Fermentation unit questions

So, considering using a fermentation chamber. Wondering what temperature controllers people are using. And, is there a way to do this without cutting a hole in the fridge door and such? Am I right in assuming that the basic deal here is that you use a temperature controller to dim the power for the fridge or freezer, like a light dimmer? Anybody know any of these units that work with 230v, 50 hertz? It's what we have here.

No, you do not want to "dim" a compressor motor from a fridge, all of the temp control units for this application will be On/Off.

Some of the ones most people use are Ranco or Love controllers. You can also make your own (i.e. BrewTroller | BrewTroller) or using a regular Digital thermostat. Usually at a minimum you will need to have a temperature probe inside of the fridge. For the one I made I simply run it through the seal in the door, the wire is small enough that it still seals.

If you are using one of the smaller dorm fridge, they might have a drain that you could run the cable through.

Ah, okay. So it switches the fridge/freezer on and off to control the temp?

Also, if a freezer okay to use for ale temps? Seems it would be, but I don't know.

The Ranco ones seem to have 1/4 inch wire for the probe, so guess a drilled hole might be necessary. Anybody know a thread or link on how to go about this and how to seal it up, etc? I looked around here but just saw thread with pics of work in progress things. And I'm not a handy guy, really. Willing to give it a go if there's good info on how to do it and all that.

Thanks for the info.

So, looked at this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/side-side-fermentation-chamber-build-105054/

For two stage units, do people put a small heater for the warming stage? Or something the generates even less heat?

MattHollingsworth said:

For two stage units, do people put a small heater for the warming stage? Or something the generates even less heat?

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Small heaters (with a fan), light bulbs, ferm wraps, heating pads, reptile ceramic heaters, etc. All will work OK. How many fermenters you will have, and if they will need to be at different temps will determine which option works best, or if a "heat stage" is even needed.

HomebrewJeff said:

Small heaters (with a fan), light bulbs, ferm wraps, heating pads, reptile ceramic heaters, etc. All will work OK. How many fermenters you will have, and if they will need to be at different temps will determine which option works best, or if a "heat stage" is even needed.

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Ah yes, I still have some of those fermentation belts.

I will likely need the two stage for heat during the transitional times when the heat might need to go up or down. Dunno yet though.

Still considering this whole thing. Might go much more primitive, but we'll see.

Thanks for the info.

MattHollingsworth said:

And, is there a way to do this without cutting a hole in the fridge door and such?

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I would go with cutting a hole in the gasket and slipping the probe through it, then using silicone to lock it in place. Squishing the wire with the gasket will definitely wreck your gasket and cause a poor seal. Drilling is actually nice because you can hide the controller on the back of the fridge with no visible probe connection.

Have you taken up making Slivo too? Nice hobby to complement making beer.

-OCD

Think I might look into just cutting a hole straight through the freezer and sealing with silicone. Seems like that'd be better than messing with the gasket. But pointers would be appreciated, naturally.

Naw, no šljivovica for me. Not really interested in it, to be honest. I'm not into harder alcohol at all, really. Sorry to disappoint!

;-)

Thanks for the input.

MattHollingsworth said:

Naw, no šljivovica for me. Not really interested in it, to be honest. I'm not into harder alcohol at all, really. Sorry to disappoint!

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Nah, just figured it's the national drink. I can see not being interested in something that's close to deisel - it's an acquired taste, or maybe genetics that allows you to drink that stuff.

-OCD

beerocd said:

Nah, just figured it's the national drink. I can see not being interested in something that's close to deisel - it's an acquired taste, or maybe genetics that allows you to drink that stuff.

-OCD

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I've had some great travarica, which is the herbal version. But even then, I feel nothing remotely resembling the passion required to want to make it.

