Ferm Temp Control: Upgrade MOF or Go Chest Freezer?

So I built one of the Mother of Fermentation Chillers using the Wort-o-Matic plans (www.wortomatic.com/articles/38DD-Mother-of-a-Fermentation-Chiller) and generally have enjoyed the benefits of increased control over my fermentation temps... However I'm finding there's still some significant room for improvement.

My basement (where I store my chamber) is cool, about 65F. So the cooling fan really only comes into play early in the fermentation, to help counter the natural heat the yeast produce as they do their magic.

The rest of the time, the temp drops well below my target...

So to try to fix this, I have one of those ceramic enclosed wax-melting lightbulbs that SWMBO reluctantly let me steal, and I have it hooked up to my Christmas tree timer... I just haven't been able to get a good on/off pattern identified to hold my target temp. I'm assuming it's because there are way too many variables to account for (ambient temp changes, stage of fermentation, etc) to say 30 mins on, 30 off or 1 hour on, 2 hours off.

So I've been thinking about grabbing one of those InkBird two stage controllers and replacing the thermostat from the original design with it... I'll use it to control the fan blowing air across ice, and the lamp to heat, and tape the temp probe to the outside of my fermenter.

My question is, does anyone think the effort / expense / time is worth it, or should I go with trying to find a used chest freezer and buy a temp controller for that instead? Won't I still have the same problem with needing heat?

Brian

 

Go with the chest freezer. Get the inkbird, grab your wife's heating bulb, and hook both up to the inkbird. You won't be sorry.

I started with a MOF. I upgraded to the chest freezer and have been very happy ever since.

 

That's kind of what I'm thinking too... how big of a freezer do you have? Any modifications required?

 

Chest freezer with Inkbird.They can be had for $50 on craigslist if your patient or lucky. $80 and your rollin with an inkbird.My GE 7 CF holds 2 buckets Exactly with no room to spare.ZERO modifications with a chest freezer.Velcro the Inkbird to the side and close the lid with the probe wire between the magnetic strip.I just ordered a fan to circulate the air but have used it many times with no circulation.Its plug and play with a chest freezer

 

This exactly. I have the same setup, except with a BrewPi instead of the inkbird.

 

If you need heat you can just hang 40w light bulb in the freezer plugged into the heat side of the Inkbird

 

I'm looking on craigslist to find one... Couple 5 cu ft and a 14 cu ft. If a 7 holds 2 buckets I probably don't need the 14, and the 5 may be too small...

 

You need to figure out if your ever going need 2 buckets,If not The 5 cf should work.I actually brought 2 5 gallon buckets with me to the persons house to make sure they fit before buying it. I gave them the ol' "I know this is going to sound crazy but..."

 

"Don't mind me and my buckets..."

I do have two so I think I better plan for that. Thanks for the recommendation though I'm going to look into it.

I wonder if anyone would want to buy my MOF chamber...