Fermentation Chamber - Fridge or Freezer?

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the75

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I've already purchased a digital temp control unit, now I'm trying to decide between buying a used refrigerator or a chest freezer. The sizes I've been finding would both seem to accomodate two carboys at a time. The refrigerators are a little cheaper & easier to find, but I wanted to see what you all use. Show me the way.
 
You have to first determine how much home brew you will drink, then what it will take to make that much, and maintain your pipeline.

For me and my wife, 2-4 beers a night = 16 six packs a month, or 10 gallons, and thats just for us and only Pale Ale. I settled on 15 gallons a month. Plus you need the room for the bottles, although they could come in the house. (I gave up on bottles and went to kegging)

That meant I needed a fermentation chamber that could hold 20 gallons at a time.

Here is my Freezer Fermentation chamber.
https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=47579&title=fermentation-chamber&cat=1092

This was the thought process I went through, hope it helps.
 
Nice! I like that train of thought. I'm looking at a 14 cf freezer right now. It should fit at least 4 carboys, which would be more than enough for my needs. If I used buckets, I'd do just like your setup. Very efficient.
 
Grossy said:
You have to first determine how much home brew you will drink, then what it will take to make that much, and maintain your pipeline.

For me and my wife, 2-4 beers a night = 16 six packs a month, or 10 gallons, and thats just for us and only Pale Ale. I settled on 15 gallons a month. Plus you need the room for the bottles, although they could come in the house. (I gave up on bottles and went to kegging)

That meant I needed a fermentation chamber that could hold 20 gallons at a time.

Here is my Freezer Fermentation chamber.
https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=47579&title=fermentation-chamber&cat=1092

This was the thought process I went through, hope it helps.
Click to expand...

What do you do if you want to ferment at a different temperature for different beers? For example, if I wanted to brew a Belgian ale and raise the temperature one degree per day and let it finish up in the low 70s.

Or, is a storage chamber like yours and then a specific, fermentation chamber about the only game in town?
 
I own/use both; my vote goes for fridge. No condensation issues. Cheaper. Easier to load. Runs at a temperature closer to what the manufacturer had in mind. I can fit 4 six-gallon carboys in mine with room to spare. I get the appeal of freezers, but I think fridges make a lot more sense. My two cents.
 
I got a fridge as I found one going free. I can get it down to a temp that started to freeze the mead that was in it when cold crashing so I would have thought the fridge would be fine for lagering, but I guess it depends on the fridge.
 

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