Igloo 5.1 Chest Freezer as Fermentation Chamber

[aprichman]

With the warm weather rolling into Oregon this weekend I'm looking to build a fermentation chamber. I've looked on craigslist locally but haven't seen any below $100 and at that price I'd rather just get a new one. I've got my eyes on the Igloo 5.1 cubic foot chest freezer from BestBuy. Unfortunately none of the local Best Buys have them in stock so I can't go in and take measurements.

I was wondering if anyone who is using this model (or has experience with this) could let me know if a bucket/carboy fits without having to build a collar.

I've looked on the HBT database which lists the Igloo 5.2 and just want to make sure the 5.1 is big enough before having it shipped to my local store.

Thanks for the help!

 

[SevenOaks]

I bought this freezer a few weeks ago at Best Buy. I got it to build a keezer but once I got it home and realized that with a 1x12 collar it could hold my two plastic Big Mouth fermenters - just like my larger 7cf GE - I decided to make it the fermentation chamber and make the keezer from the larger GE.

Without a collar the Igloo will hold 1 fermenter.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1435020747.142811.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1435020907.451713.jpg

 

[aprichman]

Did some digging around and found HBT member @ATLJack posted measurements for the Igloo FF520 (5.1 cu ft) chest freezer.

The bottom footprint is 15" D x 15.75" W according to his measurements. This should be plenty of space for a carboy (12.5" diameter) or bucket (12" diameter).

I pulled the trigger and placed the order - now I need to build an Inkbird based temp controller.

 

[aprichman]

I bought this freezer a few weeks ago at Best Buy. I got it to build a keezer but once I got it home and realized that with a 1x12 collar it could hold my two plastic Big Mouth fermenters - just like my larger 7cf GE - I decided to make it the fermentation chamber and make the keezer from the larger GE.

Without a collar the Igloo will hold 1 fermenter.
View attachment 286244View attachment 286248

Thanks! That's a great looking setup you've got going on

 

[SevenOaks]

Thanks. Here's the finished project and I'll be adding a 3rd faucet later this week.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1435066846.802346.jpg

 

[aprichman]

Thanks. Here's the finished project and I'll be adding a 3rd faucet later this week.
View attachment 286300

Hey SevenOaks,

Just built my STC-1000 controller and got everything up and running today. Just curious, what cooling setting do you use for your fermentation chamber? I've got it turned to "on" but thought going lower or maybe even the lowest would make the most sense.

 

[Gavin C]

Turn the chest freezer on maximum power. The STC will overide and control it so it doesn't really matter so much for a chest freezer. More important if using a refrigerator.

Either way. Set the freezer/fridge to max and the STC will do its thing.
No worries

 

[aprichman]

Turn the chest freezer on maximum power. The STC will overide and control it so it doesn't really matter so much for a chest freezer. More important if using a refrigerator.

Either way. Set the freezer/fridge to max and the STC will do its thing.
No worries

Would there not be concern that if the air gets too cold the beer will overshoot? Just curious what your STC 1000 is set to?

I'm running 65F, 1F differential, 10 minute compressor delay

 

[Gavin C]

Would there not be concern that if the air gets too cold the beer will overshoot? Just curious what your STC 1000 is set to?

I'm running 65F, 1F differential, 10 minute compressor delay

Sorry I misunderstood I thought you were asking about what to set the freezer to.

I set my STC 1000 to my target fermentation temperature, a hysteresis of 0.3C (min)and a delay of 10mins (max). Probe attached to the carboy and insulated.

 

[aprichman]

Sorry I misunderstood I thought you were asking about what to set the freezer to.

I set my STC 1000 to my target fermentation temperature, a hysteresis of 0.3C (min)and a delay of 10mins (max). Probe attached to the carboy and insulated.

Haha, I was asking about the freezer setting to begin with so you understood perfectly fine. Just built my STC-1000 controller (actually an Inkbird ITC-1000, basically the same thing except does C & F) and I am trying to get everything tuned in before I brew, so my question switched to STC-1000 settings.

What kind of temperature swings do you experience with your setup? My understanding is that the STC-1000 runs the freezer until the temperature is 0.3C (1F) below the target temp and then lets it raise .3C above before kicking on the freezer again? I'm curious how much the actual temp swings will be though.

After ordering all of the parts for my STC-1000 I started reading about the BrewPi and have been a little worried about the temperature swings since then

 

[aprichman]

I was also thinking of getting a small fan like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G05A2MU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 and running a 2 outlet adapter into the cooling side of my controller. That way when the cooling side kicked on it would run the freezer as well as the fan.

I'm also thinking about running a small ceramic heater like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XDTWN2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 into the heating side.

 

[SevenOaks]

Would there not be concern that if the air gets too cold the beer will overshoot? Just curious what your STC 1000 is set to?

I'm running 65F, 1F differential, 10 minute compressor delay

What I do is tape the temperature probe to the side of the fermenter and then tape a thick piece of foam over that. This way the probe is sensing the temp of the beer more than just the air temp. I'm using the Love controller and it's doing a great job of maintaining temps 1+-.

 

[Gavin C]

Haha, I was asking about the freezer setting to begin with so you understood perfectly fine. Just built my STC-1000 controller (actually an Inkbird ITC-1000, basically the same thing except does C & F) and I am trying to get everything tuned in before I brew, so my question switched to STC-1000 settings.

What kind of temperature swings do you experience with your setup? My understanding is that the STC-1000 runs the freezer until the temperature is 0.3C (1F) below the target temp and then lets it raise .3C above before kicking on the freezer again? I'm curious how much the actual temp swings will be though.

After ordering all of the parts for my STC-1000 I started reading about the BrewPi and have been a little worried about the temperature swings since then

The measured beer temperature never gets outside the set temperature +/-0.3C with my setup. I rarely need a heater in the freezer as I live in TX.

 

[aprichman]

Decided the best way to find out what worked was to brew. I taped the temp sensor to the glass wall of the carboy underneath some insulation. Have it set to 64F with a 1F differential. The temperature is fluctuating between 65F - 62.6F, however the probe is measuring the glass wall of the carboy. Curious what the core temperature is - I imagine around 65-66F which is what I'm going for. I'll probably bump it up to 66-67F after a week and hold it there until I'm ready to bottle.

BTW the temperature probe on the Inkbird seems to be pretty accurate