Mini fridge fermentation chamber stand for sanke keg (mini build)

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Rivenin

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So, i started this project on a piece of paper a few weeks ago and figured i'd share it with you guys and gals as i thought it was an interesting one.

For awhile I've been figuring out how to ferment 10 gallon batches without lifting anything too heavy as my back isn't the greatest. Meet my fridge stand.

note : it's not complete yet, but it's a mini build thread...

Basically. My old boss gave me a mini fridge that fit pretty much all of my commercial beer, which i quickly out grew. So off to the side it went. Long story short, i have a sanke keg, but alas, didnt' want to lift it to siphon out of the keg. So i started designing a stand to hold the fridge, roll over to my brew stand, pump the wort into, Ferment the beer and then be high enough to siphon the beer into my corny kegs. I would only need to lift an empty sanke with some trub or sanitizer in it.

Here is what i have so far... it's a 1x1x16g (.065") steel tube frame with solid metal casters to roll around the garage as needed.

the sketched out plans

20160429_223354 by Noah Scott, on Flickr

all the metal laid out

20160428_172957 by Noah Scott, on Flickr

after the first side was welded i was checking levelness

20160428_200515 by Noah Scott, on Flickr

1/2 way finished pics -

20160429_222717 by Noah Scott, on Flickr

and here is how everything fits. you'll notice it does tip down to the front... i never even thought to look, but the front legs on the fridge aren't on the corners like the backs are. So i did end up welding some tabs on last night for the fridge feet to sit onto, so it is now level.

20160429_223339 by Noah Scott, on Flickr

---------------------------

rest of the plan so far.

- cut up the 2"x8"x10' board and make a collar
- install the ferm wrap into the back of the fridge that is in my chest freezer
- figure out how to securely mount the collar to the fridge
- figure out how to mount the door to the collar

Big brew is this weekend and should be the only time i'll have to lift anything into the fermenter itself... so i'll need to be done by hopefully tonight or tomorrow at the latest as i am trying to finish up building my new kettle as well.

Anyways, hope to have more pictures tonight / tomorrow.
 
well, this is where i ended before big brew this weekend. So it's not complete yet, but it's functional!

20160506_233156 by Noah Scott, on Flickr

i bought some weather stripping and placed it between the wood and fridge and attached the door to the wood... and i'm finding out that i need to cut a miter for the door in the wood as the door doesn't shut easily and the door shelving doesn't come out unfortunately, it's all glued in. Ontop of that, i want this to be non permanant incase i decide to move onto something else with my fermentation, i wont have to scrap a whole fridge.

This does so far, drop the degrees of the fermenter about .1 degrees every 10 or so minutes (11 or so gallons in the sanke currently), which should be better once i get a fan in there... whenever that will be.

Like i said, this is a non permanant setup... but i will have to figure out how to make everything squashed together and tight without the tie downs... as i need those for my trailer

20160506_233146 by Noah Scott, on Flickr

20160506_233133 by Noah Scott, on Flickr

and my mug with the project, safety first!

20160506_231406 by Noah Scott, on Flickr

and what i was getting it ready for, big brew! my setup is in the front with the bright ass orange home depot cooler

IMG_20160507_103123 by Noah Scott, on Flickr

once i figure out how to make it "Prettier" with the attaching the wood to the fridge, i'll post pics, but it's completely functional.

Now i'm just hoping that the heatmat that was in my freezer will heat this well.
 
Finally was able to use it from scratch! I need some longer silicone tubing as I had to move my chiller away from the home on the stand.
All came out well! Just need to figure out a latch/close system for the door and I'll be golden.

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20160530_124027.jpg


20160530_102123.jpg


20160530_143504.jpg
 
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