Keg cooler/fermentation chamber

I recently got myself set up for kegging. The only thing missing was a refrigeration unit. my original plan was to build a keezer. But after a month of watching the classifieds and not finding what I was looking for I was starting to get impatient.

I had read several "under the workbench" fermentation chamber build threads on this forum and that got me thinking. I can build my own keg fridge :rockin: . I had just built (partially) a workbench in my shop/brewspace and I had a window AC unit that had been sitting in my parents garage for years. So this past weekend I was visiting my parents and picked up the AC unit.

Once I had it home the urge to get started on building it was irresistible. On Sunday I went out and picked up some foam insulation board and started putting it together. I had no real plan in my head other than its outside dimensions 2' wide 4' long and 30" deep this was dictated bu the size of the lid which was a 2' x 4' sheet of plywood which was going to be part of the workbench top.

I was planning on documenting my process but in the excitement of building I did not take a single picture during the build process.
I did take pictures of the finished(ish) product which I will post when I get home tonight.

The AC unit can drop the temperature in the cooler by approx 1C/min. and it warms at approx 1C/20 min. I have a wireless inside outside digital thermometer so I stuck the outside unit in my cooler so I could monitor the temp from my computer room.

I am controlling the temp using an outdoor timer which runs the AC for 6 min every 2 hours this results in a air temp swing of about 5C.

In my testing to figure out the timing. I turned the AC on and checked the temp every few minuets. After a few minutes it got down to 4C, I checked back after 5 min and it still read 4C. Which I thought was odd. I checked the AC unit and it the compressor was running and it was blowing warm air out the back.. Strange... I checked the temp again and it was now reading 8c I was tarting to get worried that the AC unit was dead. The temp was rising suspiciously fast.. I took a closer look at the thermometer display. I then noticed at the far left of the display an small faint minus sign! By this time it was down to -13C !!

Richard

Quick question regarding serving temp. What is a good general purpose serving temp for beer

To rephrase what temp range should i be aiming for.

It depends on the style of beer. This article has a some good temp information http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art35683.asp

Thanks I'll have to bookmark that page. I'm already thinking about compartmentalizing the chamber to allow for a temperature gradient.

Richard

BakaBrew said:

It depends on the style of beer. This article has a some good temp information http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art35683.asp

Click to expand...

Thanks I have been needing a chart like that

Pics as promised

...and more pics

I thought I had posted this this morning But it has not shown up on the thread. I was on my first cup of coffee so I may have forgotten to hit "submit post"....

SO Here it is again..

While I was posting the pics I noticed that I had forgotten to insulate the 2X4 at the back top of the chamber. It is covers with a basement sub-floor vapor barrier.

So last night I used some of the extra foam board to cover it up. This morning when I had checked the temp it was sitting at 3C! this was an hour and a half after the AC had last kicked in. I did not have time to change the run time on the unit before I left for work I hope I will not be going home to beer slushies!

Richard

Beer Slushies!:cross:

I still have some tinkering to do to get the timing right

Did you have to modify the window AC in any way?

I would have thought that the thermostat would prevent it from cycling on, at such a low temp (3 degrees C)

I wonder if you could modify it, so you could eliminate the timer entirely, and the AC would regulate the temp properly on its own?

I did not modify the AC unit. However the temp control knob and the shaft that the knob was attached to sheared off flush. I was able to turn it to the bypass setting but cannot move it a all now. My plan is to move to a Johnston controller at some point to adjust the temp. I have adjusted the time so that it only runs for 5 min every two hours and that seems to be keeping it above freezing.