Fermentation Chamber Idea/build - Help

Morning Folks,

I have recently got back in to the world of all grain and brewing in general and its good to be back.

Over the past couple of months I have completed 4 batches, and the beer is good, but the flavour has been compromised and I think this is due to my up and down fermentation temperatures. Having 1 year old twins and it being the middle of winter here in the UK means the heating is on full blast throughout the day and off at night.

So I have decided to join many of you in creating a fermentation chamber. I have been reading many post from people who have built these and have come to understand the general concept of using a thermostat to control heaters/ fridges etc.

I am looking to build a chamber large enough for 2 fermentation bins and have sourced a mini fridge (50cm/50cm/52cm), heater (http://www.cnmonline.co.uk/Sunhouse-Tube-Heaters-With-Fitted-Plug-pr-33792.html) and temperature controller (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Temperatu...ooling_Air&hash=item2c6bbc7ab8#ht_9559wt_1152).

I am going to build the chamber from an old chest of drawers and use some polysterine insulation inside.

It will be kept in my garage, where throughout the year the temperature can fluxuate quite a bit. For example, here in the UK today the temp outside is at about -1c and in the summer can be up at around 30 max. Unfortunatly I haven't been able to measure the temp in the garage as of yet.

With this in mind could a fridge so small with the use of a fan cool the chamber enough for lagers? Also with the heater. would it need a small 60watt or a larger 120watt?

Thanks for any help on this

Ben

I made my own structural insulated panels for a refrigerator collar that have worked really well for me (as seen here) with an eBay temp controller. I started with a 1.8cf mini fridge and it has worked very well for me, getting more than cold enough for lagers without running constantly.

My chamber is a bit smaller than what you are planning, but I imagine a mini fridge of the same size would still work well for your design.

did you ever get this started?

I ended up using an STC1000 from ebay to control an under the counter fridge and a tube heater. I didn't extend the space at all with this as my FV just fit in. I do plan to extend it in the future as I really need to be able to fit more than one FV in, and it also works really well as a cellar fridge in general. I would upload some photos but dont think I have any here at work