Fermentation Closet almost done

Started with a sided-by-side fridge that a friend gave me. Gutted it and went from there. I was a bit disappointed ot find the cooling line in the partition between the fridge and freezer, but I can still get a carboy behind it.

As is it will hold 6 carboys with plenty of room. If I ever need more it shouldn't be a problem to add a shelf for a total of 10.

I would like to find something to put on the front of the door to act as a dry erase board. Any ideas? I was wondering if the right sort of laminate would work.

Wow that looks great! Is the insulating foam sturdy enough to walk on with just that sheet of OSB on it?

Very nice! Have you thought about chalkboard paint?

dRapp, the OSB on top of the foam board is definitely sturdy enough to walk on. Those small partitions are only about 12" apart.

kpr121, the chalkboard paint did cross my mind but I assumed I would still have to put something on top of the foamboard to apply the paint to. My preference would be dry erase over chalk (I think) and I'm guessing the price would be comparable.

BTW, I do need to give kudos to the wife for helping me put the door on. She wondered if the closet was really built to store a corpse and then encouraged me to get back to brewing (so there would be no room for a corpse, I suppose).

they actually sell sheets of 'dry erase board' at lowes and such, it's reasonably priced also. i used a sheet of it to replace the door guts on my original kegerator. your chamber looks really nice by the way!

edit: you might consider a fan of some sort to help circulate air. maybe the fridge one is enough, i dunno.

Thanks for the tip on the dry erase board, android.

I was just checking out your thermostat and ebay temp controller links. Have you found either to be more preferable than the other?

Perhaps a fan on top of the fridge, too, to circulate the air behind and under it - As awesome as this looks (and it does!) it also looks like the compressor and coils will be stewing in stagnant air...

I would like to second Hang Gliders comment. I just cooled 5.5 gallons in my fermenter (an old chest freezer) from 85 to 60, and the heat on the compressor was bad enough that that it stopped working for a while (and was making some unpleasant noises). I can't imagine that this is good from a longevity standpoint. I put a temporary fan on it, and it started working again, but that is definitely going to have to become permanent. I imagine I will run the circuit for that off of the temp controller so that the fan on the compressor runs whenever the compressor itself is running, and shuts off when not needed.

Good point on the airflow/fans.

Those partitions basically ended up as a duct to the front of the original fridge. Wonder if I could get by with one or two fans there?

This summer that utility room has stayed between 68-72, so I'd like to think it wouldn't be running a terrible amount. Never paid attention to temps in that room during the winter....

I noticed that it looked like there was a straight shot from the front at the bottom to the back of the fridge and room on top as well. If that is the case you could work with the natural convection that will inevitably try to draw some air up and out, by using a fan to either push cool air in at the bottom, or pull warm air out at the top. It might be worthwhile to stick a temperature probe back there during the early running to see just how warm it is getting back there. If it is getting too hot not only will lifespan of the compressor suffer, but so will the efficiency of the appliance.

Not that homebrewers are obsessed with efficiency or anything

Great looking build by the way!

Got the door covered with dry erase board from Home Depot (thanks for the heads up, android).

Now I'm debating what approach to take for temp control and would appreciate any input.

Factors (?):

• I'm content with brewing just ales.
• Next temp monitoring/control challenge will be a keezer.
• In future I'd like to switch from keggle thermometers to probes.
• I have spare pc's that can be used and a network drop in this room.

I've seen various solutions with an Adruino, aquarium controller, Johnson controller, etc.. I'm very tempted to take the quick and easy way out of this and just get the $60 Johnson controller from Northern Brewer.

Any opinions on what might be the better solution?

deprecated said:

Got the door covered with dry erase board from Home Depot (thanks for the heads up, android).

Now I'm debating what approach to take for temp control and would appreciate any input.

Factors (?):

• I'm content with brewing just ales.
• Next temp monitoring/control challenge will be a keezer.
• In future I'd like to switch from keggle thermometers to probes.
• I have spare pc's that can be used and a network drop in this room.

I've seen various solutions with an Adruino, aquarium controller, Johnson controller, etc.. I'm very tempted to take the quick and easy way out of this and just get the $60 Johnson controller from Northern Brewer.

Any opinions on what might be the better solution?

Click to expand...

You just listed a pile of great options!

I have a Ranco on my keezer, a Love TS2 on my kegerator, An Auber PID on my element controller, and I'm working on a BCS

My advise:
If you want plug and play, you can't beat a Ranco/Johnson
If you want to wire it, or install it all pretty in the door, buy a TS2 or eBay aquarium controller
If you want to geek out on it, go for automation

Beautiful! I like it! Color me jealous. I'm hoping to get the ball rolling on my space soon. Just found an AC unit, need to test it, and found a half finished box, maybe 3'x5'x3' or so.. now I just need to find the time!

Also, for temp control, I built a dual stage controller from one of the ebay aquarium deals. Seems to work fine. I just threw it all in a 4x4 enclosure box.