Next on my list of stuff to build

Ok, now that my brewery is quasi-done (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-brewery-done-131596/) (Yuri reminded me that a brewery is never really done) and hopefully my March Pump problem is squared away (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/squealing-march-pumps-131873/) it is time to brew my rectal cavity off and consider my next project.

I have three Stainless Steel 6.5 gallon conicals purchased from the guy on Ebay and the coolest I can keep them is 70*F, which brings me to my next project.......a Fermentation Chamber. I plan on building the chamber large enough to store the three conicals and a carboy. It will be made rather simply out of plywood and thick rigid foam insulation. So far....simple enough.

Now to the real question. How to cool this sucker. I have absolutely no clue where to start. When it comes to refrigeration, I don't know Jack Chit. Can I get lagering temperatures out of an air conditioner mounted in the side of this beast or am I better off mounting a small refrigerator into the side of the beast as others have done for their fermentation chambers? I am open for suggestions. Fire away......

After building my chamber, and using it for a while here is my advice:

Build it with at least 2 (better with 3) autonomous chambers that are individually controlled. Yes, it will be more expensive, but it would be way better.

My problem now is that I have lagers lagering, my keggerator is full, and I need some temp control for my upcoming primary fermentations.

I would take a week or two, search CL for free dorm fridges (they come up rather often) then power three individual compartments with them. Love controllers are very clean and nice looking so I would suggest those.

Good luck!!!

Here are some options to consider:

• Circulate 0F glycol to all three conical fermenters.
• Wrap each conical in copper tubing and insulate with flexible buna-n rubber sheets.
• Build separate enclosures (as you mentioned) with liquid-to-air heat exchangers and small fans.
• Store the glycol reservoir in a chest freezer and use a Love controller to turn a pond pump on/off sitting in the glycol. This could be repeated to control the conicals independently.
• Turn a small cooler into a glycol reservoir. Disassemble an A/C window unit and place the evaporator in the cooler. Otherwise, same as above.

I think a chest freezer plus wrapped/insulated conicals would be ideal.

This may be a good solution for me if I choose to go with a small air conditioner.

artbrau said:

I took the plunge at bought a "Coolbot." That does the trick and the a/c stays on as long as it should. I just plugged the thing in tonight so I can't do a proper review but it was dead simple to install without modifying the AC at all.

I would have been comfortable circumventing the a/c thermostat myself but the innovation here is the heater to trick the a/c thermostat instead while integrating a new frost sensor.

No frost so far, taking the space down to 55. If it works out, the cost savings will be massive. My builder was trying to talk me into a $2.5k wine fridge unit.

Click to expand...

lamarguy said:

Here are some options to consider:

• Circulate 0F glycol to all three conical fermenters.
• Wrap each conical in copper tubing and insulate with flexible buna-n rubber sheets.
• Build separate enclosures (as you mentioned) with liquid-to-air heat exchangers and small fans.
• Store the glycol reservoir in a chest freezer and use a Love controller to turn a pond pump on/off sitting in the glycol. This could be repeated to control the conicals independently.
• Turn a small cooler into a glycol reservoir. Disassemble an A/C window unit and place the evaporator in the cooler. Otherwise, same as above.

I think a chest freezer plus wrapped/insulated conicals would be ideal.

Click to expand...

There was an article very similar to this a few months back in BYO. The whole system with two new Sabco fermenters cost around $2k

How about use an aquarium chiller to cool the glycol (or water)? They're not cheap, but much cleaner than hacking up a refrigerator. Plus most of them come with a built in pump and temp controller.

I am not considering hacking up an AC unit. I am not a HVAC guy. The Store It Cold - Home of the CoolBot! should do the trick. I already have the air conditioner and the plywood. All I need is the CoolBot and some rigid foam insulation.