College-Budget Freezer to Ferm Chamber (w/ obligatory pics!!)

Hi all! I'm a broke college student and it's starting to get hot here so I wanted to convert a freezer I found into a fermentation chamber for temperature control. This whole process took about a month between buying everything bit-by-bit and doing small parts here and there between work and school.

I'm so extra excited considering I'll now be able to make even better beer!

Here's the parts list (prices rounded up):

Chest Freezer: $FREE
10' Poplar 1x4: $8
Spray paint: $8 (two white, one green)
Liquid Nails: $3
Silicone seal: $3
Weather stripping: $4
Screws: $2
CHI Company Temp Controller: $35
-----------------------------------------
GRAND COLLEGE-FRIENDLY TOTAL: $63


Time for photos! I'm quite proud of this, especially since it was done in a tiny garage in a tiny townhouse. However I'm not proud of the crappy photo quality I get from my phone

I thoroughly enjoy photo threads, though, so I hope everyone enjoys this!


Removed the lid. Inside isn't huge but big enough for a bucket, a corny and/or some bottles



Removed the little clips that hold the inside-cover in place so the collar can sit flush on the lid. Used Liquid Nails to secure the inside-cover.



Cutting the collar using a basic miter box, each end cut at a 45-degree angle. It took some time and a bit of elbow grease but after some sanding it looked goooood. Liquid Nails, once again, used to attach each side.



Painting the collar a nice dark green. Rust-o-Leum FTW. Also, soccer ball for drying-time entertainment... even in the color of my favorite club (LA Galaxy!)



Using brake drums (that I have neglected to install for a while now) as weights while I seal the collar to the lid with my old friend Liquid Nails.



Painting the lid



Painting the body. I'm pretty proud of my painters tape skills!



Time for weather stripping... and a brew.



Weather stripping on, applying silicone caulking to where the collar and lid meet

Needed to do a bit of silicone work on the side. There were a couple cracks that needed to be sealed from any possible condensation. As you can see on the left it started out reeeaaally nice and then got a bit fat. Caulking gun skills are lacking



Mounted the CHI Company temp controller with 3M mounting tape instead of screws; no accidental puncturing of coolant lines and the ability to keep the temperature probe wire completely stationary and not have to move with the lid



A (fuzzy) look at the finished product. Lookin sessy! The beer on top is a Newcastle Summer Ale (big fan!)



BM's Centennial Blonde chugging away nicely at 62*F. It took me a few hours to dial it in (using three different thermometers) before that beer was to be brewed. The temperature controller is analog and will, of course, have a bit of accuracy disrecpency. Looks like I need to set it to what I want +5*F, so the dial is cranked to 67*F. Meh, it is what it is. The probe is taped to the bucket so it adjusts according to fermentation temperatures instead of the ambient temperature.

nicely done! do you have a link for that controller?

Sure do! It's right here!

It's 39.99 now but you get the point... it's a cheap temp controller that actually works

Just took a gravity reading of the BM Centennial Blonde and I have to say the freezer conversion was 100% worth it. It's only been a week but after 5 days at 62*F followed by 2 days at 66*F (to help the yeast clean up after themselves faster) it's the best tasting sample I've ever had at 1 week old!

This is the absolute best investment I've made in this hobby since making an immersion chiller. :rockin: