I have been using my BrewsBySmith Fermentation Kit for about nine months now and it has undoubtedly become an integral part of my brewing process. I've grown so attached to the way I can set it to accurately control the temperature of my fermenting beer that I won't ferment another batch of beer without one. Here in the Northeastern United States the temperature outside plummets during the colder months of the year. Even though my garage brew room is well insulated the temperature inside can still get down to 45F in the dead of winter. Using the 32 watt Fermwrap heater that came with the kit, together with a homemade 100 watt 'paint can' heater, the controller was able to maintain a stable 66-72F temperature range with ease. This worked out really well and over the winter and I was able to produce a number of different styles of beer that turned out great.
7.0 Cubic Foot G&E Chest Freezer
Up until this point I had been fermenting my beer inside an insulated wooden fermentation chamber I had built a number of years ago. The fermentation chamber wasn't powered and it needed to be fed a steady supply of frozen water bottles in order to keep the fermenting beer cool in summer. But in the colder months the heaters, combined with the digital controller, did an excellent job of maintaining the perfect temperature range throughout the entire fermentation. The BrewsBySmith digital controller I use is the dual stage model and has the ability to alternately energize both the heating and cooling outlets as needed to maintain a desired fermentation temperature. So I decided to invest in an electric chest freezer and connect it to the digital controller's cooling outlet in order to maintain fermentation temperatures accurately during the summer.
Dual Stage Digital Temperature Controller
I had to make sure the freezer I chose to use was going to be big enough inside to fit two 6.5 gallon plastic fermentors and a paint can heater in it comfortably. After making a cardboard template using the widest part of a fermentor lid I set out to test a few freezers and see how they measured up. I was relieved to find that the G&E model #FCM7SHWW 7 cubic foot chest freezer fit my needs perfectly. It was even small enough to fit inside my small SUV for the ride home saving me on delivery charges and having to wait for it to be shipped to my address. The salesman at the store reminded me to stand the freezer upright for three hours to allow the oil to drain back into the compressor before plugging it in. I had to lay the freezer on its side to fit inside my car and evidently that caused the oil to run out of the compressor which in turn could lead to issues if plugged in right away.
Chest Freezer Fermentation Chamber In Action
Once the freezer was in place and plugged into the digital controller all that was left to do was to brew up a batch of beer and test it out. I placed the Fermwrap on the floor of the freezer and plugged it into a short extension cord used to connect the paint can heater to the heating outlet of the controller. The temperature probe sits inside the thermowell and plugs into the rear of the controller too. I also ran a temperature probe to another digital thermometer to monitor the ambient air temperature inside the freezer to note the differences between the beer and air temperatures. With the lid of the freezer raised the extension cord and temperature probe wires were easily routed underneath it to the outside. I couldn't be any more pleased with the results of using this chest freezer in combination with the dual stage controller. The combination of freezer and heaters held the temperature of the fermenting beer well within a single degree temperature swing throughout the entire fermentation. It's a really good feeling knowing I'll be drinking some perfectly fermented beers all summer long now.
Vince Feminella [aka: ScrewyBrewer]
www.thescrewybrewer.com
[email protected]
7.0 Cubic Foot G&E Chest Freezer
Up until this point I had been fermenting my beer inside an insulated wooden fermentation chamber I had built a number of years ago. The fermentation chamber wasn't powered and it needed to be fed a steady supply of frozen water bottles in order to keep the fermenting beer cool in summer. But in the colder months the heaters, combined with the digital controller, did an excellent job of maintaining the perfect temperature range throughout the entire fermentation. The BrewsBySmith digital controller I use is the dual stage model and has the ability to alternately energize both the heating and cooling outlets as needed to maintain a desired fermentation temperature. So I decided to invest in an electric chest freezer and connect it to the digital controller's cooling outlet in order to maintain fermentation temperatures accurately during the summer.
Dual Stage Digital Temperature Controller
I had to make sure the freezer I chose to use was going to be big enough inside to fit two 6.5 gallon plastic fermentors and a paint can heater in it comfortably. After making a cardboard template using the widest part of a fermentor lid I set out to test a few freezers and see how they measured up. I was relieved to find that the G&E model #FCM7SHWW 7 cubic foot chest freezer fit my needs perfectly. It was even small enough to fit inside my small SUV for the ride home saving me on delivery charges and having to wait for it to be shipped to my address. The salesman at the store reminded me to stand the freezer upright for three hours to allow the oil to drain back into the compressor before plugging it in. I had to lay the freezer on its side to fit inside my car and evidently that caused the oil to run out of the compressor which in turn could lead to issues if plugged in right away.
Chest Freezer Fermentation Chamber In Action
Once the freezer was in place and plugged into the digital controller all that was left to do was to brew up a batch of beer and test it out. I placed the Fermwrap on the floor of the freezer and plugged it into a short extension cord used to connect the paint can heater to the heating outlet of the controller. The temperature probe sits inside the thermowell and plugs into the rear of the controller too. I also ran a temperature probe to another digital thermometer to monitor the ambient air temperature inside the freezer to note the differences between the beer and air temperatures. With the lid of the freezer raised the extension cord and temperature probe wires were easily routed underneath it to the outside. I couldn't be any more pleased with the results of using this chest freezer in combination with the dual stage controller. The combination of freezer and heaters held the temperature of the fermenting beer well within a single degree temperature swing throughout the entire fermentation. It's a really good feeling knowing I'll be drinking some perfectly fermented beers all summer long now.
Vince Feminella [aka: ScrewyBrewer]
www.thescrewybrewer.com
[email protected]
