DIY Fermentation Chamber

[Dirtcarver]

Currently, I am making the transition from extract to AG. As the parts for the AG system come together, we felt it best to start with the fermentation chamber as it is something that can be used for both extract and AG. We are nearing completion on the chamber and thought we should post some progress pictures. With assistance from my brother and a friend/coworker, we have put our efforts together and transformed a closet in my garage into what will hopefully serve as a very consistent place to ferment our beer. We started by wiring several boxes into the closet for lights, fans, and heaters. Then, we routed in a water spigot…just because. We’re still not sure why we did that but figured it was going to be the last chance to put it in there in case we ever needed to add water to the conical. The air conditioner is a 5000 btu digital wall-shaker from Sears. The foam is standard 2” rigid from Home Dumpster, and the conical is an SSBrewtech 17 gallon Chronical. I purchased the fans from an online tech company for about $10 each. The LED lights just make them look cool with the foil on the foam. I have a Johnson Controls digital temp controller that will handle the heating unit as the AC has its own digital thermostat. We’re thinking about ways to put the two together and have wifi based controls. Our issue is if the power goes out, say while I’m on vacation, there’s really no way to know what’s going on if the router shuts down and doesn’t send a signal. I did price battery back-up systems for the router to be able to receive signals even during a power outage but I think that’s much further down the line. We looked at products like the Brewbit and others but just figured there were other things we wanted to spend money on. Anyway, here it is.

View attachment chamber 1.jpeg

View attachment chamber 2.jpeg

View attachment chamber 3.jpeg

 

[j1n]

how cold can you get it in there?

 

[Washroom_Attendant]

Nice, Thanks

 

[Dirtcarver]

As I said, it's a work in progress. The door and temp controller go in this week. We're hoping for the low 60's. I filled all the gaps behind the rigid foam with expanding foam and made sure it's all fairly tight. The AC goes (or at least attempts) to as low as 60 on the control panel. Unless we mess with the defaults on the AC unit, there won't be any lagering. We're more curious if the fans running will maintain the temp longer and lessen the time that the AC runs. The lower portion of the cabinet will house carboys and kegs. So, we needed to find a way to circulate the air past the conical, to the lower portion, and back up. The large diameter fans facing opposing directions will help keep the cold...or warm air moving around both compartments. Hoping to put a wattmeter on the main box in he next couple weeks to have some usable numbers.



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[Btaz]

With some AC units got can over ride the min temperature (do a Google search). I was about to hit 38F in my chamber until the AC died on me.... Still not sure why it died as it did when I was trying to hold 67F.

 

[helibrewer]

I did something similar, the white ducting is the return air from the bottom chamber. I disabled the AC temp probe and use an STC1000 for control. Can maintain high 30's or up.

 

[Dirtcarver]

30's...wow. How long were the AC units running to maintain that temp?


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[Dirtcarver]

Home brew being a hobby, life has been in the way for the past several months not letting me spend time on the project. I did however get some time this weekend. Thought I'd post an update. We finished the chamber and decided to take it for a test drive. The AC and the heater (paint can) seem to be fighting a little. I need to mess around with the parameters and set points so that they aren't constantly running. Yesterday, I unplugged the heater to see if the AC would just take care of temp alone given we're not experiencing cold temps right now (California). Went out last night to check on it and the temp in the chamber was at 47 and the AC was still running. Plugged the heater back in and it went back to fighting with the AC but the temp stays in the 60s. Overall, the liquid temp in the connie is staying at about 66. I really need to reconcile the two. The 12 gallon clone batch (extract) that we brewed Friday night is out-bubbling the airlock that's on there now. In fact, when I get done typing this, I'm heading out to get some hose and a mason jar. Other than my not controlling the settings, it seems to be working. It's definitely nice to have the lower section of the chamber. We're going to do a small 5 gallon bucket batch and throw it in the bottom tonight. That's all for now.