Initially I was using a mini fridge with an ebay temp controller as a fermentation chamber. Once I decided to brew a lager I realized that my nice temperature controlled space was going to be out of commission for way longer than I would like. I decided to build a second chamber off to the side for ales. During the planning stage thought I might want to start making cheese (thanks to a few visits to the cheese making forum) and designed it with another smaller "cheese cellar".
I started by building the frame out of metal studs.
filled the frame with 2" foam board insulation and filled the gaps with spray foam. The top was covered in plywood and sides in luan.
After bolting the mini fridge to the extension I used a 4" hole saw to cut in my supply and return holes. I used 4" draft blockers to keep as much cool air in the places I wanted it as possible. Each zone is controlled by its own ebay controller and the 2 zones in the extension each have a fan powered by an old laptop charger to bring in cool air from the fridge. I also installed a light bulb paint can heater in the ale chamber just in case.
Here is the finished product after a little trim work and caulking around the air vents. The controllers were installed on the top of the extension.
I thought I would share my project. Its not as pretty as I has envisioned it to be but I have to say I am impressed I pulled it off as well as I did with not to much experience with this sort of thing.
I started by building the frame out of metal studs.
filled the frame with 2" foam board insulation and filled the gaps with spray foam. The top was covered in plywood and sides in luan.
After bolting the mini fridge to the extension I used a 4" hole saw to cut in my supply and return holes. I used 4" draft blockers to keep as much cool air in the places I wanted it as possible. Each zone is controlled by its own ebay controller and the 2 zones in the extension each have a fan powered by an old laptop charger to bring in cool air from the fridge. I also installed a light bulb paint can heater in the ale chamber just in case.
Here is the finished product after a little trim work and caulking around the air vents. The controllers were installed on the top of the extension.
I thought I would share my project. Its not as pretty as I has envisioned it to be but I have to say I am impressed I pulled it off as well as I did with not to much experience with this sort of thing.