ToastedPenguin
Well-Known Member
I am working on a fermentation chamber design and came up with an idea that uses 2 mini fridges as the cooling source. The reason I am thinking of going this route; using two mini fridges, is so I have better control of the temp for the two zones/chambers. The top chamber will be for Ales and the bottom will be for Lagers/cold crashing. I had thought of using fans to push cold air up to the top chamber but started thinking that the overall capacity of the chambers may be to much for a single mini fridge to work efficiently and I don't want temp variations of +/- 3 degrees that can result from just pushing/pulling a single cold air source. This is also the reason I decided not to go with the common chest freezer with a cabinet built on top route. I will save the use of a chest freezer for a future keezer build for storing/pouring brew.
There is the option of using two small A/C units instead of the mini fridges and the basic design won't change much I just need to look at cost vs effectiveness of the cooling sources. The cabinet will be in my below grade basement so there won't be a significant change in ambient temp that will make keeping the temps a challenge. Thoughts?
So the basic design will be a cabinet with a height that fits the height of carboys with blowoff tubes or airlocks. If I go with mini fridges the height can be adjusted if need be to accommodate them, if I go a/c units then it won't matter. The depth of the cabinet will be a minimum of 26 inches which allows carboys to be placed side by side if need be and the length will be somewhere between 37-48 inches.
This leads me to my main purpose for this post, what to use to control the temps in the 2 zones/chambers I will have. Is it just easer to get two 2 stage temp controllers and use them independently for the 2 different zones or is there a unit that can support 2 independent zones that need both heating and cooling? Also looking for temp controller recommendations for either direction I go.
Thanks!!
David
There is the option of using two small A/C units instead of the mini fridges and the basic design won't change much I just need to look at cost vs effectiveness of the cooling sources. The cabinet will be in my below grade basement so there won't be a significant change in ambient temp that will make keeping the temps a challenge. Thoughts?
So the basic design will be a cabinet with a height that fits the height of carboys with blowoff tubes or airlocks. If I go with mini fridges the height can be adjusted if need be to accommodate them, if I go a/c units then it won't matter. The depth of the cabinet will be a minimum of 26 inches which allows carboys to be placed side by side if need be and the length will be somewhere between 37-48 inches.
This leads me to my main purpose for this post, what to use to control the temps in the 2 zones/chambers I will have. Is it just easer to get two 2 stage temp controllers and use them independently for the 2 different zones or is there a unit that can support 2 independent zones that need both heating and cooling? Also looking for temp controller recommendations for either direction I go.
Thanks!!
David