Mold and condensation in fermentation freezer

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aekdbbop

aekdbbop

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Ok, I converted a chest freezer into a fermentation vessel with a temp controller..

Just bottled and kegged some EWA, and there was black mold all over my better bottle.. not worried about the wine, just don't want that to always happen..

So, is there just too much humidity? The walls of the freezer are wet and so is the floor.. so i am thinking i need a way to control that..

thanks
 
I use this, set right inside the fermentation machine:

17.jpg
 
Yes, condensation and humidity are the culprits... well, that and mold spores floating around in the air. Damprid sounds like a good idea. The other partial solution is to make sure the freezer and outside of the better bottle gets regular cleaning/sanitizing. Mold can't grow on plastic because there is no food source. It grows on dust/dirt that accumulates on the plastic. So, it sounds like everything needs a good cleaning/disinfecting to get rid of your current mold problem. Then to prevent future ones, Damprid and regular cleaning should do the trick. (Also, keep in mind that, like yeast, mold doesn't thrive well in colder temperatures. So, in the 60s, they love it, but get down into the 30s and they don't do so well.)
 
menschmaschine said:
Yes, condensation and humidity are the culprits... well, that and mold spores floating around in the air. Damprid sounds like a good idea. The other partial solution is to make sure the freezer and outside of the better bottle gets regular cleaning/sanitizing. Mold can't grow on plastic because there is no food source. It grows on dust/dirt that accumulates on the plastic. So, it sounds like everything needs a good cleaning/disinfecting to get rid of your current mold problem. Then to prevent future ones, Damprid and regular cleaning should do the trick. (Also, keep in mind that, like yeast, mold doesn't thrive well in colder temperatures. So, in the 60s, they love it, but get down into the 30s and they don't do so well.)
Click to expand...

+1 for clean your stuff!

Also, if you have alot of mold spores in your home (or portions of your home) it can be extremely unhealthy and probably not a bad idea to get someone to check that out.
 
yep, it has been out in the warm garage, with the dial set at 60 degrees.. It has been moist in there, plus i had some major blowoff from an earlier batch that wasn't cleaned up to well.. lol
 
Just to let you know, aekdbbop, I tried DampRid in my chest freezer and it didn't work for $hit. But, I got two of these:Eva Dry 500 and have never had a problem yet. In my chest freezer, they will work for about 2-3 weeks each. Then, when full, plug them into the wall overnight. The units burn out all the moisture, and you put them back into the freezer. They are amazing! Two of them works for my 20 c.f. chest freezer, so depending on the size of your unit and amount of moisture, 1-3 Eva Dry 500's or 300's should do the trick
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Berserker_Brew said:
Just to let you know, aekdbbop, I tried DampRid in my chest freezer and it didn't work for $hit. But, I got two of these:Eva Dry 500 and have never had a problem yet. In my chest freezer, they will work for about 2-3 weeks each. Then, when full, plug them into the wall overnight. The units burn out all the moisture, and you put them back into the freezer. They are amazing! Two of them works for my 20 c.f. chest freezer, so depending on the size of your unit and amount of moisture, 1-3 Eva Dry 500's or 300's should do the trick
Click to expand...

hahaha, I clicked on the link there, and under "customers who bought this also bought", it had a bunch of other dehumidifiers...and Brewing Classic Styles. :D
 
Last edited by a moderator:
There's also "Radical Brewing" "Brew Like a Monk" "Brewing up a Business" "How to Brew" "Beer School" and...."When All Hell Breaks Loose"
 
Just bought two EVA's - I was having a similar problem w/ Damprid doing nothing but failing hard.

The mold was getting out of control and honestly was ruining the kegging experience for me. Hopefully this will help in tandem with the damp rid i have left.
 

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