let me know if I had too much of my homebrew! Here's what I'm thinking of... I want to be able to have different temperature in the chamber (lager...) I usually have 4/5 fermenter going on, but I know lagering is something I want to do at 1 point. With the regular ferm chamber you're stuck with all your fermenter at the same temp. So what I'm thinking is, build one with a mini fridge at each end, make a removable partition so I can have, let's say 1 fermenter in the 50s and the other in the 60s. make a groove after each fermenter so I can move the partition as needed so I can manage how many need to ferment at x temp. will use 1 stc-1000 per fridge. Sound doable or I should switch to coffee? Thx in advance.
fermentation chamber project
- Thread starter icebob
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I'd probably do something like keep the chamber below your lowest ferment temp, and then use heatwrap around each fermenter to control ferm temps.
neverdie2142
Well-Known Member
I'm interested in this idea also...Going to be following this thread....Hopefully the chamber experts help you out...
Yat Yas !
Yat Yas !
+1
Also need an stc-1000 or similar for each fermenter. However - when you have temp control I think you'll find 2-3 weeks primary plenty of time for nearly every ale - so you probably don't need as much space as you think unless you brew every 4 days!
And anyway, temp control (assuming your ambient is reasonable 60-70 degrees) isn't nearly as crucial for aging - so if 3 of your 4 fermenters are usually aging secondaries for huge beers, just take them out of the chamber after a few weeks and make it smaller. I made a huge fermentation chamber and am regretting it for above reasons. About to essentially cut it in half!
I mean if you have unlimited space plus a fridge that can handle the necessary cooling go for it. I'm just saying that it's very likely that 80% of the beers you make will be in for 3 weeks max so keep that in mind as you design your build. If you make tons of super high gravity beers, make it big! And if you need a separate lagering chamber, totally sweet. But if you think you'll mostly make ales, and 5G batches...
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I'm wondering what the ratio of lagers to ales you would be doing. If you were to build a fermentation chamber (your own cabinet) your possibilities would be endless. Though it would certainly be more than just buying a used chest fridge.
You could totally make something really cool, that would be the envy of every homebrewer out there but it gets expensive.
I built my own chamber which can hold 6 carboys, or 4 carboys + blowoff. I did it my way and spent way more than if I had just bought a chest fridge. Granted its one big chamber, so I can only have one temp.
Your idea is a good one, but I think there would be ways to do this with only one mini fridge.
You could totally make something really cool, that would be the envy of every homebrewer out there but it gets expensive.
I built my own chamber which can hold 6 carboys, or 4 carboys + blowoff. I did it my way and spent way more than if I had just bought a chest fridge. Granted its one big chamber, so I can only have one temp.
Your idea is a good one, but I think there would be ways to do this with only one mini fridge.
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Sorry IceBob. I stumbled into your thread, and it got my creative juices flowing. So here is a simple concept sheet I drew up. Of course I am stubborn an only used one mini fridge. You could easily use two if you wanted.
Its all in pencil, so I hope it comes out legible for ya. That and its not a completely thought out concept, IE dimensions and the like. Just a rough thought.
And the arrows simply show idea of air flow.
Its all in pencil, so I hope it comes out legible for ya. That and its not a completely thought out concept, IE dimensions and the like. Just a rough thought.
And the arrows simply show idea of air flow.
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I had thought about that as well. It sounds like you are looking to have maybe 4, 5 gal conicals going. Worst case is you have both fans running at the same time. So I think you would be looking to potentially cool 20 gal of wort at one time, worst case.
To alleviate some strain on your mini fridge you could put some mass inside it which would store the cooled power you have put in. Eg just a few gallon jugs of water. So when one of these fans kicks on you are not just relying on the fridge, but the pre-cooled water as well.
To alleviate some strain on your mini fridge you could put some mass inside it which would store the cooled power you have put in. Eg just a few gallon jugs of water. So when one of these fans kicks on you are not just relying on the fridge, but the pre-cooled water as well.
