Ferm chamber help

[indymedic]

I found a wine chiller that was the perfect size I was looking for. This is an ewave brand which appears to be made by magic chef. It is a compressor model. My plan was to use it as a ferm chamber and had hopes to be able to cold crash and start lagering. I have it plugged into an inkbird and it worked great then I tried to cold crash. I dropped the temp on the inkbird to 34f and left it. After 24 hours the temp was at 50f. I knew that a wine chiller typically won't get that cold but thought the inkbird would do the trick. So what is the deal? Am I screwed or can I make this work?

 

[IslandLizard]

The internal thermostat kicks in limiting the lowest achievable temp. If it can't be adjusted down, bypass it.

 

[RedlegEd]

I found a wine chiller that was the perfect size I was looking for. This is an ewave brand which appears to be made by magic chef. It is a compressor model. My plan was to use it as a ferm chamber and had hopes to be able to cold crash and start lagering. I have it plugged into an inkbird and it worked great then I tried to cold crash. I dropped the temp on the inkbird to 34f and left it. After 24 hours the temp was at 50f. I knew that a wine chiller typically won't get that cold but thought the inkbird would do the trick. So what is the deal? Am I screwed or can I make this work?

Hi. I'm not familiar with the exact model you have, but if it has a compressor, I'm sure it will get you into the lower 30s°F. It appears your problem is the limit of the built in thermostat of the unit. Whether it's on an Inkbird or not, it will only go down as low as the native thermostat will let it. If you could bypass that thermostat so that the compressor comes on whenever power is applied, then you could get it to work. Ed


ETA: @IslandLizard beat me to it. What he said, but much more succinctly.

 

[indymedic]

The internal thermostat kicks in limiting the lowest achievable temp. If it can't be adjusted down, bypass it.

I have the dial turned to the coldest setting but I guess I assumed that the inkbird bypassed the internal. So what do I need to do to bypass it. Thanks

 

[IslandLizard]

How can the Inkbird itself bypass the internal when the fridge is plugged into the Inkbird?

The coldest setting of that fridge maybe around 50F, as you discovered. You've got to find how and where the internal thermostat controls the compressor, and bypass it so the compressor remains always ON. The Inkbird will then turn the unit on and off upon its own sensor.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I didn't bypass my fermentation chamber's thermostat. What I did was find the fridge's temperature probe and pull it out so that it was measuring the temperature outside the fridge. In a mini fridge like mine the probe is usually mounted to the evaporator (chilling element in the fridge). Bypassing the thermostat is a more elegant solution, but my chamber is working so well that I'm hesitant to make any more changes to it. If your fridge uses a different method to measure the internal temperature that won't be an option though.

 

[indymedic]

How can the Inkbird itself bypass the internal when the fridge is plugged into the Inkbird?

The coldest setting of that fridge maybe around 50F, as you discovered. You've got to find how and where the internal thermostat controls the compressor, and bypass it so the compressor remains always ON. The Inkbird will then turn the unit on and off upon its own sensor.

Yeah this makes sense now that I read it.

 

[indymedic]

I didn't bypass my fermentation chamber's thermostat. What I did was find the fridge's temperature probe and pull it out so that it was measuring the temperature outside the fridge. In a mini fridge like mine the probe is usually mounted to the evaporator (chilling element in the fridge). Bypassing the thermostat is a more elegant solution, but my chamber is working so well that I'm hesitant to make any more changes to it. If your fridge uses a different method to measure the internal temperature that won't be an option though.

I will have to pull it apart and figure out what my best option is. For now it works well for fermentation temp. Thanks guys.

 

[IslandLizard]

Disable/override the thermostat, if it's easily accessible, so the fridge stays "on" all the time. The Inkbird will then take over the actual control. Google that model or series and see what hacks others may have come up with.

Otherwise you've got to tinker with powering the compressor directly from the inkbird, but you got to be savvy with electrical and know what you're doing. Sometimes there are relays or electronics involved. Find a schematic, it may be on the back.

If your fridge has a temp readout or other fancy electronics, you can keep those active too.

 

[indymedic]

All taken care of. Bypassed the thermostat with no problem. Thanks guys.