Chest Freezer Fermentation Question...

Hey Guys,

I've been looking into building a fermentation chamber for precisely controlling temps for my ales, and getting myself into lager brewing. I live in Southern Ontario (Canada!), and do most of my brewing in a 67-68 F basement. I'm not much of a DIY guy, so I was trying to keep things simple. I was hoping someone with a little experience could let me know if I'm headed in the right direction:

For temperature control:
Ranco ETC-111000-000 Prewired Digital Temperature Controller

A chest freezer like this:
Haier 5.0 Cu. Ft. Chest Freezer (HCM050EC) - White

and of course some small de-humidifiers combined with awesome sanitation to keep the mold away:
Eva-dry E-500 Renewable Wireless Mini Dehumidifer


Is this all I need? Will setting this up pretty much involve only some heavy lifting and plugging things in?

Thanks for the help!

 

I use the Ranco ETCs and love them. Easy to use also.

 

I would make sure to use a dual control with whatever you choose. You might be surprise how cold it will get if you don't. I like your plan - have fun!

 

I was really hoping to avoid having a heater, and the additional cost of a dual stage temp controller. In theory, I figure as long as I need temperatures below the ambient temperature I shouldn't need a heater (considering that the yeast will produce a lot of heat themselves which will get stuck inside the freezer). Can anyone else weigh in on this?

 

I thought the same thing and when the temp was 10 to 15 degrees colder than my target for 3 days my fermenter was at 50 not 63. Lucky for me I was testing it out first. I installed a dual with a standard 100 watt bulb and it works great. I ferment in SS so light is not a issue.

 

That's my philosophy. But I live in Las Vegas. And the high for today was 63 soo... I think you'll still need a heater.

 

The basement is decently climate controlled all things considered, and stays at a pretty constant 68, but I'm not going to argue with experience. Heater it is!

 

here is a thread full of fermentation chamber build information. It starts as a controller build using a cheap aquarium PID controller but there are all sorts of questions about chest freezers and heating elements

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/

 

Ah, basements. We don't have them. That would be nice though. Maybe you can get away without a heater then.