I have the rough draft of an 8 foot multi-purpose bar/counter/cabinet ready to go...
Essentially it will have three compartments. One for fermenting ales, one for lagers and a third for kegs/bottles.
My plan at this point is to run the entire thing using one cooling source. I haven't decided if the mini-fridge or HVAC option is the best route yet but I'm still pondering that (And looking for the cheapest option...(hello ebay/craigslist)
Other than that the separate sections will be controlled by dampers and they will open/close based on the need of the specific compartment's cooling demand. I plan to run it all off of an arduino and have it control all cooling requests, dampers and cooling fans. The details of that I haven't yet laid to paper but will do eventually. I've also considered the use of a PLC to control everything as I have a few laying around but we'll see...
As of now I am putting together the pieces needed to throw together a basic, one compartment fermentation chamber with a mini-fridge to hold me over through the build of the cabinet mentioned.
To be honest I haven't yet brewed my own batch yet but have everything I need in place....I just want to ensure I can keep the proper fermentation temps for the first batch...AND I need to make something a little more robust (and SWMBO friendly) for the future.
Anyone have any comments, concerns or WTF? on my plan please let me know....As time permits I'll get the plans and details/pictures up here as well.
Essentially it will have three compartments. One for fermenting ales, one for lagers and a third for kegs/bottles.
My plan at this point is to run the entire thing using one cooling source. I haven't decided if the mini-fridge or HVAC option is the best route yet but I'm still pondering that (And looking for the cheapest option...(hello ebay/craigslist)
Other than that the separate sections will be controlled by dampers and they will open/close based on the need of the specific compartment's cooling demand. I plan to run it all off of an arduino and have it control all cooling requests, dampers and cooling fans. The details of that I haven't yet laid to paper but will do eventually. I've also considered the use of a PLC to control everything as I have a few laying around but we'll see...
As of now I am putting together the pieces needed to throw together a basic, one compartment fermentation chamber with a mini-fridge to hold me over through the build of the cabinet mentioned.
To be honest I haven't yet brewed my own batch yet but have everything I need in place....I just want to ensure I can keep the proper fermentation temps for the first batch...AND I need to make something a little more robust (and SWMBO friendly) for the future.
Anyone have any comments, concerns or WTF? on my plan please let me know....As time permits I'll get the plans and details/pictures up here as well.