A/C Ferm Chamber question

[newdamage1]

I was testing out the lager capabilities of my recently built A/C based fermenter, and I noticed even after the temp probe was relocated out of the chamber, the ambient garage temps here (Clemson, SC) are low enough to kick the compressor off.

I did a bit of reading here, and found a few warning posts about winter time A/C running (destroying the compressors), and a few more saying "Naa, dont worry about it."

My Question, can/should I use a window A/C unit in 40° - 60° weather to lager down to 33°? I am also looking for a few suggestions/ideas on how to correct the temp on the probe, (maybe a light bulb?) if its OK to do so.

-Kelly

 

[Redwiggler]

I was wondering the same thing, just starting to cool off in south Ga. let me know how the lite bulb works out. this is my first fall/winter season with my A/C fermentor, I only do ales but the Temp swings down here can be 40+ degrees in my garage.

 

[ilikethetrees]

DON'T DO THIS BECAUSE ELECTRICITY KILLS!

However, I was able to pretty easily bypass the internal thermostat in my AC unit. Mine has an analog control system. If your AC unit has printed circuit boards, bypassing the thermostat might be more difficult.

As far as killing your compressor, I suppose it's possible, I've never tried lagering with my setup. I do know that the AC unit can get temps cold enough in my chamber, but it's never run long enough for me to really have a sense of the wear it has on the unit. If you do decide to do that, I suggest making sure your insulation job is stellar.

Mine is big enough to crawl inside, and from there I can feel if any air is moving and see any light coming through the door, which is the weakest part of my design.

Good luck!

 

[newdamage1]

DON'T DO THIS BECAUSE ELECTRICITY KILLS!

However, I was able to pretty easily bypass the internal thermostat in my AC unit. Mine has an analog control system. If your AC unit has printed circuit boards, bypassing the thermostat might be more difficult.

As far as killing your compressor, I suppose it's possible, I've never tried lagering with my setup. I do know that the AC unit can get temps cold enough in my chamber, but it's never run long enough for me to really have a sense of the wear it has on the unit. If you do decide to do that, I suggest making sure your insulation job is stellar.

Mine is big enough to crawl inside, and from there I can feel if any air is moving and see any light coming through the door, which is the weakest part of my design.

Good luck!

I looked over the circuits when I was moving the temp probe, its not a printed board, it looked like an strip-board to me. I image I could tinker with it a bit, but lastnight I stuck a 150w bulb next to the probe as a test, and I did get it to kick on and cool.

It's really only a month or two a year I would have to worry about this (Fall/Spring), I'm not sure I want to risk killing this A/C unit for such a small amount of time.

I was thinking, since I have 30CuFt to play with and currently only doing 10Gal batches. I may cut the chamber in half with a divider and temporarily tweak it into a "son of" type of cooler, and just stick to ale's in the fall/spring, and do my lagers in the spring/summer when I know the A/C will be OK to keep things really cold.