Cheap Fermentation Chamber

Has anyone ever thought of standing up (on its edge/handles) a standard 120 qt cooler and sliding a 6.5 gallon carboy into it? You could cover the fermenter with a towel or two to prevent direct contact with frozen bottles on top and insert a quick read thermometer in the drain hole..and even a small computer fan for circulation. The Coleman Xtreme 120 qt. cooler when stood up measures 19" W x 19"D X 39" H...The 39" would accommodate the carboy and airlock. Simple, but effective?? Any thoughts

i just set mine in a rubbermaid, and filled with water with frozen ice jugs and draped wet towels over it. kept temps around 68 in 95+ degree heat, but it was kind of a pain swapping out frozen ice jugs twice a day.

If you can get creative take an old air conditioner and work the cold coil into the cooler design and you have a fridge. Should work to around 55-60 deg F if its in the cooler.

There would be no water...just ice jugs....cooler says it keeps ice for 5 days if not opened....can't see why this wouldn't work...of course, there might be some temp swings but might be effective for the primary ferm. time. Tub temps. are still too high in the summer in Houston...I'm going to do a mock up with the secondary...we shall see...

Craigslist fridge: free-$40. STC-1000 temp controller: $25. Spare items to assemble temp-controller: free-$10.

Customizable, no fuss ferm chamber with at least 2 vessel capacity: $25-$75.

how much is the 120qt. cooler?

$58.00's....and cost no electricity (fridges are power consumers)..and when not brewing i can use it as a regular cooler...The problem is i have a condo and there's no good place for a refrigerator unless it's a small dorm fridge and not too many will accommodate a primary WITH the airlock.....with one gallon frozen jug inside the cooler the temp is 68...with outside temp at 80...add two ice jugs and good temps should be attainable. Of course, getting the carboy to proper temp and stable would take some experimenting but a bathtub full of water beforehand should help. We will see...

Fair enough. FYI though the fridge as temp controller doesn't usually run that much for fermentation unless it's in a room where the temp is MUCH higher than fermentation, like 85+ degrees. Even then, it's minimal.

Temp is at 62 now....such a simple solution.....my engineering mind is swimming.....