AC Unit Fermentation / Beer Cellaring Closet

[Cape Brewing]

Ehhhh, yeah. I think you need a new door.

I also tossed a little bucket of DampRid in my walkin. I wasn't sure it was going to help much but it seems to be helping a ton. I never got a LOT of moisture but now I get NONE

 

[kpr121]

Good call on the DampRid. I have some of that in my under bar kegerator and it does wonders for decreasing condensation.

 

[Hoosier-Brewer]

Are you finished with this project yet? I'm curious to see how it turned out.

 

[kpr121]

Nope it has fallen to the bottom of my todo list. With spring just around the corner and lots of outdoor projects coming up I doubt I will get to this for a while. At least until I get sick of using a swamp cooler for ferm...

 

[kpr121]

I did get a hollow core door for 5 bucks at a construction reuse place. Just being lazy I guess

 

[Hoosier-Brewer]

I did get a hollow core door for 5 bucks at a construction reuse place. Just being lazy I guess

You might want to add some foam insulation to the back side of that door as a hollow core has very little insulating value.

 

[kpr121]

You might want to add some foam insulation to the back side of that door as a hollow core has very little insulating value.

Good heads up, I know I originally thought about doing that but its been so long that I kinda forgot haha!

Man I really need to get going on this thing. The small window of perfect fermenting temperatures in the basement is dwindling. I had a good setup too, where I would have the ferm buckets on chairs and move them closer or further away from the fireplace depending on what temp I wanted them to be at!

 

[Hoosier-Brewer]

I'm brainstorming what to do in my basement now too. I brewed 2 days ago and I have been keeping the ferms in the spare bedroom, but when I got up this morning the temp on the primary was 74. I had to hurry up and set up a swamp cooler before work, luckily it helped and the temp is at 66 now. I don't like that much of a swing so I need to build a closet or something in my basement near the bar that is under construction, not sure what to do with it yet. Anyway, I'm subscribed so I can see how yours turns out. Good luck.

 

[kpr121]

Well, I convinced myself (and the SWMBO) that tonight was a ferm closet kinda night. Went to HD and picked up hinges for the door, some foam board insulation, more vapor barrier, and one of those contractor lights that you can plug directly into an outlet.

Finished all the vapor barrier installation. Got the entire chamber insulated besides the door. Installed the hinges on the door. Plugged the light into the temp controller (along with the AC unit and exhaust fan. Set the temp for 53 deg F, and it is churning away now. It took less than 10 minutes to get down to 59 from around 70, but now it seems like the compressor is kicking on and off. I have the temp probe (is there only one?) directly on a 45W lamp, the lamp housing is hot to the touch.

What do I have going on here?

Edit: Heres some crappy pics from my cell phone:

 

[kpr121]

Could there be some sort of safety shut off that turns the compressor off even if the temp probe is reading higher temperatures? The lamp and probe is hot (maybe too hot) to the touch.

 

[kpr121]

Well I had to abandon ship on this project. Wife needed the AC Unit for the upstairs living room (god forbid the dog gets a little warm while we are out of the house!), plus I don't think I had enough room left to right to adequately insulate and still be able to manuever around.

So I am back to square one on DIY fermentation control and long term beer storage. My temporary solution for ferm control is to use my Immersion Chiller copper coil and 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler, along with a temp controller, to recirculate water through an ice bath to maintain temp. Thread can be found here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/using-ic-mlt-fermentation-water-chiller-253770/

A possibly more permanent solution would be to attach another AC Unit to an old dead chest freezer. I have a thread on that topic here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/dead-chest-freezer-diy-solution-254489/