Chest freezer questions

[MrBJones]

What freezer would just fit a single 6.5 gallon carboy, with minimal wasted space? (blowoff would go on the hump)

Based on your experience, would there be much practical value to having a single chest freezer that will fit two carboys? Would it be better - and worth the extra money - to have two freezers that each fit only one?

Local Costco has a 7.2 cf Hisense chest freezer for $139. A single 6.5 gallon carboy would easily fit in it, but pretty sure two won't fit -- if they do, would probably be tighter than I'd be comfortable with. Is it a good setup, considering that it would occasionally be tied up for a while, with a lager or long fermenting/conditioning ale (Scottish ale etc).

I know some of the answers are "Depends on what I want to do". But based on your real world experiences and insights, what do you think?

 

[Brewsncrabs]

I have a 5 cf. only one carboy will fit, but there is extra space left over. I think a 3 cf is made.

 

[mongoose33]

Here's another consideration, perhaps:

I have a refrigerator I can use as a fermentation chamber. Works great, and I can fit two fermenters in there.

But I'm not sure how to control the fermentation of two fermenters in one chamber. I press the temp probe against the fermenter and insulate and hold it there with a piece of foam insulation.

I just brewed today, fermenter in there going. I thought about brewing again tomorrow, but two fermenters, with two different yeasts, may or may not be controlled at the same temperature. As yeast is exothermic, it's possible for the first fermentation to end, while the second continues. As the first ends, the exothermic heat production diminishes, and thus the refrigerator is not called on to cool anywhere near as much.

Meanwhile, the second one is going to town, but because the temperature is read on the first and not the second, I'd expect the wort temp of the second to rise significantly above that of the first.

I've never figured out exactly how to deal with this, short of using two controllers, heat belts on each fermenter, and a refrigerator set at something like 50 degrees so the heat belts control the temp in each as necessary.

How are you going to deal with this if you can get two fermenters in there? Same batches brewed at the same time? Or something else?

 

[MrBJones]

Here's another consideration, perhaps:

I have a refrigerator I can use as a fermentation chamber. Works great, and I can fit two fermenters in there.

But I'm not sure how to control the fermentation of two fermenters in one chamber. I press the temp probe against the fermenter and insulate and hold it there with a piece of foam insulation.

I just brewed today, fermenter in there going. I thought about brewing again tomorrow, but two fermenters, with two different yeasts, may or may not be controlled at the same temperature. As yeast is exothermic, it's possible for the first fermentation to end, while the second continues. As the first ends, the exothermic heat production diminishes, and thus the refrigerator is not called on to cool anywhere near as much.

Meanwhile, the second one is going to town, but because the temperature is read on the first and not the second, I'd expect the wort temp of the second to rise significantly above that of the first.

I've never figured out exactly how to deal with this, short of using two controllers, heat belts on each fermenter, and a refrigerator set at something like 50 degrees so the heat belts control the temp in each as necessary.

How are you going to deal with this if you can get two fermenters in there? Same batches brewed at the same time? Or something else?

I was kind of wondering about this myself...properly regulating two batches - that could be at different points in their fermentation, or could even need different temps due to yeast differences - at same time.

So it looks like the idea of two carboys in the same chamber isn't viable. Does anybody know of freezer smaller than the 7.2cf at Costco, that sells for less than $139?

 

[Morrey]

I saw a 5cf chest freezer at Sams last weekend for $129.

 

[jwelch1103]

What I've done in a similar scenario is wait to brew the second beer after the first has gotten past the initial vigorous ferment. At that point the yeast don't create nearly as much heat as during the vigorous phase. I also switch the temp probe to the second batch and I use a thermowell so the probe is in the wort/beer.

 

[Brewsncrabs]

Holidays are good for reduced prices on freezers. Also check your area for a dealer who sells used or has purchased large quantities of units at a discount. They sell them cheap. I have one near me and the prices are normally $50 less than retail and the units are new. Just old discontinued model.

 

[mongoose33]

Just to note, you might also be on the lookout for a small refrigerator. I have one as my ferm chamber and it's much better for me than having to lift a 5.5-gallon fermenter of wort into and out of a freezer. Easy to just lift the fermenter into the refrigerator.

If you go that route, unless you don't have room for a refrigerator, you might try craigslist.

 

[cbier60]

Based on your experience, would there be much practical value to having a single chest freezer that will fit two carboys?

Local Costco has a 7.2 cf Hisense chest freezer for $139. A single 6.5 gallon carboy would easily fit in it, but pretty sure two won't fit -- if they do, would probably be tighter than I'd be comfortable with.

I have a 7 CF freezer, and it easily fits my rather large 7.9G Speidel and a 7G Fermonster. I'm pretty sure it might fit 3 glass carboys, but absolutely no problem with 2.

But I'm not sure how to control the fermentation of two fermenters in one chamber. I press the temp probe against the fermenter and insulate and hold it there with a piece of foam insulation.

How are you going to deal with this if you can get two fermenters in there? Same batches brewed at the same time? Or something else?

One option is if you have a 10-12G batch with 2 fermenters of the same beer. In this case, I have a thermowell in one, or possibly the probe taped to the outside of one. Place the 2 fermenters next to each other, control the freezer to maybe 10 deg below the desired temp, and use a fermwrap loosely wrapped next to both fermenters. If you have 2 independent fermentations, then you really need 2 controllers. If the temps differ considerably, then you could try to control one with freezer control and wrap the fermwrap or other heating source around the higher temp one.

What I've done in a similar scenario is wait to brew the second beer after the first has gotten past the initial vigorous ferment.

In general, if you have 2 separate independent fermentations going at once, they'll usually be separated in time so that only one is generating heat. About the only time you'd have a problem would be if you tried to brew different beers on back-to-back days or a single multi-brew day. Bottom line, I agree. Just space them out enough in time.

If you go that route, unless you don't have room for a refrigerator, you might try craigslist.

Technically, a fridge is preferred over a freezer, but it's usually harder to find one that gives you efficient utilization of space. If you have a little patience, you can find a fridge or freezer on CL for very little. I bought a 1-yr-old "broken" 7 CF freezer on CL for $20, replaced a burned-out relay, and added an STC-1000 for a ferm chamber under $50; obviously, this takes a little know-how and DIY initiative. You can often find free or low-cost refrigerators on CL.

 

[itsnotrequired]

check out this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=377518

 

[John89Miller]

I saw the best freezers here for you - https://grapefrost.com/small-chest-freezers/