Hi All!
I've gotten a lot of help from these forums over the years and thought I would share a recent project. FYI this is NOT for people who have space to put in an extra fridge. This is specifically for people who need temp control in a small or flexible area.
The Problem: My brewing setup is limited by space to an armoire and I need all that remains for carboys, pouring beer, storing gear, and fermentation.
Solution: A flexible and removable cooler based temp control system.
Picture 1: This is my general setup.
Picture 2: The carboy sits within a water bath.
Picture 3: A standard homebrew thermostat with its probe in the waterbath.
Picture 4: A $10 pump from Amazon.com sits within a cooler. I put 1 gallon jugs of water outside overnight and replace them every 24-36 hours.
Picture 5: Two tubes that are filled with water to equilibrate the systems.
That's it! The idea is that the thermostat kicks on when the water around the beer goes to high (generally in the mid 50's to keep a beer in the mid 60's), triggering the pump. The pump then pushes cold water (the water in the cooler is typically in the high 30's) into the waterbath, thereby chilling it down. The other two tubes MUST be filled with water before the pump turns on. They then equalize the water level between the bath and the cooler, essentially removing the warm water that is being replaced by cold. I've been able to control the temp to w/in 1 degree of my desired fermentation temperature, and I think that will improve as I figure out the optimal brewing temperature.
Future Direction: This setup would likely work even better if you dropped the temperature probe directly into the beer using one of those specialized caps. I'm planning to try that out in the future.
Let me know if you have any questions!
I've gotten a lot of help from these forums over the years and thought I would share a recent project. FYI this is NOT for people who have space to put in an extra fridge. This is specifically for people who need temp control in a small or flexible area.
The Problem: My brewing setup is limited by space to an armoire and I need all that remains for carboys, pouring beer, storing gear, and fermentation.
Solution: A flexible and removable cooler based temp control system.
Picture 1: This is my general setup.
Picture 2: The carboy sits within a water bath.
Picture 3: A standard homebrew thermostat with its probe in the waterbath.
Picture 4: A $10 pump from Amazon.com sits within a cooler. I put 1 gallon jugs of water outside overnight and replace them every 24-36 hours.
Picture 5: Two tubes that are filled with water to equilibrate the systems.
That's it! The idea is that the thermostat kicks on when the water around the beer goes to high (generally in the mid 50's to keep a beer in the mid 60's), triggering the pump. The pump then pushes cold water (the water in the cooler is typically in the high 30's) into the waterbath, thereby chilling it down. The other two tubes MUST be filled with water before the pump turns on. They then equalize the water level between the bath and the cooler, essentially removing the warm water that is being replaced by cold. I've been able to control the temp to w/in 1 degree of my desired fermentation temperature, and I think that will improve as I figure out the optimal brewing temperature.
Future Direction: This setup would likely work even better if you dropped the temperature probe directly into the beer using one of those specialized caps. I'm planning to try that out in the future.
Let me know if you have any questions!
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
