fermentation chamber - freezer or fridge? frost-free? standing?

[aangel]

Seeking advice on my kegerator and fermentation chamber. I already have a chest style freezer at my disposal. Need to know what to use it for - fermentation or serving? Also, what should the other appliance be? So far I have a small list of pros/cons. Incidentally my kegging needs are only 2-3 taps ever, plus a bunch of bottles to compare old batches against new.

chest freezer as kegerator PROs: lots of space for kegs, energy efficient
chest freezer as kegerator CONs: must install a collar.

chest freezer as ferm chamber PROs: lots of space, energy efficient
chest freezer as ferm chamber CONs: moving carboys in/out is difficult and will agitate the yeast cake. Also won't be great for storing bottles.

upright freezer/fridge as kegerator PROs: good layout for a few kegs+bottles
upright freezer/fridge as kegerator CONs: apparently coolant runs through the shelves? But only in some of them? Someone help?

upright freezer/fridge as ferm chamber PROs: enough space, no mods required, and easy to put carboys in and rack out without disturbing the yeast
upright freezer/fridge as ferm chamber CONs: again that coolant issue? The shelves might not be movable because of that?

 

[The_Bishop]

I'm partial to my upright freezer that I found on craigslist. Got it all wired into an STC-1000.

Only real mod required was reinforcing the rear bar of the shelf.

Not every upright freezer has the cooling built into the shelves.

 

[m00ps]

I decided on a chest-style freezer as a fermentation chamber recently and I couldn't be happier. It can be a bit of a pain to lift full glass carboys over the side and down into it, but using a stool help a lot. In my opiunion, this downside was worth the better efficiency, minimal cool air loss from opening, and extra space on top of the freezer

 

[kev211]

Im using a chest freezer for my fermentation chamber, couldnt be happier. Like moops said, very little cold air loss when you open the lid (little word of warning though... dont do what I did and inhale when you stick your head down in the bottom of the chest freezr to make an adjustment, cuz along with the cold air settling, so does CO2 haha). If you lift the carboy smooth enough and dont jerk around the yeast cake stays put. I havent noticed any of it going back into suspension

 

[haeffnkr]

I have been through more freezers and refrigerators than I care to admit.

For a kegerator -
I like refrigerator with a top freezer.

For a ferm chamber-
How big are your fermenters?
How often do you brew?
What I came up with is an old half/barrel kegerator that I ferment 12 gallon batches in.
On top of that kegerator I have an apartment sized fridge that holds a 6.5 carboy/bucket.
That way I can have 2 batches going at different temps.

I also have a big upright frost free freezer for a lager fridge
I love it.
I had a chest freezer and I HATED putting the kegs down in it.

good luck.

 

[wardens355]

You don't have to install a collar right away for a chest freezer. I have 8 kegs and a CO2 tank inside my 15 CF chest freezer, all kegs served using picnic taps. I may upgrade to a collar at some point so I can put another keg in place of the CO2 tank, and eliminate opening and closing every time I get a beer, but works fine without the collar. I also have two fermentation freezers that fit two carboys each. Don't know where I would ferment without them. I use plastic carboys, so lifting out isn't as daunting as with glass. I usually cold crash before moving them out, so the yeast doesn't want to swim around as much when lifting. If you don't have a good way to control fermentation temps, I would convert it to a fermentation chamber.

 

[Zepth]

I move personal effects for a living. I have much experience in the guts of appliances. The majority of upright freezers have coolant in the shelves. Why they decided that this was the method of doing business is beyond me. If it's so great why don't they do it in fridges?

Fridges are perfectly customizable on the innards. Most have the option to become a huge open blank slate. Problem is most have that freezer. I'm not so certain of how they operate but if they have separate thermostats and coolant loops you might be able to have a fridge in both parts.

But why bother with the standard fridge design when they do make full size freezerless fridges? Price. That's why.

Chest freezer. No pesky shelving to deal with, single thermostat (when replaced with STC or equivalent). Best option IMO. Recommended to find a model where you can fit two side by side along the width instead of staggering pattern. I blew it on this one. Fortunately bottles fit nicely between the staggered kegs!

Warden has it right. I have a 7 cu freezer that fits 3 kegs and co2 tank no mods. In the near future it will have a collar and 4 kegs inside. Since I'm one of those weird guys who likes warm (more specifically cellar) temperature beer it also acts as a makeshift fermentation chamber for lagers. Granted I use a corny keg to ferment them in, but fortunately I got a defective one with an order where the threads are all messed up. OBK was awesome with their customer service and hooked me up with a new one, and I transformed the one that will never have a dip tube into a fermenter. Just food for thought on that one.

 

[aangel]

I have been through more freezers and refrigerators than I care to admit.

For a kegerator -
I like refrigerator with a top freezer.

For a ferm chamber-
How big are your fermenters?
How often do you brew?
What I came up with is an old half/barrel kegerator that I ferment 12 gallon batches in.
On top of that kegerator I have an apartment sized fridge that holds a 6.5 carboy/bucket.
That way I can have 2 batches going at different temps.

I also have a big upright frost free freezer for a lager fridge
I love it.
I had a chest freezer and I HATED putting the kegs down in it.

good luck.

I'll be using 3 and 6.5 gallon carboys mostly, but there will be a few experiments using series of 2L pop bottles. I've bought passthru tap equipment for 2 taps so I can't really go with picnic taps in an unmodified chest freezer right now.

It's seeming like the logical choice right now is use my chest freezer for fermentation and deal with the heaviness, and get a regular cheap upright fridge/freezer unit for a kegerator. That little extra freezer space will be good for storing frozen hops and maybe yeast slants, and the fridge space should probably be big enough for 2-3 corny kegs, a 10lb CO2 tank, and hopefully maybe 1-2 dozen bottles. Of course if I manage to find a cheap standing freezer I can always play around with that.

Thanks everyone!

 

[wardens355]

Thanks everyone!

Cheers!

 

[MattyIce]

I'll be using 3 and 6.5 gallon carboys mostly, but there will be a few experiments using series of 2L pop bottles. I've bought passthru tap equipment for 2 taps so I can't really go with picnic taps in an unmodified chest freezer right now.

It's seeming like the logical choice right now is use my chest freezer for fermentation and deal with the heaviness, and get a regular cheap upright fridge/freezer unit for a kegerator. That little extra freezer space will be good for storing frozen hops and maybe yeast slants, and the fridge space should probably be big enough for 2-3 corny kegs, a 10lb CO2 tank, and hopefully maybe 1-2 dozen bottles. Of course if I manage to find a cheap standing freezer I can always play around with that.

Thanks everyone!

This is the route I am taking. I have a full-size fridge/freezer for my kegerator. I built a shelf on top of the compressor hump. I can fit five cornies and a 20# CO2 tank in there. Looking for a 5-7 cu ft freezer for my ferm chamber now.

 

[CJ1]

My full-size fridge fits 3 Ale Pails. Adding a STC-1000 was all I needed to do, as it sits in a room that stays warm enough. I wouldn't want to deal with lifting buckets in and out of a chest freezer.

I am using an apartment size fridge as my kegerator right now, but it is too new for me to have a proper opinion. I just finished the build out properly on Thursday. It holds 2 kegs and a shelf full of bottles. CO2 tank sits outside.

 

[jbb3]

Not sure what your DIY skills or motivation is, but just to chime in with another option.

I built my fermentation chamber using a compact fridge and a ceramic heater, plus an STC-1000+ to control the temperature. I plan to build my keezer for serving using a chest freezer I bought during a Black Friday sale.

Here is my chamber build...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f258/my-diy-fermentation-chamber-build-499635/