Moisture barrier in ferm chamber?

[DocFrye]

I am building a fermentation chamber using an upright freezer, and a Ranco ETC-211000-000: 2 Stage Prewired Temperature Controller (ETC-211000-000W)
Wire Gauge 16ga - Standard (13 Amps/1500 Watts) (pre-wired because I have little to no electrical skills. Heating element is still to be determined.

The fermentation chamber will be built onto the freezer via 2x4s and insulation (haven't decided exactly which type yet - suggestions?)

My main questions now are, how important is it to use a moisture barrier in a set up like this? What type of moisture barrier is recommended? And, how-where should it be installed?

Thank you all for your help.

 

[nosnhojm20]

I've used the same as my kegerator, a re-newable dehumidifier and a fan. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000H0XFD2

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009OWRMZ6/ref=oh_details_o03_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are definitely cheaper fans, and cheaper ways of doing it. I am lazy.

 

[nosnhojm20]

I didn't answer your question. Why do you think you need a moisture barrier? What do you mean by that? I am half in the bag, sorry.

 

[DocFrye]

I thought, during my initial research, that a few people mentioned incorporating a moisture barrier into their fermentation build. It doesn't seem to be important when building a chamber out of 2x4s and foam board, but I would hate to finish my chamber only to find out that I missed an important feature.

 

[nosnhojm20]

I'm hung up on what you mean by moisture barrier. Do you mean a coating or something on the walls to prevent rot? I don't know if it's the proper way of doing things but I sprayed polyurethane on my foam board on my keezer collar and seems to be working fine. Does that help?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[LeftyRighty]

OK…I converted a upright freezer into a ‘fermentation’ chamber for curing homegrown tobacco. Purpose: to accelerate the aging process. It operates at 120-125°F and 70-75% relative humidity. Heat and humidity source is a CrockPot full of water, using the Ranco for control. Not the same as your purpose, but it would be easy for me to adjust or operate mine for the same as your purpose. My suggestions:

All you need is heat - use a dry crockpot, ceramic heater, electric skillet, light bulbs, heat pad, whatever for heat. Use something that has some form of heat output control (low-medium-high?), and start at lowest setting as gradual cycles thru your temp range is more efficient, consistent, and best results. Heat source is controlled on/off by the Ranco. A 5 degree cycle range is good, as you're heating the air inside the chamber, and mass of the brew will change temp much slower..

You don’t need a vapor barrier. But you need ventilation, to exhaust CO2, and prevent mold and possible vapor buildup. Good ventilation and moving air inside the chamber will greatly reduce the potential for mold formation (recognize that there is absolutely no way you can prevent mold spores from getting inside, it will happen). A couple of small computer fans will work great for circulating air inside the chamber, easy to find on eBay, amazon, etc., cheap to operate, and long service life. Mold does not like moving air or dry surfaces. Also, moving air around the chamber will provide uniform temp of the brew.

You will need an exhaust system, for minimal air changes to keep the inside dry, but not enough to waste heat. A small opening top & bottom will work, using thermal heat rise or stack effect to move air in/out. I used a piece of 2” PVC pipe intake opening near the bottom of the chamber, with a metal screen to keep bugs, rodents, whatever from entering. Top opening is a ½” PVC pipe, and ball valve, to control flow.
You will be surprised how effective just a couple of small openings can be. FYI - the ball valve is how I control the relative humidity in my chamber.

 

[DocFrye]

You will need an exhaust system, for minimal air changes to keep the inside dry, but not enough to waste heat. A small opening top & bottom will work, using thermal heat rise or stack effect to move air in/out. I used a piece of 2” PVC pipe intake opening near the bottom of the chamber, with a metal screen to keep bugs, rodents, whatever from entering. Top opening is a ½” PVC pipe, and ball valve, to control flow.
You will be surprised how effective just a couple of small openings can be. FYI - the ball valve is how I control the relative humidity in my chamber.

Awesome advice. I appreciate your whole post, but this seems to be what I need to concentrate on. Does anyone out there do it slightly (or dramatically) different?

 

[petrolSpice]

I use a 5cuft chest freezer and it tends to get very moist and humid inside when fermenting in the 60's, often leading to mold. Now I just leave the lid cracked open about an inch and it helps a lot. Since the cold air sinks, it stays in the chamber mostly, but the cracked lid allows for some ventilation.