Custom Fridge Fermentation Cabinet

[Almighty]

I have been reading so many different ideas and this is what I finally ended up with.
I live in a condo in Downtown San Diego so I don't have a ton of room. Plus the wife has limited my beer equipment to the closet in the office. I needed a way to organize all my equipment in the closet so I figured this would be a great time to build myself a temperature controlled fermentation cabinet.
I really liked the cabinets that used the fridge guts. The look clean and seem to be a fun DIY project.
One step that many of the fridge gutted cabinets was how to get the guts out. They simply say it was hard but here it is. So I decided to document myself doing the demo.
Here is the first fridge:

I busted this one in 2 places. First I punctured the freezer unit with the Reciprocating saw then I broke the cooper line while trying to pull it out. Any break in the system and you are done. The price to fix it and recharge with new coolant is more expensive and time consuming then starting over. I did salvage a few parts that I may use on another project.
Lessons Learned: 1) Try to find a mini fridge that only the freezer compartment does the cooling 2) Don't use a Reciprocating Saw - its just too out of control 3) Be careful and take your time, don't take shortcuts

 

[Almighty]

So I listened to my own advice and found a cheap mini fridge off of Craig'slist:

I took my time with this one and used far simplier tools. I cut the outside sheeting off with shears which was very easy. And used the Reciprocating saw blade by hand to cut through insulation or a drywall knife would be perfect. If you have any questions, I feel like an expert now.

Pictures of the cabinet to come

 

[Almighty]

So after reading the forum for hours. I decided to go with
Love TSX-10140 (Pre 2008)

The cheapest place was at Drill Spot

I have decided that I want to wire the controller up to the old thermostat. And the only wiring diagram I can find connects to the power cord. Does anyone know how I wire the love controller to the old thermostat wiring.

 

[Almighty]

The next step is to build up the cabinet to to fit the fridge guts into. I have a very specific area where this cabinet will go. Basically my space is 66" tall x 25" wide and 16" deep. This is a pretty small space but it works for my equipment. I have space in the fridge compartment for one 5 gal carboy or 2 - 3 gal Better Bottles. And then there is 2 shelves plus the top so I can fit the rest of my equipment.
Sorry for the blurry pics

Still need doors, insulation installed, wiring completed and then finishing and paint.

 

[luniz7]

looks like a mess! haha

cant wait to see how it turns out tho

 

[android]

nice work, looking forward to seeing it finished. thanks for posting.

 

[OsbornBrewing]

Hahaha now that I have my freezer i was wondering what to do with my mini-fridge. SWMBO just read this over my shoulder and walked away sighing, and saying "oh good Lord! Will this ever end?!".

 

[Sol]

Hey Almighty, how's this coming? I'm planning a very similar cabinet but am toying with the idea of building it a bit taller so I can ferment 2 5-6gal carboys stacked. I just gutted my minifridge yesterday and it's very similar to yours. Subscribing.

 

[Almighty]

Here is a brief update on the build. I have the insulation and doors on the fridge. Then I primed and painted the cabinet.

I'll post more updates shortly.

 

[Almighty]

Now I had to move it into the closet and get the wiring hooked up. Thanks to ClaudisB, he helped me over the finish line with the wiring.
All that was left for me to do was some simple programming and filling the shelves.
Let me know if you have any questions and a more detailed write-up is on my blog:

 

[Almighty]

Now I had to move it into the closet and get the wiring hooked up. Thanks to ClaudisB, he helped me over the finish line with the wiring.
All that was left for me to do was some simple programming and filling the shelves.

Let me know if you have any questions and a more detailed write-up is on my blog: http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/