Cheap and Easy Fermentation Chamber

[Trubadour]

I have a fermentation fridge that works great, but found the need recently to have 2 different spaces of different temps for lagering, so I decided to put an unused mini-fridge to use.

Total cost = $60
3 hours labor

Plywood: $12
Latch: $1
Caulk: $3
Styrofoam insulation: $10
Foil insulation: $25
Fan: $10

Cut to size, check the fit, and attach

Put the top part of the box on and moved it into place

Caulk around the edges

Add styrofoam insulation

And then reflective foil insulation

Put the door on

Secure with a latch to keep the door nice and tightly shut

Install fan

Plenty of room for 2 carboys or 5 cornies for lagering

And voila, a new member of the family

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

Sweet! looks like a job well done.

Do you think you will need a temp controller for that setup?

 

[Trubadour]

Sweet! looks like a job well done.

Do you think you will need a temp controller for that setup?

Thanks. I probably will. I'm testing now to see if it holds a steady temp, but since I'll be using it for lagering, the cold temps won't be an issue. I just don't know how consistent it will be.

 

[Trubadour]

I brewed a lager this morning and this new "lagering fridge" is having a hard time getting low enough temps, so I put my 2 ales from my other ferment fridge in there and lowered the temp in the other for lagering. It's a full-size fridge, unmodified except for the temp controller, so it should do a much better job lagering.

 

[CaliBrewin]

killer modification

kudos

what are the interior dimentions of the whole new set-up?

 

[sethful]

nicely done!

 

[magnj]

Great, this is exactly what I plan to do with mine, how often is it clicking on for you?

 

[Trubadour]

killer modification

kudos

what are the interior dimentions of the whole new set-up?

Not exactly sure, but I think I'm going to modify it a bit to make it smaller. Right now it will hold 2 carboys plus room to spare. It's kind of a pain to get carboys in and out of the back, and even though I insulated the hell out of it, it seems to run too much.

 

[Trubadour]

Great, this is exactly what I plan to do with mine, how often is it clicking on for you?

It's really, really hot here right now, and it's in my garage, so it was constantly running. It didn't want to get any colder than 65* and I wanted to use it for lagering. So since 65* is good for ales, I moved those to this fridge and lowered the temp on my other to lager in, but it freaked that fridge out and started spewing water all over the inside. It's really old and apparently got pissed off when I tried to get it to 50*.

I unplugged for now until I figure something else out. However, this would work great if it was inside. It just has to work too hard in 100*+ weather all day.

 

[meluvbeer]

From looking at your pics with the two carboys in there. It looks like
about 9 or 10 inches could be cut off from the front of the fridge
fairly easily. That most defenitly would help with the run time of the
compressor. Awesome job and a great idea Kudos to you!!! I just
might have to build one like this...

 

[Trubadour]

From looking at your pics with the two carboys in there. It looks like
about 9 or 10 inches could be cut off from the front of the fridge
fairly easily. That most defenitly would help with the run time of the
compressor. Awesome job and a great idea Kudos to you!!! I just
might have to build one like this...

Thanks. Good luck with yours

 

[Calico Jack]

What are you running the fan off of?

 

[Trubadour]

What are you running the fan off of?

I plugged it straight in to an extension chord - no wiring was needed. I was going to buy a computer fan and power supply from radio shack, but stopped by Lowes on the way for something else and ran across this...

O2COOL at Lowe's: 5" Battery or Electric Portable Fan

Cheaper than a computer fan and no wiring needed. I just taped it to the roof of the fridge and ran the wire out the front to an extension chord

 

[mattmcl]

I've been thinking about doing one of these too. Very much along the lines of what you did, only I want to use weatherstripping between the box and the fridge, and secure the box to the fridge with ratchet straps. That way I can pull the box off to load and unload. I'm only doing one carboy at a time too. I'm curious to know if your plywood is getting damp from condensation too.

 

[Calico Jack]

I plugged it straight in to an extension chord - no wiring was needed. I was going to buy a computer fan and power supply from radio shack, but stopped by Lowes on the way for something else and ran across this...

O2COOL at Lowe's: 5" Battery or Electric Portable Fan

Cheaper than a computer fan and no wiring needed. I just taped it to the roof of the fridge and ran the wire out the front to an extension chord

Awesome. I think I'll be doing this in the near future. I too have an extra fridge that I'm not using.

 

[Trubadour]

I'm curious to know if your plywood is getting damp from condensation too.

Nope, not at all. Plenty of insulation