New fermentation chamber build

Williams 728
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TwoHeadsBrewing said:
Yes, and some fridges have coils running along the outside walls of the fridge to get rid of that heat. That's why my fridge is entirely outside the chamber. I noticed that during operation the walls of the fridge get pretty hot.
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Is this true? I am in the middle of building mine, and I was going to enclose most of the fridge, leaving just the back open.
 
Yes it is. Some do, some don't. Plug the fridge in and check. My old keg fridge has internal coils only not on the walls. My chest freezer has them in the walls and they got hot.
 
I'm sure that varies between models, but if there isn't a radiator-looking grill on the back of the fridge those lines probably run through the sides/top. All of that heat has to go somewhere, and since the skin of the fridge is metal, it makes a nice heat exchanger.
 
UPDATE: Due to the warm weather the garage is sitting about 95F in the hottest part of the day. I checked the ferm chamber and it's holding a nice 62F, and not even clicking on that often. I've also got 2 carboys full of barleywine in full active fermentation, and they are at perfect temp. So far so good, seems like the insulation is doing it's job! :rockin:
 
This is a great build. I have a work bench in my garage that was left by the previous owners. It is kind of useless space underneath except if I could make one of these little guys. I've been searching for a way to control fermenation temps and I would love to lager but I don't have the capabilities to do it right now.

I was wondering what the dimensions of your build were including the fridge. Just an approximate height width and length if you know off the top of your head.
 
It's about 32" tall, 24" wide, and 4' long. I would have made it longer, but I was concerned about the cooling capacity of that little fridge. However, so far my concerns have been unfounded. The weekend we'll be getting close to the century mark, so I'll see how it does. I don't anticipate any problems, this thing hardly comes on at all even when the garage is 90F.
 
Could you quote the R-value on your foam? I'm in the midst of doing the same thing buy mine leaks cold air like a sieve.
 
Thanks for the dimensions. I think I will be able to make it a little larger if I build it. From what you said it holds 3 buckets or carboys though which would probably be enough for my needs. What would probably be a better idea for me is to create two chambers side by side so I can have two different temps running for different fermentations. Say an ale and a lager. Thanks again for the great post.
 
riromero said:
Could you quote the R-value on your foam? I'm in the midst of doing the same thing buy mine leaks cold air like a sieve.
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The R-value of the 1.5" product is listed at 9.4. On the front of the chamber where it encounters the most heat, I also have some cheap styrofoam 3/4" insulation with an r-value of 3.5. I have all of that mounted on the outside walls to 1/4" plywood. The other sides are attached to an insulated house wall on one long side. If you're getting air leakage, I would go around with a couple tubes of silicone exterior caulking and seal up any seam you can find. If you have any large gaps, I'd buy a can of spray-in expanding foam.
 
mnm129 said:
Thanks for the dimensions. I think I will be able to make it a little larger if I build it. From what you said it holds 3 buckets or carboys though which would probably be enough for my needs. What would probably be a better idea for me is to create two chambers side by side so I can have two different temps running for different fermentations. Say an ale and a lager. Thanks again for the great post.
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Great idea, let me know how it turns out!
 
Can you post more details and/or pics about how you sealed to the front of the fridge? I have a mini fridge I'd love to do this do in our garage, it's getting hot here in Kansas, and my closet under the stairs didn't maintain 71 F this week when my latest IPA was in the heat of fermenting, it got up to 77 F, doh! Plus my wife would love it if I got my brewing moved completely to the garage.

I just don't want to permanently damage the fridge, I was wondering if you did or not.
 
jajabee said:
This is just awesome. I'm going to start hunting for a good deal on a craigslist mini fridge. Do you have any thoughts on how I could install an observation window? Could I get some sort of thick Plexi or something that wouldn't leak all the cold out? I still get a kick out of watching the fermentation happen. :)

Something like this: eStreetPlastics - plexiglass supplier
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Yeah, that would be fantastic. Hey, mind if I rip your idea off? I think it could be easily done with a "double pane" technique on either side of the plywood. Make a frame out of benderboard or some other 1/8" thick wood and seal it all up with exterior window/door caulking. I'm always peeking in there to check fermentation, airlock activity, and temperature.
 
Do you have any thoughts on how I could install an observation window? Could I get some sort of thick Plexi or something that wouldn't leak all the cold out? I still get a kick out of watching the fermentation happen.
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Yeah, that would be fantastic. Hey, mind if I rip your idea off? I think it could be easily done with a "double pane" technique on either side of the plywood.
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Don't worry about ripping his idea off, I did it a few years ago:D
Different project, same idea.
I used two 1/4" polycarbonate sheets for my window.
ABS__Window-Installed.jpg


Final product
Finished_View.jpg


My outdated fermentation box.

SampleSlidingDoor.jpg


Cheers,
ClaudiusB
 
Inspired by this thread, I started on my fermentation chamber build tonight:

fermenter.jpg


I sized it to have room for two carboys and maybe a starter or two. Picking up the insulation tomorrow from Home Depot. Hopefully be pretty much done with it tomorrow night. Going to put the whole thing on wheels for easy mobility in my garage. Ranco controller on the way for temp control.

Thanks for the inspiration!
 
Very cool! Did you start your own thread with some more pics of the build? I'd love to see more on this project...nice work!
 
two heads, how low of a temp will your rig hold? have you tried a lager fermentaion yet? i am in the middle of building my version of your ferm chamber, will post a pictoral. thanks for the inspiration!
 
blackwaterbrewer said:
two heads, how low of a temp will your rig hold? have you tried a lager fermentaion yet? i am in the middle of building my version of your ferm chamber, will post a pictoral. thanks for the inspiration!
Click to expand...

