Chest Freezer/Garage Question

[AJStank]

Hi everyone,
I've got an old chest freezer in the garage that SWMBO is willing to let me convert into a lagering/fermentation vessel. I'm planning on buying a temperature control device to let me regulate the temperature inside the freezer, would I need to drill into the freezer to run the probe?

My other concern is the fact that my garage runs from about 45-50 degrees in the winter. Would I have trouble getting the freezer temp up to the 60-70 degree range for ale fermentation?

Thanks for the input!

 

[Swib]

I would suggest building the STC-1000 2-Stage Temperature Controller (AKA the ebay controller). There's at least one thread here on how to do it, and it'll only run you $45ish. It gives you control over both heating (with a 60w bulb) and cooling your fermentation chamber. As for drilling into your freezer, you could build a collar, not for having taps in this case, but just in order to have something else to drill through without permanently damaging your freezer.

 

[theonetrueruss]

Just run the wire under the lid and don't worry about it. The amount of leakage is minimal for the temps you are using.