DIY Fermenting Chamber - 3 7gal Fermonster Carboys

[Grundysidemount]

Hey everyone,

Loving all the knowledge I have gained here, so thank you.

I have seen some DIY fermenting chambers, but all are too small for what I am looking for.

I do 3 5 gallon batches at a time and have the 7 gal fermonster carobys.

I live in Southern California and my closet that I currently use, can range from temps to 60 to 85 degrees. I had one batch in my kegland series 4 kegerator (doubles as a fermenter) but can only fit 1 carboy. I noticed a better flavor and color with the beer that was temp controlled.

Now that I have kegs in my kegerator it can no longer be used. I want to better control my 3 carboys.

So I am open to ideas. I would love plans if anyone has them for what I am looking for.

Oh and I only brew IPAs so temps I'm looking for is 66 to 68 degrees. Obviously at some point I will brew other types and need to be able to control a wide range of temps

If I missed any details you need to know please ask me. Hope you all can help.

I am fairly handy, but am awful with wiring Haha

Thanks ahead of time for the info

 

[Grundysidemount]

Oh and I would like the ability to cold crash before I keg it.

Thank you

 

[jiMithing83]

Get a big enough chest freezer and treat it like a keezer build without the taps. I used a small freezer that fits one carboy because I usually have my other batches brewed with the season, chamber is mostly for lagers as I'm also in SoCal but in the dead of summer I do put an IPA or two in there. I would think a 7 cu ft should fit 3 7 gal fermonsters.

 

[Rackrunner]

I have a similar situation, though not identical. I tend to brew a batch every week or two, so I usually have 2-3 carboys going at the same time. Your case may be even easier, if you're brewing all 3 batches at once.

I bought a chest freezer to use as my fermentation chamber. I use 3 x 7.9 Gal Speidel fermenters. The key bit is getting the internal measurements and making sure it fits all 3, AND is of sufficient height to accomodate the airlocks (unless you want to do the keezer thing and bump up the height of the lid with a 2x4 collar)

Here is the freezer I ended up going with for reference, but obviously a lot of new/used options out there.
https://www.frigidaire.com/Kitchen-Appliances/Freezers/Chest-Freezer/FFFC15M4TW/

I use an Inkbird ITC-310T for temperature control, with the freezer plugged into the cold side and a terrarium ceramic heater + a little USB powered fan on the compressor shelf for heating and air circulation. (I'm in the northeast, so heating + cooling was a must for me)

In my situation, I just tape the temperature probe to the side of the 'active' carboy with a little Styrofoam insulation just starting fermentation, and move it to the new fermenter each time I brew. It can drop the temp in the other carboys by a little bit for a couple of days, but they are far along enough by then that it doesn't seem to matter much.

Hope this helps!

 

[Grundysidemount]

Thank you so much

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I do 3 5 gallon batches at a time and have the 7 gal fermonster carboys.

Are you doing 3 of the same beer? A 15 gal batch? Or do you just often have 3 different beers going at a time?

I moved to a fermentation chamber a few months ago (vs just fermenting in a cool basement). While just having a chamber that you could hold at a set temp is useful, I find I am getting the most value by being able to tailor the temps to the specific batch that I am fermenting...probe attached to a fermenter to monitor the actual temps, cooling a batch down to pitching temps, keeping temps cold during the first days of fermentation, raising the temp as fermentation slows, and cold crashing. This would be a challenge to manage with 1 chamber and 3 different beers at different stages.

 

[Jag75]

I'd either go with a small chest freezer , inkbird 308 and a fermwrap. You could do everything this way . Only negative is lifting the FV in and out . I just got a spike FV and I made a DIY gylcol chiller that is so easy a cave man can do it lol.