Fermenting in a closed chest freezer

Hi all,

My fellow brewers and I found a 11.1 cubic foot chest freezer on craigslist for $75 so we snagged it and set it up with a space heater and a temperature control unit for a fermentation chamber.

Currently we have a Kolsch that's been fermenting for about 10 days and an IIPA (Pliny clone, really pumped) that we put in 2 days ago. We set the temperature to 16C for the first 24 hours of the IIPA and have since then increased the temperature to 17.5C. We're slowly warming it up to 20C by about 0.5C a day.

My question is if we should open the freezer every now and then to release pressure buildup from the fermentation, since the freezer is a closed system. I've been opening it daily. Currently I can tell it's mostly CO2 in there because it's got a really funky smell (the cominbation of a kolsch and IIPA fermenting in close quarters) and when I put my head in to smell it feels like I'm breathing CO2.

Anything I need to watch out for?

Dont't take a big breath of CO2 while your leaned over the freezer. You could pass out and fall in..

tally350z said:

Dont't take a big breath of CO2 while your leaned over the freezer. You could pass out and fall in..

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^^ Not a joke.

No, you don't need to open it. Here's a pic of 6 active fermentors (and a pumpkin!) in mine. No problem.

There's a story to the pumpkin, right?

d3track said:

There's a story to the pumpkin, right?

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It's the great pumpkin, Blockhead! He watches over my fermentations. Perhaps I'm a little superstitious, but when he's on the job it always goes well.

I took a sniff from the airlock of my actively-fermenting IIPA and it hit me like a truck. It's supposed to be harsh, right?

^^^Thats what I was refereeing too.. You got a big sniff of the CO2 in the chest freezer and not just the airlock co2. It is very harsh, almost like a burning feeling.

Co2 is heavier than air. Opening the top will do nothing other than letting any buildup of pressure out. The rest of the chest will stay full of co2 unless you vent it out somehow.

I wouldn't bother opening it unless you want to check them out, a build up of CO2 will not effect anything.

tally350z said:

Dont't take a big breath of CO2 while your leaned over the freezer. You could pass out and fall in..

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I wouldn't go that far. CO2 is quite harsh on the nose. Your natural instincts will have you jumping back like a rabbit if you take a deep breath. Try taking a wiff from a co2 line sometime, of from your fermenter.

Now if you're fiddling around with something on the bottom (wiping up a mess) and your nose is around a lower concentration zone for an extended time, you could run into a problem. You'll feel light headed and if you don't get you're head out of there quick enough you could pass out and end up in a bad place.

Glad to hear all of this. I was worried I was dealing with my first infection when I first put my head in there and got punched in the lung.

DAlexander said:

I wouldn't go that far. CO2 is quite harsh on the nose. Your natural instincts will have you jumping back like a rabbit if you take a deep breath. Try taking a wiff from a co2 line sometime, of from your fermenter.

Now if you're fiddling around with something on the bottom (wiping up a mess) and your nose is around a lower concentration zone for an extended time, you could run into a problem. You'll feel light headed and if you don't get you're head out of there quick enough you could pass out and end up in a bad place.

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If you take a deep enough of a breath and your body doesn't react quick enough you can pass out. It doesn't take much depending on the person, some react differently than others. I have smelled the CO2 before from my chest freezer as I had a co2 leak in my kegerator. And I wouldn't recommend deliberately breathing the CO2 from a CO2 line either.

Whoah!

Just now stuck my head into my chest freezer to take a whiff of what my fermenting pilsner smells like (first lager so wanted a data point). Didn't smell much, then stuck my head in further and hit what I assume is the CO2 layer.

Very nasty smell and gave me a coughing fit. Now I have a headache.

I've seen debates on these forums about whether the CO2 layer is a myth. I'd say the fact that the top third of my chest freezer was fine, but below that nearly knocked me unconscious settles that for me!

Now my throat is starting to get sore. Wow.

How do you get the heavy carboys out of the chest freezer?

Silver_Is_Money said:

How do you get the heavy carboys out of the chest freezer?

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I use a plastic buckets to ferment and am able to lift it up and out with the handle.

If I fermented in a glass carboy I would use something like this: http://www.northernbrewer.com/the-brew-hauler?gclid=CPKS36WpotICFQyAfgodc7QGtQ

Silver_Is_Money said:

How do you get the heavy carboys out of the chest freezer?

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Have children. Feed them well for about 15 years, then you're good to go!

Or go buy a Gorilla on the black market. Get really big diapers for it, or you'll be sorry.

Silver_Is_Money said:

How do you get the heavy carboys out of the chest freezer?

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I whip up a batch of fight milk then give it the ol heave ho.

But seriously, it helps if to have handles, set the carboy in a milk crate or use a carboy carrier.

thekraken said:

I whip up a batch of fight milk then give it the ol heave ho.

But seriously, it helps if to have handles, set the carboy in a milk crate or use a carboy carrier.

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Is your Fight Milk made with real crow?

ZebulonBrewer said:

Is your Fight Milk made with real crow?

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Mostly pigeons. After the first couple of crows they wised up and won't let me get close enough. Smart little bastards...

Honestly, it might not be entirely legal so I can't recommend it for everyone. But I know a guy that's very knowledgeable in bird law that helps me out.

k1ngl1ves said:

Have children. Feed them well for about 15 years, then you're good to go!

Or go buy a Gorilla on the black market. Get really big diapers for it, or you'll be sorry.

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Hhhaaaa!...funny....you needed to specify having boys though...my girls are wimps.

Silver_Is_Money said:

How do you get the heavy carboys out of the chest freezer?

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It's not so bad with lighter beers.

My children are likely older than most all of you, and I'm retired. Pulling glass carboys out of chest freezers is not for me.