Crawl Space Fermentation Chamber Build

[theothermillion]

After spending a good month trying to decide where I wanted to build out a fermentation chamber, I decided on the roomy section of my crawlspace. All the wood I'm using is re-purposed from shelving ripped out at work to save on costs.

I started with mounting the back braces to the wall with cross pieces mounted. (putting in a full length shelf for storage and future expansion options.)

Got most of the framing finished up yesterday except for the side the fridge will be going.

Today's project is to get a power line ran and box installed along with caulking the gaps in the frame.

Fridge has been ordered and will be arriving on Wednesday. I got a great deal on one from Best Buy for $85 after failing to find a used one for a fair price.

For heat, I'm planning on using a small space heater for heat and for circulation I'm going with a 5in desk fan. I might experiment with using a heat pad with the space heater.

I have left over 2in foam board sheets from when my crawl space was sealed which I plan on starting to cut and install on Tuesday.

I'll keep everyone interested updated on the progress!

*edit to add additional equipment details and links

 

[theothermillion]

Electrical done!

 

[theothermillion]

Chamber almost complete! All that is left is to fabricate the door and seal the seams. Unfortunently it's going to rain all day tomorrow so probably won't finish until the weekend.

 

[theothermillion]

Project is complete! Brewing an Imperial Stout tomorrow for it's first operation.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I realize this thread is a bit old. How did it work out? Sufficiently cooling? Size of the chamber? I ask as I'm interesting in constructing something similar.

I asked in another post and was basically told "can't do it".

Thanks.

 

[sibelman]

@Tobor_8thMan ,

I saw that other thread. fwiw, my intuition is that location matters a lot if you're relying on a fairly low-power cooling device. Crawl space feels feasible 'cuz it's cave-like. Hot garage? Not so much. I've got no data or calculations though. Best of luck with your project.

@theothermillion , I envy your big crawl space.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I moved all of the kegs that I had "on deck" into my crawl space.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

My basement is in the mid 60's F year round. However, for longer storage of what I've brewed without it going bad, I'd really like to construct something to keep them, IDO, around 36F or so. I tend to brew more in the Fall/Winter as I'm busy with other activities in the Spring/Summer (but I'd like to have my homebrew).

I've seen plans using an AC. In my situation an AC will not work.

I do wonder if an upright freezer with the insulated box attached would work? I'd need a fan or fans to move air around, but this, to me, seems as if it should work.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I asked in another post and was basically told "can't do it".

Can you provide a link to that post?

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/dorm-type-fridge-for-cool-storage.692884/

 

[theothermillion]

I realize this thread is a bit old. How did it work out? Sufficiently cooling? Size of the chamber? I ask as I'm interesting in constructing something similar.

I asked in another post and was basically told "can't do it".

Thanks.

It works great! I can fit 3 fermonsters inside although at most have only had 2. I don't see why a setup like this wouldn't work in a garage... I have a friend in Florida who did a similar setup in his garage using 3/4in insulation board and he doesn't have an issue. I used 2in board because I had it left over from the craw space getting sealed. As you can see in the interior photo, I have a small fan for circulation and small space heater with built-in fan for winter time.

The interior dimensions are:
H: 36in
W: 38 1/4in
D: 24in

 

[sibelman]

If @theothermillion 's friend can achieve the temps @Tobor_8thMan seeks with only a mini-fridge cooling unit in a Florida garage then perhaps the more powerful freezer is never necessary for fermentation temps, and (in a cool basement) even much lower temps. Again, only intuition -- bolstered by the encouraging Florida report.

I had planned to cool an insulated cabinet in the garage with one of these when we moved to our one-level house. I miss my old fermentation room but love my garage brewery. Instead, I kept my old fridge fermentation, and got a 4-corny kegerator. I still lack for additional cold storage.

Cheers.

 

[theothermillion]

If @theothermillion 's friend can achieve the temps @Tobor_8thMan seeks with only a mini-fridge cooling unit in a Florida garage then perhaps the more powerful freezer is never necessary for fermentation temps, and (in a cool basement) even much lower temps. Again, only intuition -- bolstered by the encouraging Florida report.

A mini fridge with a mini freezer can easily handle running a chamber, even in Florida. It might struggle on the cold crash if the box is too bog, but for fermenting, it's not like you are needing super cold temps.