Chest Freezer 4 Fermentation Chamber

Scored a nice running small chest freezer that I want to use for either a ferm chamber or as a keezer.. not sure which yet.

The question is.. temperature control. Fridges and such have temperature swings and I don't know if I'll have enough mass in this chest to help buffer the temp swings and keep them at a minimum without the compressor going on/off/on/off...

My thought is to put the Johnson controller probe in a glass of liquid.. water or ?? Thinking it will take the water time to drop in temp.. but also take time to raise in temp.. unlike the surrounding environment. Should be similar to the brew in the fermenter (or brew at serving temp if I use as a keezer)

The overall point is to keep the compressor from cycling too much.

Wadda ya think?

Definitely use a temp controller if you'll use it as a ferm chamber. The method of placing the probe in a container of water works well for a keezer. If going the ferm chamber route, you really only care about the temp of fermentation, meaning you should attach the probe directly to the side of your fermenter, or if you have a thermwell you can submerge the probe in the fermenting fluid itself.

Yah, as a ferm chamber, I thought of doing the same thing I normally do in the house environment.. Put the FV in a large blue tub with water in it to do a good even transfer of temp to the beer as it's fermenting. I'm sure the beer starts out warmer by a few degrees and settles down to ambient temps as the days go on. What do you do with the probe? Put it under a foam blanket and bungi the blanket to the bucket/carboy??

I'm not seeing how to make a thermowell large enough in diameter to fit the Johnson probe. I see the smaller diameter ones sold by MoreBeer.

I just attach a gel-pack to my carboy with a bungee cord, then slip the probe in between the gel pack and carboy. That way I don't have to worry about whether or not the temp. probe is water proof.

DeafSmith said:

I just attach a gel-pack to my carboy with a bungee cord, then slip the probe in between the gel pack and carboy. That way I don't have to worry about whether or not the temp. probe is water proof.

Click to expand...

That sounds like a good idea! I fold up a paper towel for insulation and then duct tape the probe to the side of the carboy underneath the paper towel.