air conditioner for fermentation

[zrule]

I am using a controller to operate a air conditioner for a fermentation chamber that is 4X4 foot square. Does anyone know: Do ac's restart after the power is cut by the controller. I am looking at a 5-6k btu ac. If so which ones

 

[brew_ny]

I am using a controller to operate a air conditioner for a fermentation chamber that is 4X4 foot square. Does anyone know: Do ac's restart after the power is cut by the controller. I am looking at a 5-6k btu ac. If so which ones

I do not believe you will find one that you can just turn off the power then turn it back on and have it start cooling again

if you are thinking of using a STC 1000

someone on here did a DYI walk in cooler with an AC as I remember he had to remove the thermostat or wire it different and have the controller replace it

all the best

S_M

 

[actech]

Probably need to locate an old energy INefficient one without digital controls to get it to turn back on. Some ptac units will (hotel room units) but they also incorporate room freeze protection so it would want to bring on heat after you got below 40*

 

[Takuie]

I am using a controller to operate a air conditioner for a fermentation chamber that is 4X4 foot square. Does anyone know: Do ac's restart after the power is cut by the controller. I am looking at a 5-6k btu ac. If so which ones

If your ac unit has push buttons to operate, then probably not. You will need to wire your controller into the units t-stat and not have it plugged into the controllers switched power plug so that the ac unit stays powered on. If it's an older one where you have to physically turn dials to change settings, then yes it should work but to be safe I would make sure your external controller has a start delay and set it 5 minutes.

Knowing make and model number of ac unit would help as well.

 

[unionrdr]

Dang. I was going to build one like that myself with a small 1 room A/C unit. Not much for rewiring things.

 

[eric19312]

Why not use a mini-fridge instead of the ac unit?

 

[Takuie]

Why not use a mini-fridge instead of the ac unit?

That could easily be done as well!

 

[zrule]

Bought a cheapo 5000 btu ac from menards. Hooked in to controller and it works great. will not be able to lager anything but it will keep fermenter at 67 f. I have not tried lower. I have a 4X4 well insulated chamber inside a metal sided pole building that gets really hot and the ac hardly runs at all. Very happy with set up. Have 4" Styrofoam panels and 6" fiberglass on walls and 18" fiberglass in ceiling.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I have a digital unit with push buttons that remembers the settings. I use it for a glycol chiller. It works great! YMMV.

 

[m00ps]

Is no one going to address that weird ass first post? Obviously like some random ad or something. Dude created an account just to post to this thread.

Also, mine remember the last settings or mode it was on when it turns back on.

 

[brandondrury]

Do ac's restart after the power is cut by the controller.

Mine does, but I believe this is a malfunction. It also ignores its stock thermostat......which is why I wanted to use it for a fermentation box....to my peril.

I don't believe modding an AC to work like this on purpose is all that challenging, but I got lucky and avoided all of that effort

Just a word of warning. Using ambient air to fight off that monster that is the fermenting wort is tough for an AC designed to run at 68F. Here's a decent metaphor. I ran bath water for my 2 year old that was way too hot. I can turn down the AC to the house (or even the bathroom...somehow) or I can dump cold water into the bath. The solution in that case is obvious. I don't see it being much different with fermenting. Air is slow.

I have a box that can hold 8 buckets of wort that is highly insulated. To fight off the fermentation heat, the ambient air needs to be about 42 degrees for me. That pretty much guarantees that the AC will freeze up. That's wasting a ton of "cold" that isn't making it to the beer simply because air stinks at conducting heat. (Not to mention that all my other buckets of beer will have to go down in temp, too.)

There are threads around here that debate the AC vs the mini-fridge / freezer vs using water to control temps. The minifridge is still using air, but it's designed to get down that cold without freezing up. It's a quick solution and clearly works based on positive experiences of others.

I decided that the AC route was not acceptable for the temp control I required, but I still use it kinda. I now simply keep my AC box at 68F and use "local" cooling/heating for each fermenter. The new plan is to get larger buckets filled with water that I place the 5 gallon fermenter buckets in. Water will conduct heat much better than air. I'm combining that with the t-shirt-over-the-fermenter wicking technique. It worked extremely well last time. I'm designing my system now to pump in cold water to that water reservoir when necessary and I'll heat the water with an aquarium heater when necessary. I'm basically regulating the crap out of the water and using Arduinos to do it automatically on an individual bucket basis.

All of this is over the top, but I want the ability to ramp up the temp of a saison while keeping an IPA down at 63 while keeping a brown ale at 68F while another batch is just waiting to be bottled at 68F. This is what I came up with, but I'm comfortable with Arduinos, programming, and electronics (give or take).

The great thing about using water is it will keep the swings in temp VERY smooth....kinda like riding in a Cadillac. Yeast like that. Any deviations will be gradual. That's something that air versions can't compete with, although it's really only a major factor during the first day or two of primary fermentation. Most people with fridges seem to do alright.

If you aren't technical, go the fridge or freezer......or do everything you can to get the heat out of your primary fermenter and into your box or your AC will freeze up.

Brandon