Not sure how low it would hold yet. I've had it down to 58F, but that's it. I'll be figuring this out soon enough, because I plan to do a couple lagers soon. I don't imagine it will be a problem to hold 45F for fermentation, but any lower and I might be pushing it. Cheers!
 
Update on mine. Finally was able to find some time tonight to make good progress. Got the wheels installed, door installed (need smaller latches, though. All wood cut and installed, and 3 of the 6 sides of foam insulation are cut and installed.

I added 6 new pics to my gallery for this project at: jboehle Album - HomeBrewTalk Gallery

I think if I had another good night of free time I will be able to finish it up. Need to get some foamed insulation in a can to fill the big gaps, glue the floor, ceiling, and door insulation on, install the latches, seal all the small seams with silicone, mount the Ranco temp controller.
 
jboehle said:
Update on mine. Finally was able to find some time tonight to make good progress. Got the wheels installed, door installed (need smaller latches, though. All wood cut and installed, and 3 of the 6 sides of foam insulation are cut and installed.

I added 6 new pics to my gallery for this project at: jboehle Album - HomeBrewTalk Gallery

I think if I had another good night of free time I will be able to finish it up. Need to get some foamed insulation in a can to fill the big gaps, glue the floor, ceiling, and door insulation on, install the latches, seal all the small seams with silicone, mount the Ranco temp controller.
Click to expand...

So did you ever finish the chamber???
 
TwoHeads, you mentioned somewhere about airspace behind the insulation...what's the benefit of that?
 
NoisufnoC said:
TwoHeads, you mentioned somewhere about airspace behind the insulation...what's the benefit of that?
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A small gap between the insulation and the "skin" of your chamber (in my case, the plywood"), will increase the R rating. The air is just one more barrier between the hot outside air and the cold air inside the chamber. Same principle as a Thermos or double-paned windows. It's a lot harder for the heat to be conducted if there is no physical connection between the hot air and the cold air.
 
TwoHeadsBrewing said:
A small gap between the insulation and the "skin" of your chamber (in my case, the plywood"), will increase the R rating. The air is just one more barrier between the hot outside air and the cold air inside the chamber. Same principle as a Thermos or double-paned windows. It's a lot harder for the heat to be conducted if there is no physical connection between the hot air and the cold air.
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cool, thanks for the info.

if you dont mind, i'm going to copy your design and build in that space i described in my DIY thread. :tank:
 
NoisufnoC said:
cool, thanks for the info.

if you dont mind, i'm going to copy your design and build in that space i described in my DIY thread. :tank:
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No problem, and feel free to copy! You'll be following in the long tradition of copying others great ideas for a ferm chamber. Can't remember which one I saw first for my inspiration, but mine is certainly not original. Good luck, and be sure to post back with some pics of the build!

Cheers!
 
so if i understand correctly, you put the thin strips of framing that are on the floor on the back wall also, yes?

DSCF0060.JPG
 
TwoHeadsBrewing said:
Not necessary on the back wall, it's an insulated and shared wall with my house.
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hmm. my back wall is an insulated exterior wall. do you think its necessary?

what did you use to adhere the insulation to the wall and plywood? liquid nails or something similar?
 
NoisufnoC said:
hmm. my back wall is an insulated exterior wall. do you think its necessary?

what did you use to adhere the insulation to the wall and plywood? liquid nails or something similar?
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I wouldn't worry about it if the wall is insulated. I used liquid nails to stick the insulation on the plywood.
 
cool. thanks for all the quick replies. i'm going to start prepping my area tonight and measuring for a trip to the store
 
Some questions:

TwoHeadsBrewing said:
Not sure how low it would hold yet. I've had it down to 58F, but that's it. I'll be figuring this out soon enough, because I plan to do a couple lagers soon. I don't imagine it will be a problem to hold 45F for fermentation, but any lower and I might be pushing it. Cheers!
Click to expand...

How did your setup do for lagers? I assume you don't use it for lagering.

What size (and maybe what make and model) mini-fridge did you use? I don't want to overkill it, but I don't want to undersize it.

Any need for heat in your setup to keep up to ale fermentation temps?

I just finished an outdoors room and I am ready to build a fermentation chamber. I have looked at several and yours looks like one of the most practical for my needs.
 
marshallwms said:
Some questions:



How did your setup do for lagers? I assume you don't use it for lagering.

What size (and maybe what make and model) mini-fridge did you use? I don't want to overkill it, but I don't want to undersize it.

Any need for heat in your setup to keep up to ale fermentation temps?

I just finished an outdoors room and I am ready to build a fermentation chamber. I have looked at several and yours looks like one of the most practical for my needs.
Click to expand...

I haven't used it for lagering yet...but I have crash cooled some batches down to 40F. The fridge was on for a LONG time getting the carboys down that cool, but once there the thermal mass held temp just fine even in the hot garage. When it comes to winter I will definitely need to add a small space heater or maybe a fermwrap, in addition to a dual temp controller...I'm thinking the pre-wired dual stage Ranco. It only gets to about 45F in my garage during the winter, but still I'll need some extra heat in there through December and January.
 
Thanks for the update. That sound encouraging. I don't know how cold my room will get but I assume I will need a heater of some type in the chamber.

Any information on the size / type of mini-fridge you used?
 
Someone was looking for the plans to the workbench I built, and I finally found the article online that I used. Pretty cool workbench, very easy to build but with a lot of cool features. I've since taken out a drawer, the miter saw bay, and some shelving to make room for the fermentation chamber.

http://www.rd.com/17667/article17667.html

20030101_Garage_Workbench_page005img001_size2.jpg


20030101_Garage_Workbench_page008img001_size2.jpg


20030101_Garage_Workbench_page001img001_size2.jpg
 
I have garage envy.

Nice OP, btw. I am gonna start looking at where I can fit in one of these ferm. chambers in my garage.
 

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