Easiest DIY Fermentation Chamber?

[Enriquevs]

Hello!
I live in a generally warm city (15-25 C) so I believe my beer would benefit from a fermentation chamber.

Thing is, I am not incredibly experienced nor am I incredibly loaded with money. That being said, I've seen on these forums that building something with a chest freezer or any other fridge + an STC1000 can work pretty well. I am not an expert wiring things but I can always ask friends to come over.

I am sorry if this has been posted before but, is there a thread where I can look at the easiest way to do this? Also, would I need to attach anything else to the carboy/bucket while fermenting in my fancy new chamber?

Thanks so much!

 

[JLeuck64]

I picked up a used fridge from a friend last spring. Then I spent a LOT of time searching through all of the fermentation chamber builds here on HBT. I am sorry to say there really isn't just ONE thread that makes it easy. It will come to you eventually as you look at what other folks have made, then you can decide what can work best for you. Good luck and post up picks when ya get it running ( ;

 

[Zepth]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=542404

From the vendor showcase. Already wired and good to go. Seems to plug in like an ordinary extension cord, with a thermostat that you stick where you'd like. Within the capabilities of anybody.

 

[Enriquevs]

Thank you so much JLeuck64 and Zepth.
That thermostat looks like a pretty easy device to get going.

In the Amazon page, it suggests buying it in tandem with a Fermentation Heater. It is shown working in a carboy in the pic, do you think it will work with a regular plastic bucket?

Sorry if this seems pretty basic, I'm just getting started!

 

[Zepth]

Carboy, plastic bucket, bronze statue... Doesn't really matter what you stick in the chamber and attach the probe (temp sensor) to. That whole idea is to keep that object at whatever temperature you desire for the time.

 

[Enriquevs]

Thanks again!
Another quick question... do I need a heating element? I've seen there are both belts and others that are seem like a plastic a sheet that go around the fermenter.

Which one should I pick? Cost is not really different

 

[Bellybuster]

First decide if you even need a heater. If ambient temp seldom goes below fermenting temp you can get away without one.
Any heat source will work, you don't need fancy brewing belts etc. A light bulb in a can is a great DIY fave.

 

[houndeye]

hi .I've just built my fermentation chamber.i put a greenhouse heater into it.£15 of ebay.works a treat

 

[JLeuck64]

I put a cheap hair dryer in my fridge conversion. It works very well, usually only runs for a few minutes to warm things up.

 

[mcmellow]

Have a look at this blog. Here you can find detailed information on DIY fermetation fridge with a STC-1000

 

[Enriquevs]

Thank you mcmellow! That looks doable enough.
I'm now only wondering how to make sure either of the controllers will be able to handle the load of my 7 sq. ft. chest freezer. Both are 120V.

Is there any risk of frying anything?

 

[johnsant]

You can look on youtube you can find walkthroughs on how to build an STC-1000 duel controller just type in STC-1000 controller build. This how I built mine I would stop and make the connection then restart.