So, a while back I converted a minifridge to a kegerator. I built an 8 inch collar on the front and reattached the fridge door. For the faucets I built an insulated wooden box on top of the collar (see first pic, taken before I finished it). Works splendidly and I have been enjoying my brews.
However, I also need a fermentation chamber. Our bathtub is getting crowded and I soon might face some resistance from my wife. In order not to face resistance from the wife regarding the fermchamber, another fridge in the garage is not going to happen. Also a lot of expense is not going to happen ( i'm having difficulty convincing her how much cheaper home brewing is than buying beer at the grocery store with all of the stuff I've been buying lately).
Alright enough of the intro.
This is the plan: Build a chamber on top of the existing fridge with an access door for loading (just big enough for one ferm bucket). Very crude sketchup graphics but hopefully you'll get the gist)
Dril two holes in top of collar. For pushing cold air into the chamber mount a 12V computer fan in the bottom. For the warm air recirculation back into the fridge mount a fan on top of a PVC pipe that takes the air from higher up in the chamber.
The fans would be controlled by a home thermostat similar to the setup with the son of ferm chiller.
Questions:
Are the fans going to be powerful enough to push sufficient air?
Is the fridge going to hold up? Based on the builds where folks control a much larger chamber even with the 1.7 cu ft minifridges I don't think it would be a problem.
My garage does get hot in the summer: 90-95F
Any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Frank
However, I also need a fermentation chamber. Our bathtub is getting crowded and I soon might face some resistance from my wife. In order not to face resistance from the wife regarding the fermchamber, another fridge in the garage is not going to happen. Also a lot of expense is not going to happen ( i'm having difficulty convincing her how much cheaper home brewing is than buying beer at the grocery store with all of the stuff I've been buying lately).
Alright enough of the intro.
This is the plan: Build a chamber on top of the existing fridge with an access door for loading (just big enough for one ferm bucket). Very crude sketchup graphics but hopefully you'll get the gist)
Dril two holes in top of collar. For pushing cold air into the chamber mount a 12V computer fan in the bottom. For the warm air recirculation back into the fridge mount a fan on top of a PVC pipe that takes the air from higher up in the chamber.
The fans would be controlled by a home thermostat similar to the setup with the son of ferm chiller.
Questions:
Are the fans going to be powerful enough to push sufficient air?
Is the fridge going to hold up? Based on the builds where folks control a much larger chamber even with the 1.7 cu ft minifridges I don't think it would be a problem.
My garage does get hot in the summer: 90-95F
Any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Frank
