Ferm. Chamber for an SSBrewtech 14 gallon Conical

I'm looking at purchasing the SSBrewtech 14 gallon Chronical. I was wondering if any of you guys out there have experience properly sizing a fermentation chamber for it.

I have all the dimensions and have been looking at craigslist and various appliance stores over the last week or 2.

I'm not a DIY-er so building a refrigerated box is not an option for me. I've only found a couple of upright freezers that appear like they'd work. My biggest issue has been finding a freezer or fridge where the compressor is not in the way of the conical's legs.

I've been in direct contact with SSBrewtech and they say the max space I'd need to account for is 15.75" by 15.75" for the footprint.

Is anyone out there using this particular fermenter with an off the shelf fridge or upright freezer? If so, what dimensions do you have inside? What model is it?

I spent 20 min measuring the inside of a 16.7 cu ft Frigidaire upright at Lowe's yesterday. The price was decent and while it would be a tight fit, I think it would hold the fermenter, I am not exactly chomping at the bit to spent the cash only to find out that it's a fraction of an inch too small.

Lowe's had a bigger one that would definitely work. But the $200 price difference would likely be the difference between me going this route or not.

What upright freezer did you go with?

Put a piece of cardboard under the conical. Measure and cut the cardboard. Trawl craigslist, or go to Lowes, and take the cardboard with you. It's how I got my wine fridge sized out for my carboys. It worked so well I even had a whole 1/8th of an inch to spare

Also, I dare say just a refrigerator will work here. I got mine for $20 on craigslist, added some chalkboard paint and a controller and it's been doing me well ever since.

I went with the 16.7 cuft model at Lowes. It was on sale through Thanksgiving (about $150 off). My space concerns were unfounded. The 14 gal fermenter fits easily with no mods to the door. All I have to do is pop out the removable shelves

Keeping an eye out for a GDM-10 on CL myself, same fermentor.

Todd

Will the Chronical fit in a GDM 10? what is the actual height of the internal part of the GDM-10 as the condenser and fan take up some of the total height.

I think the gdm 10 only has 31inches height inside. You might need the gdm 12

Ah, someone had put a 14 gallon in a gdm-10, turns out it was a Stout. Glad this was pointed out!!

Todd

Can't say I can tell ya what fridges it will fit inside but it doesn't take up much space. Mine is in my old 1940s fridge. I had to get a little crazy and cut the back two legs off a few inches it to accomodate for the compressor in the back of my fridge but considering I only take it out of my fridge for cleaning I was okay with doing that.

I'm actually going to a similar setup with two 14's and looking at true single door commercial fridges. You can get them on Craigslist for about 400 if you stay vigilant. I'm going that route over residential fridges cause I'd like to show off the twin ss's

scottcamps said:

I'm actually going to a similar setup with two 14's and looking at true single door commercial fridges. You can get them on Craigslist for about 400 if you stay vigilant. I'm going that route over residential fridges cause I'd like to show off the twin ss's

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It depends where you live. I'm in Massachusetts and people have the nerve to ask $900 for a best up old true. If you are in Cali or the Midwest I see the same ones for $200-300. I will keep looking though.

scottcamps said:

I'm actually going to a similar setup with two 14's and looking at true single door commercial fridges. You can get them on Craigslist for about 400 if you stay vigilant. I'm going that route over residential fridges cause I'd like to show off the twin ss's

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It depends where you live. I'm in Massachusetts and people have the nerve to ask $900 for a best up old true. If you are in Cali or the Midwest I see the same ones for $200-300. I will keep looking though.

Feurhund said:

It depends where you live. I'm in Massachusetts and people have the nerve to ask $900 for a best up old true. If you are in Cali or the Midwest I see the same ones for $200-300. I will keep looking though.

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Very true, thats rough. Thats heading toward retail. In that case I would probably head to a regular fridge and use the saved money on a great temp control system or something fun

FYI- The triclamp racking arm from morebeer fits the 7 gal chronical nicely and the sample port is a nice feature.

Everything gets pretty tight clearance wise with all triclamps, but it works!

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berrywise said:

Can't say I can tell ya what fridges it will fit inside but it doesn't take up much space. Mine is in my old 1940s fridge. I had to get a little crazy and cut the back two legs off a few inches it to accomodate for the compressor in the back of my fridge but considering I only take it out of my fridge for cleaning I was okay with doing that.

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You dont have to remove it for racking?

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Well it took me a year of scouring craigslist, but I have my two Trues!

I bought some heavy duty casters on eBay and I can roll these anywhere I need. They are both hooked up to Flashed STC 1000s so I can ramp and program ferm profiles.

Loving the ease of use and they look great too.

I ended up spending about $400 each delivered and had to replace a $30 condenser fan, ironically on the newer one, but they are working great.

Feurhund said:

Well it took me a year of scouring craigslist, but I have my two Trues!

I bought some heavy duty casters on eBay and I can roll these anywhere I need. They are both hooked up to Flashed STC 1000s so I can ramp and program ferm profiles.

Loving the ease of use and they look great too.

I ended up spending about $400 each delivered and had to replace a $30 condenser fan, ironically on the newer one, but they are working great.

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What model Trues are those? I have a 14.5 gal Ferminator that needs a good chamber. I already have the flashed stc-1000. I really like the look of those, can you lager with them too?

Grizz said:

What model Trues are those? I have a 14.5 gal Ferminator that needs a good chamber. I already have the flashed stc-1000. I really like the look of those, can you lager with them too?

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True GDM-12 is ideal for a 14 gallon fermenter. They will drop below freezing so you certainly can lager in them. I have a few times.

Chris

What he said

Feurhund said:

FYI- The triclamp racking arm from morebeer fits the 7 gal chronical nicely and the sample port is a nice feature.

Everything gets pretty tight clearance wise with all triclamps, but it works!

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Have you tried harvesting yeast with the sight glass horizontal like that? I'm wondering how well it works.

There is a less expensive alternative which works quite well... a chiller (whether it be a homemade unit made from an old window air conditioner and cooler or a store bought beverage chiller) along with some pvc plumbing and one of these $2 solenoid valves http://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-So...467278?hash=item3a9efcbf0e:g:wOAAAOSwyZ5Ul3s9 along with an stc 1000 to control it and a dual relay to kick on the pump along with opening thae valves and you dont need "chambers" you can control everything more efficiently with one compressor/chiller. I insulated all my conicals with double bubble foil insulation wrap which works very well and holds temps very well.... I have no problems controlling all three of my conicals (2 12.5 gallon models and one 7.3 gallon) this way with much less electricity. I have found that wrapping this cheap discharge hose also available from the home depot, around the outside of the conical works VERY well to control temps)http://www.ebay.com/itm/330900552367?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

here is my (messy at the moment) setup besides the conicals and chiller I would say I have about $200-$250 in the build. and I have the means to control 4 conicals along with heating strips for each.and each having its own temp setpoint control.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=497593&page=18

just another option to consider... and yes you can easily dress it up for those just as concerned with looks as function. I also flashed my stcs with @alphaomega s code

PrayCop said:

You dont have to remove it for racking?

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I rack using a pump so no need to remove it. I can either just drape my hose over the top with the lid off or I can rack up through the sampling port.

My most recent addition. I picked this up on craigslist from a church that "went out of business" for a hundred bucks. My next plan is to make a new sign for the top and incorperate my temp controller into the actual fridge itself.