So what sort of a freezer should I be looking for? Kegs and fermenters need to fit.

[PersonalBrewer]

I have been brewing for several years, this year I tried to build up a supply of kegs of beer so I wouldn't have to brew in the heat. Stored them at room temp.

Bad idea, ten gallons oxidized on me - so much that I don't want to drink it.

So, I'm thinking a freezer that I can use a Johnson control with to keep the temp above freezing.

I have an igloo keezer that's seven cubic feet or so and it holds three kegs, plus CO2 on the shelf above the compressor part.

I have never done cold crashing or lagering, so have no idea what type I should be looking for. Would try them if I had the ability to do so.

In pics that people have posted I see a wide variety.

Hopefully someone will suggest what type and size (stand up, chest, etc.) will suit a variety of brewing needs.

I'm looking for something I can buy at home depot or lowe's

 

[day_trippr]

Can you refine your usage model for this new appliance?
Note that holding finished beer in kegs in the same chamber with fermenting beer is impractical...

Cheers!

 

[PersonalBrewer]

I never had the opportunity to cold crash, or lager, or whatever so didn't pay much attention.

I would like to keep some kegs cold at a minimum.

If there are other uses I could do at the same time that would be great.

I have a wine cooler that will hold two speidel 8 gal fermenters at appropriate temps for most yeast recommendations but the cooler won't go below 54 degrees or so.

 

[Spundit]

Here are some generalized bulletpoints that you may find helpful
1. You can usually fit more kegs in a chest freezer as compared to the same size upright freezer or fridge.
2. It is generally easier to lift kegs in and out of an upright.
3. Some like to use a traditional fridge with a freezer on top. They are cheap used, don't require a temp controller and the freezer can be used to store hops etc.
3. A 5cu ft chest freezer will usually fit 2 kegs "on the floor" a 3rd might fit on the hump if you add a wood collar.
4. A 7 cu ft chest freezer will fit 3 or 4 kegs on the floor. At least one more on the hump with a wood collar.
5. Here are a couple 7 cu ft models that will fit 4 ball lock kegs on the floor IME. There seems to be be lot of variation so always measure yourself before purchase.
-Highsense fc70d6ewd (wallmart)
-vissani mdcf7wh (homedepot)

Good Luck

 

[layd0g]

I have been brewing for several years, this year I tried to build up a supply of kegs of beer so I wouldn't have to brew in the heat. Stored them at room temp.

Bad idea, ten gallons oxidized on me - so much that I don't want to drink it.

So, I'm thinking a freezer that I can use a Johnson control with to keep the temp above freezing.

I have an igloo keezer that's seven cubic feet or so and it holds three kegs, plus CO2 on the shelf above the compressor part.

I have never done cold crashing or lagering, so have no idea what type I should be looking for. Would try them if I had the ability to do so.

In pics that people have posted I see a wide variety.

Hopefully someone will suggest what type and size (stand up, chest, etc.) will suit a variety of brewing needs.

I'm looking for something I can buy at home depot or lowe's

Not meant to hijack, but I'm confused by this... I have a similar approach where I'll brew 3-5 batches back to back and store them in a keg (on gas) in a closet at room temp... my pumpkin I actually brew in March and let it sit until late Sept. I have never experienced an oxidation issue with any them.

So I have a couple questions for the bigger brains here (pretty much everyone)... can oxidation occur by leaving beer in kegs at room temp? If so, why have I not experienced this? Or is it possible that OPs keg wasn't sealed properly thus causing the oxidation issue.

 

[Henbrew]

Not meant to hijack, but I'm confused by this... I have a similar approach where I'll brew 3-5 batches back to back and store them in a keg (on gas) in a closet at room temp... my pumpkin I actually brew in March and let it sit until late Sept. I have never experienced an oxidation issue with any them.

So I have a couple questions for the bigger brains here (pretty much everyone)... can oxidation occur by leaving beer in kegs at room temp? If so, why have I not experienced this? Or is it possible that OPs keg wasn't sealed properly thus causing the oxidation issue.

Oxidation, for most, is a problem once fermentation ends. Oxidation can occur when transferring the beer to the keg and from oxygen being trapped inside the keg with the beer after transferring. Purging the keg with CO2 and/or doing a closed transfer between fermenter and keg are a some ways to avoid oxidation. Storing the beer cold will reduce the speed at which the beer will oxidize but won't prevent it. Basically, a well packaged keg/bottle shouldn't oxidize at room temperature, at least in any reasonable amount of time.

 

[PersonalBrewer]

While I did purge the kegs after filling by CO2 several times, I wasn't paying attention to oxygen when brewing and doing 10 gal BIAB in a 15 gal kettle and wasn't paying any attention to oxidation while brewing or fermenting or kegging. The Marzan was kegged April 22 and sat at room temp never getting higher than 73 in July. I'm in South Carolina.

Was off a bit July 28.

My Local home brew supply suggested I should serve it, it was off so little that he said he probably wouldn't have noticed had I not brought him a sample and asked what was wrong.

I'm now reading threads on low oxygen brewing and looking for a way to keep kegs cold.

