Cold Crash - Fridge, Freezer.... Mini Fridge?

[Jiffster]

Anyone cold crash in a mini fridge? (About waist high).

Does a normal size fridge work as well as a freezer?

This would be for 5 gal batches.

 

[Mexibilly]

If your fermentor will fit, use it.
I wouldn't use a freezer without a temp controller.

 

[C-Rider]

I cold crash 2 gal buckets in an Apt sized mini refer. As said if you can fit the fermenter in w/the airlock go for it. But you'll need temp controller.

 

[Jiffster]

I cold crash 2 gal buckets in an Apt sized mini refer. As said if you can fit the fermenter in w/the airlock go for it. But you'll need temp controller.

How do you control the temp in your mini fridge?

 

[dsaavedra]

How do you control the temp in your mini fridge?

Mini fridge probably won't get cold enough to freeze your beer, which would be the concern of using a freezer without a temp controller. If you wanted to control the temp of your mini fridge you would simply buy/build a digital temperature controller and hook your fridge up to it then set the temperature to just above freezing using the controller.

Also be careful not to have sanitizer or water or anything in your airlocks/blowoffs when cold crashing - it will suck back into your beer. Usually I just pull out the airlock and cover the mouth of my carboy with sanitized foil. I forgot to do this once and had about 8oz of blowoff sanitizer suck right back into my beer... still turned out great though haha.

 

[mrgrimm101]

I have a beer fridge in my garage for all my bottles (SWMBO was tired of so much beer in the house fridge). It's a full size fridge with a freezer on top. When I need to cold crash, I just rearrange the bottles and move a couple of the shelves. Then I put a couple big towels down and a piece of cardboard to help distribute the weight of the carboy (so as not to damage the shelf it's sitting on.) This creates a nice platform for the carboy to sit on. I have just enough room for the carboy and airlock to fit inside. Works perfectly. It's a 6.5 gallon plastic big mouth bubbler, so it's a bit taller than a bucket.

 

[Toga]

I ferment in and cold crash in a counter top height fridge (large mini fridge without freezer) 4.5 or so CF. The 7.9 gallon wine buckets I ferment in fit perfect with airlock on the bottom shelf with no mods other than a chunk of wood to support the bottom shelf

 

[C-Rider]

How do you control the temp in your mini fridge?

With a Johnson Temp Controller. Same as w/my freezer fermenter. and my two bottling mini fridges. Yea I have a lot of mini's. LOL

 

[Jiffster]

With a Johnson Temp Controller. Same as w/my freezer fermenter. and my two bottling mini fridges. Yea I have a lot of mini's. LOL

Yes you do!

Do you also have a heat option in your fermenters? If so, what's your heat source?

 

[Toga]

I use an ITC-1000 temp controller. For a heat source I use a waterbed heater rolled up in the bottom of the fridge under the shelf the bucket sits on.

 

[Jiffster]

I use an ITC-1000 temp controller. For a heat source I use a waterbed heater rolled up in the bottom of the fridge under the shelf the bucket sits on.

Interesting. Seems an aquarium heater might be a good choice to save space.

 

[Toga]

An aquarium heater requires you submerge it in liquid.........................could work if you can put it in your fermenter

I don't recomend it................

 

[Jiffster]

An aquarium heater requires you submerge it in liquid.........................could work if you can put it in your fermenter



I don't recomend it................

Oh, ok. I thought I'd seen some posts of people using them dry.

 

[chrisjpryor]

Is there any definitive answer as to whether a mini fridge can get cold enough to chill a carboy of beer to 0C / 32F for cold crashing? Obviously the thermostat would have to be bypassed because the one built in will only let the fridge get down to a minimum of say 1 or 2 above freezing (depending on the fridge model). Would this be a better option that an upright frost free freezer and just plugging its power cord into an STC1000 temp controller? I am about to buy one or the other (chest freezer is out of the question because of my back).

 

[Jiffster]

My mini fridge gets that cold.

 

[chrisjpryor]

My mini fridge gets that cold.

Cool, I'm glad to see someone can confirm. Another thing, the freezer that I am looking at is this Bosch:
http://www.bosch-home.com/za/products/refrigeration/freezers/GSN33VI30.html
It has a digital control panel. I know that discreet electronics like this often have issues with being switched on and off. Should I be concerned if I use my STC1000 temperature controller to switch the mains power to the freezer?

 

[johnsant]

I have a mini fridge and just finished a cold crash on the 27 of Dec. the controller was set at 34 deg. and when I went to bottle my top LBK had ice in it(it sets just below the freezer compartment) so It can and will get cold enough.

 

[Jim311]

I have noticed basically the same results from cold crashing to even as high as 50 degrees. Everything drops out of suspension and stays there. It will work fine I'm sure.