DIY Fermenting chest build

I've learned so much from trolling these forums over the years, I thought I should show off some of the stuff I have built using tips learned from this awesome forum.

I was having trouble keeping my brews at manageable fermenting temps because my apartment does not have AC during the summer and can reach temps of 95 deg. easily. So I did what any self-respecting engineer would do- built a custom box to keep my precious brews fermenting all year round.

Here is a shot of the base and window AC unit being installed:


Here is a shot showing the walls and insulation going together:


And here the wiring to the LOVE controller is being installed(I used a 4 outlet box so I could have one each tied to the heater and cooler output along with 2 120VAC outlets for any additional crazy ideas like stirplates):


And here is the completed fermenter- it has a side door for monitoring and normal access, with a top lid to help with accessing carboys further back:


Overall it can hold four 6.5 gallon carboys, I haven't yet checked to see how many cornys it can hold, but I've been slowly transitioning to corny fermentation. my guess is upwards of 6 cornys!

Nice looking build! But I hope you're planning on putting some A/C in for yourself, because that chamber is going to make the summer apartment heat even hotter. You may kick the carboys out and camp inside the chamber

Cheers!

The fermenter is in the garage, so no added heat to the apartment proper. I have a window AC in my bedroom, but hate to turn it on too often because it adds about $50 to the electric bill. My solution is to relax in the garage during the summer heat- the keezer in the last photo now has 3 taps on it!

So you won't add $50 a month for your own comfort, but you will do it for your beer?






Thats a real man, nice build!

nukinfuts29 said:

So you won't add $50 a month for your own comfort, but you will do it for your beer?






Thats a real man, nice build!

Click to expand...

Well the fermenter only costs about $5 to run for a month, so yes I'll take an order of magnitude in savings!

How much do most people pay to heat/cool their houses anyway? My apartment is about $50 a month to heat in the winter, and I cannot cool the whole place during the summer using my one window AC unit- which is probably a good thing given the $50 per month for just the bedroom !