Sanke fermenter temp control

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Tomtanner

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Hello,

I just inherited a few kegs and will converting two of them into fermenters. Outside of using a refrigerator what are some options for keeping a fermenter this size cool? I live in Florida so this could be a challenge. I have a fridge in the garage but it is not big enough to house samke kegs.

I see options for keeping them warm but not cold. Anyone have any interesting solutions?
 
The cheapest option is to get a larger fridge from Craigslist, or a chest freezer if you don't mind the lifting.
 
wyzazz said:
The cheapest option is to get a larger fridge from Craigslist, or a chest freezer if you don't mind the lifting.
Click to expand...

Thank you ! I was hoping to avoid another fridge mostly due to lack of space. Any other thoughts ?
 
Swamp Cooler with a reservoir in the existing fridge. Use a pond pump to recirc the coolant.
 
10-13 gallons of fermenting beer is one heck of a heat-load. I don't know if the swamp-cooler method would be practical at those larger volumes.

My thermo-welled fermenter, in a temp-controlled freezer has a lot of trouble keeping a solid temp. It has to run for a long time to drop the temp down from 70 or so to pitching temp. And always overshoots by 5 to 10 degrees.

Once fermentation takes off, the "turbulance" of the fermenting helps to keep a more uniform temp, but the freezer runs almost constantly.
I hope you can come up with an idea to control temps without the freezer, but I think you're going to find it will need a TON of ice/water to pull off.
 
Nohup said:
10-13 gallons of fermenting beer is one heck of a heat-load. I don't know if the swamp-cooler method would be practical at those larger volumes.

My thermo-welled fermenter, in a temp-controlled freezer has a lot of trouble keeping a solid temp. It has to run for a long time to drop the temp down from 70 or so to pitching temp. And always overshoots by 5 to 10 degrees.

Once fermentation takes off, the "turbulance" of the fermenting helps to keep a more uniform temp, but the freezer runs almost constantly.
I hope you can come up with an idea to control temps without the freezer, but I think you're going to find it will need a TON of ice/water to pull off.
Click to expand...

I have been doing closed pressurized fermentation and have been doing 10-14 gallon batches at room temps. The pressure helps the yeast counteract the effects of yeast as it would seem. Some people have even done room temp lagers...

I think coupled with CPF a ferm chamber will/would work nice. This is my plans over the next few months is to try to build a couple of chambers.
 

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