Cooler for carboy?

I've been having banana flavor problems, and originally thought it was my water, but after ruling that out, all I'm left with right now is temperature.

I've thought about buying a fridge/freezer big enough to stick a fermenter in, but that seems like overkill just for lowering fermentation temps for ales, and space is limited in my apartment. Wet towel+fan didn't help.

I was wondering, has anyone seen a cooler (igloo/rubbermaid sort) that is large enough (and vertical enough) to fit an entire fermenter inside (preferrably a glass carboy)? I figure if I fill one with water and ice several times a day, around the carboy, and seal the cooler, that would help get temps down...

So far they have been around 72 on the outside, but apparently a good bit higher on the inside. Not a right tasting beer, yet.

Any suggestions?

The 60 qt Igloo Ice Cube should do it. I think david_42 has one of these for the same purpose. If I remember right, he had to cut a small hole in the lid to accomodate the top of a 6.5 gallon carboy. Not a big deal - just put a towel around the opening.

I use the carboy in a tub of water trick. I have a t-shirt over the carboy with it soaking in the water, I pour water over the shirt till it's soaked then have a large fan blowing on it. I keep my apartment at around 80 degrees during the day while I'm at work. When I get home I check the temp and the carboy is usually between 68 and 70 degrees. I just make sure to soak the t-shirt in the morning before I leave for work and in the evening when I get home.

Yuri_Rage said:

The 60 qt Igloo Ice Cube should do it. I think david_42 has one of these for the same purpose. If I remember right, he had to cut a small hole in the lid to accomodate the top of a 6.5 gallon carboy. Not a big deal - just put a towel around the opening.

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that looks cool! do you know if it'll fit a 6.5 gal carboy? i can't find the internal dimensions on it. looks like its maybe discontinued.

rcd said:

that looks cool! do you know if it'll fit a 6.5 gal carboy? i can't find the internal dimensions on it. looks like its maybe discontinued.

Click to expand...

Dimensions are: 16-3/4" x 14-1/2" and 17-1/4" deep. I use one for a mash tun.

I actually use buckets and they stick out of the cooler (only a 48 qt), but there is plenty of room in the Ice Cube for a fermenter and two 2-liter bottles of ice. The Ice Cube is almost as deep as the wort level in the bucket, so it works really nicely.

I also use it as a mash tun & a picnic cooler. I wish I had gotten the model with wheels though.