Maintaining low ferment temperature in 85 F house

I am trying to brew in a house that I leave empty for two weeks at a time or more. The problem is that this is in the southwest US and the house temperature gets to 85 F or more. Is there any way I can keep the beer cool while I am not in the house? Most of the fermentation techniques suggest changing water around the fermenter which I wouldn't be able to do. I might be able to put it in the refrigerator.

Get a small mini fridge off craigslist and buy a temp control. If you love your beer and America you will control your fermentation.

Have a listen to this podcast too.

Will a 6 gal bucket fit in a 4.4 cubic ounce fridge?

brewer1222 said:

Will a 6 gal bucket fit in a 4.4 cubic ounce fridge?

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Can't help you there. What I did was take a carboy and bucket with me to check out the fridge to make sure they fit.

Then I started using no chill and ferment in the cube, so it fits in there no problem. Can almost fit two in it.

4.4 cubic ounces is got to be the smallest fridge I've ever seen .

4.4 cubic foot might fit a carboy, but it really depends on the shape (and if it has a freezer). But you could use the mini fridge as a basis for a fermentation chamber by building a foam box around the door opening...

I mean the minifridge... maybe about 3 feet tall - will it fit a 6gal plastic bucket plus stopper at the top?

I don't know if it'll fit, check it out, but another way I use is.. Go to wal-mart pickup a 18-24 gallon rubbermaid tote for like $5. Fill it 1/3-1/2 full with water, drop your fermenter in that, cover it with a t-shirt, and put a couple ice bottles in a day. Keeps temps in the Low-Mid 60's, or lower with more ice, and is under $10.

iammatt said:

I don't know if it'll fit, check it out, but another way I use is.. Go to wal-mart pickup a 18-24 gallon rubbermaid tote for like $5. Fill it 1/3-1/2 full with water, drop your fermenter in that, cover it with a t-shirt, and put a couple ice bottles in a day. Keeps temps in the Low-Mid 60's, or lower with more ice, and is under $10.

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+1
point a box fan at it, and it will work even better.
I have a bunch of 20oz bottles that i refreeze and swap out about 3 times a day.

I'll once again give my endorsement to the Son of Fermentation Chiller.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/son-fermentation-chiller-question-s-117095/

If you have room in your garage then it requires less babysitting than a swamp cooler. Very rarely do you have to replace more than once every 24 hours. My garage has peaked over 100 degrees at times. I had the temp set at 63 during peak fermentation and the worst I saw the temperature of the cooler (sorry, wasn't monitoring the temp of the beer) get was 74-75 degrees after all of the ice had melted. When active fermentation is complete and the temperatures don't go above 90 in my garage I have seen 2 gallons of ice last over 60 hours. And there's room for more than 2 gallons if you can find a method of stacking them without busting jugs.

iammatt said:

I don't know if it'll fit, check it out, but another way I use is.. Go to wal-mart pickup a 18-24 gallon rubbermaid tote for like $5. Fill it 1/3-1/2 full with water, drop your fermenter in that, cover it with a t-shirt, and put a couple ice bottles in a day. Keeps temps in the Low-Mid 60's, or lower with more ice, and is under $10.

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wow, we got a couple of good responses, then everyone forgot that the OP stated that he needed to leave it unattended for weeks at a time.

Buddy, to get that amount of time you need a fridge of some type.

No, we can't tell you if something will fit because every fridge is different shaped, and you'll have to check it out yourself.

But get a fridge, and build a chamber around it if necessary. But in the southwest, leaving it for weeks at a time, you're going to need some type of active cooling system.