Today I opened up the chest freezer I’m using to ferment 3 batches of beer, and took a big whiff to smell how the fermentation was going. I got a big hit of ethanol and esters, and immediately felt quite woozy. Between the ethanol and the presumably large amounts of carbon dioxide being created, has anyone thought about the confined space dangers of a chest freezer fermentation chamber? It seems like it wouldn’t take much to create a low oxygen atmosphere in that confined space, and if that’s enough to make you pitch forward, well, things could get pretty bad pretty quickly.
Fermentation chamber: confined space?
- Thread starter AlexKay
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It can be physically shocking to inhale even a modest quantity of CO2. However, the scenario of pitching forward and then asphyxiating strikes me as incredibly improbable. Ingress of regular air, various reflexes, knees buckling... these seem likely to save the poor blighter. Might get hurt on the way down, but probably not - unless already, er, compromised.
So, anyone with a chest ferm chamber: any close calls to share?
So, anyone with a chest ferm chamber: any close calls to share?
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Just don’t take a big whiff. 
We’re talking about carbon dioxide, not carbon monoxide. It’s not going to kill you. The moment you feel the burn from inhaling it, just stop and pull your head back. It will disperse into the air, and everything will be ok.
We’re talking about carbon dioxide, not carbon monoxide. It’s not going to kill you. The moment you feel the burn from inhaling it, just stop and pull your head back. It will disperse into the air, and everything will be ok.
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