Chest freezer fermentation chamber

[Nok]

Hey everyone!

I've been having one hell of a time trying to keep my primary within a stable temp range and have finally decided I need to get myself a ferm chamber. I was going to use a mini-fridge and build a bigger box for it but have found an amazing deal on a chest freezer.

My question is... Do all chest freezers have the ability to hook a temp controller to them? To be more specific, a 7 cu ft. Holiday chest freezer? I'm hoping to pick it up tomorrow if it will work so I would appreciate any help! Thanks!

 

[day_trippr]

Yup, if it runs on AC and has a line cord you can always wire it into an add-on controller...

Cheers!

 

[b-boy]

I've done 2 of these builds. Look into making a collar for the freezer. You can use a cheap temperature controller like an STC1000 to cool/heat the freezer. There are many threads on here about building one of these.

If you want, you can add a couple of taps to make it a part-time keezer.

 

[Nok]

Thanks for the help!

I have done a bit of looking around at controllers and the STC1000 seems the cheapest but electrical work is definitely one of my weaknesses. I like the idea of the pre-wired ones like the Ranco Dual-Stage but that extra money could buy my next 4 or so kits! I have a couple weeks until I can brew again so I won't jump into anything too fast but I do appreciate the heads up to research the STC1000 a bit more.

I'm actually very excited about the chest freezer as I do plan to eventually make it a keezer. I was hoping for a little bit bigger one but I'll be happy to just have my primary in a stable temperature range. :rockin:

Thanks again for the help, this is a great community you all have here. Hopefully one day I can contribute and helping post

 

[norsk]

Chest freezers work great for fermenters and the STC1000 works fantastic at a great price. There are numerous step by step tutorials that are idiot proof on this site and the Internet on how to wire one up...

 

[Docbruw]

You might also look at the MH1210F temp controller. The same as the stc-1000 but it reads Fahrenheit instead of Celsius unless celsius is the temp scale you normally use.

 

[BrewerDan1]

Be careful with the controllers that look like a STC-1000 and report in F instead of C. They normally have only one temperature control so one cannot use it for heat and cool simultaneously. The STC-1000 works well for continuously maintaining a consistent temperature. BTW, one could train a monkey to wire the STC-1000 so don't be afraid of the task.

 

[Docbruw]

Very true. The MH1210F will cool OR heat but not both at the same time. I have yet to figure out why you would need your temp controller to heat and cool simultaneously. Either way each will get the job done for a lot less $ than a Ranco.

I also agree with the ease of wiring. Their are many posts on HBT on how to wire either controller and if you still have issues post a picture up of what you have and I'm sure we can point you in the right direction.

 

[day_trippr]

Very true. The MH1210F will cool OR heat but not both at the same time. I have yet to figure out why you would need your temp controller to heat and cool simultaneously.[...]

Here's why: your fridge or freezer is located in an unheated basement where it is currently 58°F/14°C and you're trying to ferment an ale at 64°F/18°C.

And it's not truly "simultaneously". When the temperature inside the fridge or freezer falls below setpoint-differential, the heater turns on and drives the temperature up to setpoint and turns off. Once fermentation gets going and drives the temperature above setpoint+differential, the compressor turns on and drives the temperature back down to setpoint and shuts off. Inside the +/- differential around setpoint, neither heat nor cool modes are enabled. The heat and cool modes don't fight each other unless you use a setpoint too small to account for overshoot...

Cheers!

 

[Nok]

Wow, thanks everyone!

The guy ended up selling the chest freezer before I made it over to his house :smack: so it looks like I'll have a little more time to research the proper controller!

Fahrenheit is definitely more familiar but I wouldn't be against reading in Celsius to help me with the conversion. Thanks for the heads up about the MH1210F, I'll be sure to check it out! I like the idea of having control over both cooling and heating but with my chamber being inside my house, I'd assume I would be alright with only having control of one at a time.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[krazydave]

Freezers tend to turn on and overshoot the mark when cooling. This is because it cools down the coils in the wall of the freezer and once shut off, they stay freezing cold for a bit.
So for that I have used a small reptile heater hooked up to a dimmer switch and barely turned on to stop it from over cooling. Currently I use enclosure heaters for panels that I scored for free from a previous job, but they're expensive if you go out and buy them.

Also, I'd suggest getting a small fan inside and leaving it on at all times. It definitely helps keep the temp more stable. On that note as well, I always strap my controller's temp probe under a tightly folded towel to the side of a vessel with liquid inside. That way it measures the liquid temp and not the air temp and helps to keep your freezer from turning on every five minutes and blowing out your compressor quickly.