Epiphany: redneck ferm chamber

[MazdaMatt]

So I'm going to be soldering together the components my ferm chamber controller this weekend and I thought of a way to scrap the whole thing and go even cheaper - this may be useful next summer when my ferm chamber is actually a keezer...

Step 1 - dig a hole 4ft deep, carboy width
Step 2 - build an insulated "lid" (plywood with house insulation fitted to the hole attached via stapled garbage bags to the bottom)
Step 3 - Build a lean-to over it to keep rain out of the hole. (plywood and 2x4s)


Thoughts? I may try this, but I don't have any method of logging the temperature in the hole right now. I may whip up a circuit to do it, though, just to be thorough (that's not very redneck, but I want to be sure it works). I'd do a test-run with a bucket of water, first.

 

[MPOWELLJR]

I'm still a novice when it comes to brewing but I would think that is just asking for contamination. Also, even if you build a lid over it, you still run the risk of ground water seeping into your hole.

 

[The_Dog_42]

I love the idea.

What kind of soil do you have? Sandy soil would probably be optimum to allow for good drainage. Otherwise I'd suggest putting a 1" layer of 1/4" gravel down to ensure good drainage. You'd also have to dig pretty deep to get consistent temperatures (generally around how deep your basement is), and I may worry about a cave in or the evacuation of some small animal....stuff.

As for the temp control, if you're going to do a keezer anyway, I'd build an ebay temp controller box and set it out there when it is not raining to monitor temps over a couple of days. The only problem with this is there is no data logger attached, so you'd have to do it manually.

 

[audger]

as long as you arent in a food zone and your hole doesnt get swamped, i dont see a reason not to. ive had beach parties before where, with no ice buckets available, we just dug a hole and threw the kegs in it. kegs are sealed, so contamination shouldnt be a problem.

you are limited to the temperature of the ground though. if you like your beer at 55-60 degrees, then go nuts.

 

[MazdaMatt]

55 to 60 sounds like a good ferm temp for some beer styles I'd like to try

Contamination is a non-issue. It is still in a carboy with an airlock.

The lid wouldn't be for rain, the lean-to would be, so I get a 4x8 area of rain resistance.

Ground water is a non-issue, I live across the street from a ravine, so everything flows away anyway. Even if I did get ground water, as long as it is below the top of the airlock it would be sealed out.

I don't think I'd need to go basement-deep, unless you mean year-round consistent temp. My basement is a great ferm temp in the winter, it is summer with no AC that causes a problem.

Hit me with some more potential problems!

I also thought of un-ghetto-ing it a little bit by making a wooden box around it to keep burrowing animals, etc out and prevent cave-in.

 

[Homercidal]

Sounds reasonable. Do you know the temperature of the ground this time or year where you live?

 

[MazdaMatt]

Not a clue. I may have a circuit board here at work that I could jimmy a thermister onto so I can log temps for a couple days with a quick program.

 

[MazdaMatt]

http://www.greencastonline.com/SoilTempMaps.aspx

"Soil temps" in my region are 60-65F... booyah.

Depending on my level of ambition, I may have an ale with S04 in a hole in my back yard this wknd.

 

[63belair]

Don't forget to call 811 first!

 

[RyboFlav]

http://www.on1call.com/

This is the link you need to get a locate done before you dig

 

[MazdaMatt]

http://www.on1call.com/

This is the link you need to get a locate done before you dig

Thanks, assclown, you couldn't walk across the office to tell me this?


Glad it was mentioned, though. There was definitely some power wires where I was just considering to put this. Had a locate done last year for my new fence. New fence on the other side is wire-free, so it has to go over there. Middle of my yard is wire-free, too, but I'd rather not put it in the middle of my yard.

 

[RyboFlav]

If it goes in the middle of your yard, make sure you cover it up with some leaves and sticks so it isn't an eyesore.

 

[nutty_gnome]

If is is more than a few inches below ground, how do you plan on getting it in and out of the ground? Full carboys are heavy, and fragile. Don't let the carboy touch rocks on the sides while going in or out and be sure to line the bottom with sand so that the carboy sits evenly. Maybe a brewhauler is the thing you want to use to handle moving the carboy.

 

[HokieBrewer]

I can access my crawl space from inside my house where they installed the furnace. I'm fermenting in there currently. I used a cheap eight dollar thermometer that keeps max/min temps. Mines about a four foot drop too. I keep my carboys in milk crates and jump down, then grab the milk crate. Not that bad, but I'm also 6'4".

 

[MazdaMatt]

If is is more than a few inches below ground, how do you plan on getting it in and out of the ground? Full carboys are heavy, and fragile. Don't let the carboy touch rocks on the sides while going in or out and be sure to line the bottom with sand so that the carboy sits evenly. Maybe a brewhauler is the thing you want to use to handle moving the carboy.

Seriously? A carboy weighs about 50 lbs and I'm not in a wheelchair. If the concept of reaching down 2 feet, grabbing the neck of a carboy and picking it up is too much (which seems to be a common thought on this board), then I recommend www.startingstrength.com

 

[nutty_gnome]

Good luck with your endeavor.

 

[PaulHilgeman]

At my in-laws farm, they have a constantly running spring that feeds the house water, the overflow goes to a retention pond. It has a small 'hut' over it, and the spring hole is a little bigger than a bucket. I have long thought about suspending a bucket of fermenting beer right down in the spring. We only make it up there every few months, so it would ferment slowly and get some good age on it before we make it back up... would be pretty cool!