockstar cylinder fridge turned ferm chamber. Ideally it would open from the front for easy loading.
 
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