MattHollingsworth,
I tried to make a lager chamber out of a freezer. See this link. It also will link you to photos of the freezer and the information/learnings from the project. The main reason for posting the thread is for you to see the photos.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/i-give-up-124057/

I was trying to go for more room to lager in. If the freezer offers you enough room, just hook up an external thermostat and you're good to go for cooling. I would put a small fan in and hook it up so that the fan will kick on when the compressor does. There are several ways to do this. You can even buy a small mechanical timer that turns the fan on & off a couple of times a day. I would recommend something simple like the the Ranco thermostat. If you need to both heat and cool the space (winter & summer), you will probably want a 2 stage controller (thermostat). You just plug the power cord in and put the temperature probe inside the freezer. Then, plug the freezer power cord into the ranco controller. During the summer, you run the freezer. During the winter, put a couple of lights in the freezer, unplug the freezer power cord and plug in the lights. Reset your temps, and you should be good. If you use blankets or something else that is controllable, you can probably get away with a single stage controller.
A final word of caution. I didn't know where the coils were on the freezer. I used a set of snips to cut carefully through the outer skin starting form that point on the bottom. Using a small screwdriver, I removed the insulation and slowly worked out the hole. Most of the new freezers have their condenser coil around the entire perimeter of the freezer near the outer skin. The evaporator coils are usually near the top and closer to the inside skin. A lot of the old style freezers, some uprights and most refrigerators have their evaporator coils on the outside in the back and they are usually painted black. Sorry for the lenght of this reply and hope I didn't add to the confusion. Hope this helps. Let us know. Luck - Dwain

Thanks for the info. Don't think I'd need to cut a giant hole like that, just a little one for a few wires, possibly on the door itself.

How did yours eventually work out?

Well, I will just use it as a freezer for now. I replaced the insulation and repaired the hole. If you are using a chest freezer and go in through the top/door, every time you open it, you have to deal with the wires etc. I wanted you to see the photo so you could possibly get an idea of where to go through the skin. All in all, just be careful where you drill. If you post a photo of your freezer, maybe that would help. If you already know what you're going to do, Good Luck - Dwain

Thanks Dwain.

I don't have the freezer yet. Looked at one today which was pretty nice, locally made model, a Končar.

I figured going in through the door might be better because it seems very unlikely to contain anything inside the door that I can mess up when drilling. I thought if I drilled the hole towards the hinge area in the back it wouldn't really be in the way. Open to any other possibilities, naturally.

I had not previously been thinking about using this for two stage or heat too, but it will be necessary to heat during winter. So, means basically even if I could fit the wire for the probe through the gasket, that I'd still need the wire for the heat belt or whatever I'm going to use. Suppose a regular electrical wire might fit through that gasket too, though. The Ranco's seem to have a 1/4 inch wire. Looks like some of the Johnson Analog units have smaller wires but I can't find exact specs yet, just pictures.

The temp. probe on a Ranco is probably about 5/8"(1.59cm?). The capillary tube going from the probe to the t-stat is less than 1/4" (.64cm?). I would definitely drill a hole, even if it is in the top by the hinges. You can put the probe, wires, etc. through. Just be sure to leave enough slack inside so the wires don't slide back and forth through the lid. Seal the hole around the wires with silicone and you're good to go. I personally don't like going through the seal. I know alot of people do it without incident, but it's not for me. Luck - Dwain

Thanks again Dwain.

Yeah, I think the door may be the way to go the more I read around online. Leaving slack wire as you said should work good enough. If it's back by the hinge area it won't pull quite as much, I figure.

MattHollingsworth said:

Thanks Dwain.

I don't have the freezer yet. Looked at one today which was pretty nice, locally made model, a Končar.

I figured going in through the door might be better because it seems very unlikely to contain anything inside the door that I can mess up when drilling. I thought if I drilled the hole towards the hinge area in the back it wouldn't really be in the way. Open to any other possibilities, naturally.

I had not previously been thinking about using this for two stage or heat too, but it will be necessary to heat during winter. So, means basically even if I could fit the wire for the probe through the gasket, that I'd still need the wire for the heat belt or whatever I'm going to use. Suppose a regular electrical wire might fit through that gasket too, though. The Ranco's seem to have a 1/4 inch wire. Looks like some of the Johnson Analog units have smaller wires but I can't find exact specs yet, just pictures.

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I'm using a chest freezer with a Johnson A419 digital controller which I got from Norther Brewer. The wire to the temp. probe measures about 0.168 inches (4.3 mm) and the probe itself is 0.240 inches (6.1 mm) diameter. I was able to route it through the drain hole. I only need cooling and I'm pretty sure I would have to drill a hole in the freezer if I had to add an electrical cord to supply a heater. The A419 will work in either cooling or heating mode, but you have to remove the cover and move a jumper to change from one mode to the other. The specs say it will work at 120/240 VAC, 60 cycle - don't know if it would work at 50 cycle. Here's more info:

Johnson Controls Inc. | A419 Series