Son of Fermentation Chamber

OK finally finished my fermentation chamber. Here are some pic's

I'ts about 34" by 29" which gives me enuff room for 2 6.5 gallon carboys and 14 - 2 liter bottles of ice. I only hvae 8 in it right now and it's holding 60 degrees like a champ, thats about 15 - 20 degrees below ambient temp. I
ll probably be looking at changing out ice every 3 days. The light I have added to know when the fan is running still needs work I'll run over to Science and Surplus today to see if I can get something else to work. Right now my little 6.2 volt bulbs burn out in about 5 minutes while I use a 12 volt system.

I gotta do something about all the freeking pink


She's closed up and hard at work keeping my yeasties at a nice 60 degrees


The inside with yeasties working my cider for me


Thermostat and fan . . . no I'm not a electrition ,,l,, >.< ,,l,,

8 - 2 liter bottles of ice, I can fit up to 14 in there


The external thermometer and broken light so I know what temp she's at, what the temp in the basementis and if the fan is running

Sweet! I wish I had room in my garage.

"Cool" haha

I like the idea of using the insulation instead of wood. What did you seal it with?

chillHayze said:

"Cool" haha

I like the idea of using the insulation instead of wood. What did you seal it with?

Click to expand...

I used liquid nails to hold it together and then fill any gaps, I also used it as a caulk. In addition to that I used 1/2" half round molding with closed cell foam (3/8 x 1/4). One note about the molding and foam . . . DO NOT run the faom around the bend from the molding on top to the molding in front. The bend in the foam screws up your seal, thats why I have the towels over the corners like I do. I suggest cutting the foam and letting it connect at 90 degree angels so ya maintain that nice tight fit.

I've got an idea brewing in my mind for a fermentation chamber...

I built some shelves last year in my basement, big frickin' shelves out of 2x4, designed to hold power tools and things like that. Sturdy as hell.

One section in particular is about 4 feet wide by three feet deep, with about three feet or so of depth. The shelf is about three feet off the ground. Total area is just a little bigger than your chiller. It's in the corner of the basement, a corner that tends to get cold in the winter anyway. I'm thinking about adding some insulation all around and sealing it up nice and tight, just leaving an access door.

It is also directly adjacent to the utility sink, so if I need to drain a tub of water or something like that, I'll be able to just siphon away.

I can't really describe it very well, but it would be the perfect spot, methinks, for doing a bit of po'-boy lagering, or even just for keeping some brews cool. Bucket of ice swapped out daily, I've got a little fan here in the office I won't need anymore this year that could keep air circulating. Actually, I don't have many power outlets in the basement; could I hook up a fan from a computer or something to a 9-volt battery?

Hmm... another project awaits...

the fan I have is a computer fan and all the ones I looked at run either 12 or 24 volts. Got an extention cord you could run over there? then all ya have to do is use a 12 volt transformer.

The issue is that I have literally two outlets in the basement. I need to get an electrician in to run some more, but for the time being I have too many extension cords already suspended from the ceiling. I'll worry about that part of it later, I suppose.

You could run it off a old car battery or some other type thats 12 volts I suppose . . . http://www.atbatt.com/product/4917.asp dunno how long that little guy would last though

Plop a car battery beside it. It should run a 12V fan for weeks. Then charge it up. Too big? Try an RC car battery. An extention cord and power supply would be the best choice however.

Pumbaa, what temperatures are you shooting for? What are you getting?

right now shooting for 60 and getting that just fine with the 8 - 2 liters of ice, it's looking like I can do atleast 3 days at 60 degrees with them 8 - 2 liters. Today is day 2 and they are still fine. . . I'm going to experament with lower temps as soon as this cider finishes and I can get more 2 liters to hold ice. I'm figureing in the end I an going to need 28 - 2 liters so I can rotate 14 bottles of ice out every day.

BTW I got a 12 volt light bulb from radio shack and the light is working fine now . . . think they cost me like $1.50 for 2 of them

Pumbaa said:

the fan I have is a computer fan and all the ones I looked at run either 12 or 24 volts. Got an extention cord you could run over there? then all ya have to do is use a 12 volt transformer.

Click to expand...

The computer fan will run on a nine volt battery, how long I don't know, but I use one to start the fireplace now and again. As for twelve volt, you might try 2 - 6 volt in series. I don't know if they sell them rechargable. If so they probably cost a fortune. But they probably have a decent life, those fans don't draw much.
I gotta build one of those. Right now I have two carboys in the tub, in the spare Bathroom, wraped in towels that I wet down every other day. And I still can only get it down to 70 degrees.

ok for the record I can keep my chamber that can hold 2 - 6.5 gallon carboys at 15 - 20 degrees below ambient with 8 - 2 liter bottles of ice for 2 days. Curent temp of basement is between 75 and 80 and the chamber is handling 60 degrees just fine.

I'm guessing that with the max amount of Ice I can fit into the chamber (14 - 2 liter bottles) I should be able to keep the chamber at about 25 degrees below ambient for 2 days . . . if ambient is 75 - 80 degrees. I am also guessing that if the ambient temp is lower then that I'll be able to not only get lower chamber temps but will be able to maintain them longer with the sme amount of ice.

the son of fermentation chamber links aren't working. I am interested in how that worked.

Here are the plans/PDF for the Son of Fermentation chiller, and a bit larger version.

http://www.blackcanyonbrewers.com/BCHA-PDF-Files/chiller.pdf

Wort-O-Matic: 38DD Mother of a Fermentation Chiller

These things work llike a champ. Cheap and easy to build, and you may have a bunch of the components lying around.

anychance you can repost those pics? they are not showing up for me.