My fermentation chamber build question

So!

Thanks to HBT, I've finally built myself a fermentation chamber. It's 64" wide, 32" deep, and forgot how tall, but as you can see from the pics, it's tall enough to accommodate corny kegs. Not shown in these pics is a 5,000 btu window AC unit I'm using to cool it, and the A419 controller I bought on ebay that has yet to arrive.

Instead of 2x4's, I built the frame out of some maple 1x6's that I ripped in half with my trusty Pax hand saw. (Nothing quite like hand-ripping 24 feet of maple straight in half to make you feel like a man.) Anyway, it's really light without the AC unit.

I do have one question: is a 5000 btu window unit enough to get this thing down to lagering temperatures?


Sawing. I need better/more clamps! And actual saw horses. Those are just the bottom supports for a crappy Ikea drafting table. Sigh.


My new fermentation chamber. I fit in it! :rockin: up to 8+ carboys, or a bunch more corny kegs, it seems.


This one gives a decent sense of scale.

Thoughts? Questions? Hope I did this right...

 

It looks great. It will definitely keep it cold for ales. I don't know if that will get it down to the 40s to lager but it might. You could always put water in soda bottles, freeze them and put them in there with the AC going if it doesn't get cold enough. Have about 5 of those in there should keep it cold for a while.

My question though, how are you going to vent the AC outside? I know most AC units have an exhaust vent that needs to go outside. I'm not exactly sure but I don't think you would just want to turn the AC on and have it vent into your basement or where ever this is.

 

Holy SH*T ... ripping maple with a hand saw ... that's bad ass! Looks good.

 

I tried running it and it didn't seem to generate too much heat. I'm hoping once my A419 finally gets here it won't cycle more than once an hour or so. Keeping my fingers crossed on that one for sure! The insulation is 1.5" thick and I think I did a decent job of sealing the gaps with caulk/Great Stuff, so once there's something with some thermal mass in there it should hold.

I'll post my results.

 

The exhaust vent could go anywhere I would think - but how will you catch the condensation being dripped from the A/C? You have plenty of options, just be sure to think of that.

I once had a tenant that had a window A/C in. I should have installed it for her. Idiot had it slanted forward, condensation dripped inside. Her solution was to put a towel below it. About 1 month later, the floor below had a closet light burn out. Upon further inspection, the light fixture was filled with water...... could have ended worse then it did.

 

Thanks, luke, for the heads up. I'll keep an eye on condensation. Cookie sheet will do it, I bet.

 

Update:

Since I figured out where to place the thermostat, I have no real condensation problems to speak of. The unit doesn't cycle enough. If I were to cool the chamber down to lagering temps, I'd see some for sure, but at the moment I haven't had any issues.

I think I'll eventually replace the Johnson controller with an aquarium thermostat so I can heat things. Chicago winters can suck a D.

All in all, very happy!

 

You can use a Johnson Controller for heating or cooling. The analog Johnson requires moving a power lead on the internal switch and a jumper on the digital version. Very easy to do.

 

Yeah, I'll be doing that as soon as Chicago weather makes up its damn mind. I'd prefer to have a dual-stage, though, simply for peace of mind. Temp swings are erratic around here and my parents are kind enough to host my brewing equipment as SWMBO and I live in a condo with too many rules. Being far away from your bubbling airlocks is sad.

 

One WORD ...........Table Saw..........Table Saw is what your looking for.

Really Man, Thats a ballsy job. Bet you worked up a sweat !

I hope your trusty handsaw was a ripping saw, and a very SHARP one at that!

Anyway, your project looks great. Nice work ! :rockin:

 

DEFINITELY looking for a table saw. There's nothing clever about ripping stock by hand, at least not that much. But I'm new to hand tools, and I bought a couple of Pax saws so I thought I'd give it a whirl. By the third board I was able to keep the line pretty darn straight. Chalked it up to my exercise for the day.

Pax saws are totally awesome by the way: http://www.flinn-garlick-saws.co.uk/acatalog/Pax_Range.html