Ferm Chamber from Fridge/Freezer

[djonesax]

Those of you that have made a fermentation chamber out of the bottom(fridge) part of a refrigerator/freezer using a temp controller... Were you able to do it in a way not to affect the freezer operation?

David

 

[lazarwolf]

Only if the Fridge freezer has two different compressors. Pretty rare to find. my old one, before it died a slow painful death could keep fermentation at perfect temperatures and keep bottles at a nice 42 F in the freezer.

 

[djonesax]

Thanks,

I have been struggling to figure out what I want to do as far as a ferm chamber goes. I brew on my patio and ferment and serve in my basement bar with a door to the patio.

I already have a large keezer with 4 taps that I use to cold crash when I have the space. I have a place for a refrigerator with a water hook up and everything behind the bar so I thought maybe I could put a fridge in there as a fermentation chamber. It would be nice though if the freezer part could still work so that I could put over flow from the upstair freezer in there.

What would be really nice would be to have a full fridge/freezer for general use, and a separate fermentation chamber that I could adjust to coldcrash temps as well. But damn, then I'd have a Keezer, Fermentation chamber, and a Fridge/Freezer in the Bar.

David

 

[lazarwolf]

And some day probably a lagering fridge too...

A fermentation chamber is the most important piece of equipment you can own for quality beer.
It is the difference between good home brew and award quality beer.

 

[okbecker]

I use a fridge with freezer....well no longer a freezer up there though it does great as general storage space...100% agree with lazarwolf ! Fermentation control, in my opinion, is something I would not want to brew without. There's the next thread...fermentation fridge - what's in your freezer..lol

 

[djonesax]

I think I have talked my self into getting full fridge and freezer to general use, and then looking for a beverage fridge that I can modify as a fermentation chamber.

I actually have a mini fridge that would work if I had a smaller fermenter. I have a 60L Spiedel and there is no way it will fit with the airlock since there is a freezer box at the top as well.

David

 

[lazarwolf]

Good choice.

 

[Zepth]

Have you checked the Fridgenstein? It's a modified side by side design. The poster has decided to have a ferm chamber on one side and dispensing on the other. Below you'll find a picture of my "inspired by" version. I already had a 4 tap keezer but no ferm chamber at all, aside from taking a tap offline to ferment a lager. So I opted for a lager zone and an ale zone dual climate ferm chamber. Still waiting on the STC's to arrive but you should get the idea of it. I see no good reason why you couldn't do something similar to these and have a freezer on one side and ferm chamber on the other.

 

[riderkb]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f258/heat-exchange-ferm-chamber-488118/

I managed to turn one cheap fridge into a serving fridge, hop storage freezer, and four carboy ferm chamber. It has been working great for many months now. It can do ale temps all year and lager ferm temps in the winter. The fridge itself can be used as a lager cave, but I need that space for serving.

 

[djonesax]

These are both great, thanks for the links!

David