attempt at swamp cooler

[Gtrfrk182]

ok so i didnt have an insulated cooler like an igloo but i did have this plastice bucket to keep a party keg in. put the fermenter bucket in with water and ice packs and put my own lid on. is this good enough to keep the temp down or did i make the lid for nothing?

also, i was thinkin about gutting my old mini fridge but after inserting thermometer on the highest temp setting, it still come out to 45 degrees ish.
any suggestions?
thanks

 

[Reelale]

You're gonna need insulation around the bucket as well. Ideally, you want a layer of air around the bucket that is insulated, i.e. a box. If you decide on the mini-fridge route, you'll need a temperature controller that will override the internal thermostat. It sounds way more complicated than it is, do a search on mini-fridge coversion, temperature controller, etc. Also, a wet t-shirt or towel wrapped around the fermenter will wick water from the bucket and cool through evaporation. That would probably be better than the lid.

 

[marubozo]

also, i was thinkin about gutting my old mini fridge but after inserting thermometer on the highest temp setting, it still come out to 45 degrees ish.
any suggestions?
thanks

If you really want to use your existing fridge you'll probably need to get a temp controller and bypass the internal thermostat.

 

[turtleboy3737]

the mini-fridge with a temp controller is what I do and it works great.

turn the fridge to full blast and set the temp controller where you want it and it keeps a very steady temp.

 

[dzlater]

I think you should be fine.
Might be a bit of a pain trying to keep the temp steady
just try and keep an eye on it
I try and get it down to the low end of yeast temp range
at the start, so if the temp does go up a bit at least you
should stay within in the range.

 

[sprocketmaker]

Looks like a good start, I'm new to brewing and just starting the agonizing battle of fermentation temp control too. I did the same thing with a big tub from lowes, and keep swapping out ice packs a couple times a day. Everyone keeps suggesting the obvious "fridge with temp controller" which I'm sure you and I would both love to have, however it may not be feasible right now. So do what you can with what you got, and look for opportunities to upgrade and improve.... I know I am. Have fun brewing!

 

[nutty_gnome]

For options that involve changing ice only once a day search here and on google for "son of fermentation chiller" or the double sized "38DD Mother of a fermentation chiller". Both are DIY and usually under 100 bucks to get up and running.

 

[Revvy]

You don't NEED an insulated cooler, it's nice if you have one, but it's not absolutely necessary. It's like anything else in brewing, there many ways to do things. And they all work.

I've been using this setup for 5 years and have never had any problems.

Basically it is a rubbermade bin, water, some frozen water bottles (you ca also chuck rock salt in) and t-shirts over the fermenters to act as wicks, drawing the cold water up and around the fermeters.

I have gotten the water in the swamp cooler down to the high 50's and the fermenter a few degrees higher.

A fan blowing on it can be used as well.

 

[Gtrfrk182]

sweet thanks alot. so ill decide on keep putting in ice packs AND buy a fan, or convert my mini fridge.
only problem with ice pack is that im not home enough to swap them out regularly. once in morning once at night usually.

 

[Bret86944]

Using ice and doing evaporative cooling somewhat condradict each other. You are going to want the ice covered and insulated and for a swamp cooler you want as much of the water as exposed to the air as possible. If you are using ice, insulate everything as much as possible and use as large of ice chunks as possible. Perhaps freezing a 2 liter of water or something like that so it lasts a long time. If you go evaporative cooling, do what Revvy did with the open container and the shirt to wick up the water. Throwing ice in an evaporative cooler won't hurt, it will just melt faster than if it's covered and insulated.

 

[kmk1012]

Will the ice bath and t shirt trick help me out enough if the room I use can get upward of 70-80 degrees during the day? I can swap out the ice probably three times daily.

 

[Bret86944]

There's really only one way to find out because there are so many factors. How much ice you use, what size chunks, what the relative humidity is, etc.

Just curious, what temperature are you shooting for?

 

[Gtrfrk182]

now to clarify, does the wort only need to be at these temps during fermentation (4-6 days)? because after that the yeast is just clearing the beer for you right?

 

[marubozo]

now to clarify, does the wort only need to be at these temps during fermentation (4-6 days)? because after that the yeast is just clearing the beer for you right?

For the most part, yes. Most of the nasty byproducts given off by yeast happen during the active fermentation stage. So, generally speaking, after the beer has fermented to final gravity you're not at as much risk of getting the off-flavors you were trying to avoid during fermentation.

That being said, there are limits. Ideally, you would like to keep your beer at a fairly steady temp all the way up until bottling, but if you want to pull it from the swamp cooler after fermentation is complete and put it someplace that might have temps in the 70s or maybe even around 80, that isn't the end of the world. You still don't want to subject your beer to really high temps if possible, but most of the damage is done early on in the fermentation.

 

[kmk1012]

I was shooting for temps around 60 degrees-to keep the flavors clean and crisp using s05

 

[Hang Glider]

Wrap the tub in a sleeping bag - that will insulate it and help it keep temps a bit longer.

 

[Svinto]

Also, a wet t-shirt or towel wrapped around the fermenter will wick water from the bucket and cool through evaporation. That would probably be better than the lid.

Is there a particular reason to use a t-shirt? The reason I ask is because I found a pretty heavy swetshirt - way to big for me - but it fits my bucket nicely and was thinking about using that with a fan for cooling.

 

[Gtrfrk182]

Wrap the tub in a sleeping bag - that will insulate it and help it keep temps a bit longer.

+1 on the sleeping bag. good idea

 

[Revvy]

Is there a particular reason to use a t-shirt? The reason I ask is because I found a pretty heavy swetshirt - way to big for me - but it fits my bucket nicely and was thinking about using that with a fan for cooling.

Anything that will act as a wick to draw water up and around the fermenter will work fine.