I personally use a 5cu.ft chest freezer. It works well but lifting 5-6 gallons of beer out of it can be a pain.
I would not go with a wine cooler. They are over priced and would not give you the temperature control you need.
The best route to go is a small refrigerator or a chest freezer with a temperature controller.
I have a Sanyo SR-4912M mini fridge that fits a 6.5 gallon carboy no problem. I actually had to elevate it some from the floor of the fridge to allow the door to close.
I did a quick search and it looks like they do not make this model anymore but it is a 4-8/9 cu ft counter high refrigerator so it is a little bigger than most small fridges. It does not have an ice maker which is a plus and it is frost free.
I have a small fridge and a chest freezer and it is easier to get the beer in and out of the small fridge compared to the chest freezer. With the chest freezer it is easier to take samples.
I think I just found this fridge on craigslist!
What kind of airlock can you for on the 6.5 gal carboy in this fridge?
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It's hard to find a mini fridge that will work because most have hump at the bottom rear where the compressor goes, it really cuts down on space. I've seen people make them work, but only after a lot of hacking.
You could build a ferm chamber using a mini fridge like this: http://www.lewybrewing.com/2011/07/son-of-fermenter-build.html
Lots of good ideas here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/sh...tion-closets-chambers-here-118479/index2.html
I personally use a 5cu.ft chest freezer. It works well but lifting 5-6 gallons of beer out of it can be a pain.
I ferment in this Frigidaire 4.4 Cu.Ft. compact fridge. I removed a few screws and pulled out the freezer compartment and it works great with 7.9G buckets and 10G Bayou Classic kettle. I use it with the Johnson digital temp controller for controlling fermentation temperature, cold crashing, and lagering. Here's what it looks like right now.
Thank you, that sounds like it will be a tight fit.The way I use it, with the shelf on the bottom and no freezer compartment. I get a fermentation compartment that is 15.5" wide, 15.5" deep, and 19.5" tall. That works for a 10 gallon Bayou Classic kettles and 7.9G buckets. That's all I have ever used to ferment. The kettle or bucket actually sit partly on that rear hump and the shelf the lines up with it.
Removing the bottom shelf and drawer and placing the fermenting vessel at the very bottom of the fridge allows for a fermenter that is 15.5" wide, 10.5" deep, and 27.5" tall. You loose about 5" of depth from the compressor hump. You can add maybe an 1.5-2" in depth by cutting out a portion of the inside door panel that holds the door bins.
Hope this helps. The measurements aren't precise, so give and take about 1/2". Sorry, I only had a tailor tape measure near by, but those are the measurements I got from the inside of this Frigidaire.
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