 

[PersonalBrewer]

Here .snipped..
.....least one more on the hump with a wood collar.
5. Here are a couple 7 cu ft models that will fit 4 ball lock kegs on the floor IME. There seems to be be lot of variation so always measure yourself before purchase.
-Highsense fc70d6ewd (wallmart)
-vissani mdcf7wh (homedepot)

Good Luck

Thanks, I appreciate your pointing me in the right direction.

Question: what do you mean by a wood collar?

Edited to add: OOps brain fart, I was thinking adding a collar to the keg and you obviously meant adding a collar to the freezer.

I do sincerely appreciate your post.

 

[eric19312]

If I was storing kegs at room temperature and didn't have skills and tools to do a really good closed transfer I'd prime the kegs with sugar when filling. Free CO2 and the yeast activity will scavenge oxygen.

 

[PersonalBrewer]

Off topic

A new way of looking at things for me.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forums/low-oxygen-brewing.282/
I've been focusing on recipes and ABV and nailing my Specific Gravities.

Now, it appears there are ways to be a better brewer that I haven't thought about.

 

[10_degrees_play-doh]

I've got a chest freezer that I got a few years after turning another one into a keezer that is supposedly rated for garages. Of course, that one sits inside while the keezer, not so advertized, sits in the garage for childproofing reasons... I'm not sure exactly which aspect(s) are engineered differently, if there are in fact any and it's not an advertising gimmick, but something to think about.

 

[jerrylotto]

Chest freezers are liquid tight, uprights aren't. I had a disaster with a cracked yeast collection jar that dumped 5 gal of fermenting wort into the bottom of my chest freezer. Unplugged and allowed to it to melt (it had frozen on the bottom) and removed it all with a wet vac. I cant imagine what a disaster that would have been in an upright!

By itself, the chest freezer wasn't tall enough, so when I bought it, I removed the lid and built a 2' tall insulated box and mounted the lid on it. The box sits on top of the chest freezer and the hinges are attached to the box. I added two fold down feet to support the box when it is open. I also built a false bottom so the entire inside base is flat. Now I have 46" clearance and the full width of the chest freezer to ferment, lager or store stuff.

 

[Beermeister32]

You need a strong back if you are planning on moving full kegs in and out of a chest freezer repeatedly. My advise is to use a mini refrigerator with a plug-in digital temp controller. You can front load these, much easier on the back.

I have a bank of 6 of these currently running in my garage, some set to fermenting temperatures 50F - 66F for example; others set for lagering kegs at 34F or for storing cans and bottles. Very convenient, I can adjust each fridge for whatever temp I need from 32F freezing up to ambient which here in SoCal is usually around 75-90F.

Some are fitted with taps for drinking - very interesting to see the progress as beers lager over time!

 

[Golddiggie]

For the oxidization issue, try fermenting under pressure. Use any of the spunding valves out there (I liked the Blowtie when using kegmenters) and you'll seriously reduce/eliminate the oxidization risk for the batches. Purge the fermenter with CO2 post yeast pitch and you're one step closer to removing the risk completely.

As already mentioned, using a closed transfer method is another step you can take. IME, it's an easy one.
Depending on what you use to pressure ferment, you could [also] fully carbonate in fermenter. I'm doing that with my conical fermenters and really like how it works.

I had a fermentation chamber for a while (built last year, sold it this year) before I moved to using conical fermenters with a glycol chiller. Don't think I'll ever go back to a chamber and such. I can set the temperature for either fermenter, with them being far apart, without difficulty. Such as fermenting one at 70F and chilling the other to either harvest yeast (45F) or carbonate (35-38F). Or swing the temperature on the batch aging with oak from 75F to 40F with it sitting at either temperature for a couple/few days at a time.

 

[PersonalBrewer]

You guys have really given me some things to think about.

Having to work a good bit more than usual so brew related interests are going to take a back seat for a while.

 

[hottpeper13]

I was giver a side by side and gutted the doors and water system in the freezer. Hooked it up to my Johnson control and set the freezer to 33*. After the alterations the fridge section wouldn't fire up but with the pass thru it stays between 42 and 52. The freezer holds 3 kegs and has CO2. the fridge can either hold 2-6.5 gal fermenter at 2 different temps(have heat wrap for top one), or my 15 gal Fermzilla.
It's great having a lagering chamber, when a keg kicks in the 4- tap kegerator the next one is carbed and ready to serve.

 

[PersonalBrewer]

Thanks to all who posted to this thread and anyone who comes across this thread later on.

I wound up buying a HiSense 8.7 cu ft from Lowe's

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hisense-8-7-cu-ft-Chest-Freezer-White/1002937128#preview-specifications
The one I picked up and brought home will hold four five gallon corny kegs . The interior foot print not counting compressor shelf was 17 x 24.

I had to buy it not knowing whether I could get it in the back of the Volvo, or whether it would hold the kegs. I did have 30 days to take it back for my money back.

They didn't have a display, and I will note that the manufacturers seem to not care about changes during a run, interior dimensions, packing crate dimensions, etc.

Mine holds four kegs, I'm uncertain that another model would.

 

[Beermeister32]

Make sure to work out some system for lifting kegs and/or carboys so you don’t throw out your back:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/2013/07/12/lifting-carboys-and-kegs-with-a-pulley-in-the-brew-shed/

 

[PersonalBrewer]

Thanks Beermeister appreciate your postings.