Fermentation Chamber w/ Refrigeration

[FSR402]

I picked up a little (like 2.5 cf) freezer off Craig's list a few weeks ago. I plan to build something like this out of it. I just have not decided if I'm going to build it in the barn (would need to buy a pump) or in the basement fermenting room.
Mine will hold two 15.5 gal fermenters. :rockin:

 

[Brewing Clamper]

So what was the total price tag on this puppy anyhow?

 

[The Beer Baron]

First of all...amazing job! It's got my brain stirring...

does anyone know if it's possible to use this same concept, but build a much larger box that could hold say, 8 or more carboys? This seems like it could open up a lot of possibilities for much more customizable kegerators as well (you wouldn't be confined to the dimensions of a chest freezer)

 

[Desert_Sky]

How much of an area do you think this would cool. I have an old dorm fridge lying around and was wondering if I could do something big enough to fit a 14.5 gallon conical

 

[MrFebtober]

I'm in the middle of building a chamber modeled off the concept Thomcat here has come up with, but mine will be capable of holding two 6.5 gal carboys with airlocks or up to 8 cornies. I'm starting with the same style of dorm fridge, but am keeping the footprint to a minimum by locating the fridge on top of the chamber as soon in the pathetic ascii sketch. Anyway, Thomcat's chamber is my primary inspiration, but as soon as I get it done I'll post build pics. Just ordered the controller today.

_______ ______
|.........|+++++|
|cold<-.| fridge|
|....|....|_____ |
|....V..............|
|....................| <-- room for 8 cornies or 2 large fermentors
|...Chamber......|
|....................|
|____________ |

Oh, and I'm not stripping the plumbing out of the fridge, but instead just removing the door and strapping it to the chamber, probably using cam-action window locks.

 

[McKBrew]

Cool. I'd forgot about this thread. I have the perfect beat-up mini fridge waiting for a project like this. Depending on cooling capacity and insulation, I could build a combination fermenting fridge and bottle storage (wine cabinet) type box.

 

[OnTheStrangeBrew]

I have a Johnson Controls A419 Temperature Unit. It can be programmed to either heat or cool. You also have the option to control it's temperature cycle range from 1 degree to 8 degrees. I will set mine to have a range of
+or- 2 degrees. It is also nice cause I can set it to cut off the fridge/cooler in case the A419 unit shorts out. This way the fridge/cooler will not continue to run, possibly freezing your beer or causing the yeast to go dormant. I can also put the probe for the temp unit in a steel tube that comes down from the air stop. So I am controlling the temperature of the beer and not just the fridge. This will allow me to be more accurate since the fermentation process creates heat in itself. Something else to think about. I was going to use my dads old fridge to ferment. With the fridge and the unit it's a plug and play deal. Fermentation control is one of the most important factors in beer brewing. Often overlooked. Great work everyone.

 

[Dog House Brew]

What was the cost for this? I need to do this because of space and looks awesome.

 

[user 40839]

Bumpity bump for a fantastic idea.

I had the outstanding fortune to stumble upon this thread, and then a couple of days later, stumble on a free mini fridge at a random garage sale. My beer often has an... odd flavour, which could be down to the fact that my fermentation temps are all over the place, since they just sit around in the garage, and are at the mercy of ambient temps.

Just finished gutting the fridge - took about two hours, being careful - and powering the guts back up, it still chills nicely. Hooray! Ordered up one of the ubiquotous ebay aquarium controllers for $30 shipped, so as soon as that arrives, I'll get to building my version of this, along with some form of heating unit to keep the temp stable even in winter.

Prost this for sure!

 

[Mongo64]

I built a 2 chamber box with the guts of a mini-fridge for cooling. Works great. I did opt for an old style mini-fridge with the evaporator coils on the back. Makes for a much simpler build compared to the new ones; those are a mess to take apart.

 

[normzone]

Well, guess who found a sanyo fridge at the apartment "stuff exchange" (by the dumpster where people leave things too cool to put in the dumpster when they move out).

It will only hold a 3 gallon carboy in it's current life - I'll try it on a 3 gallon corny / CO2 tank next week when I staycation, and then look into stacking it in some configuration like Mr. Febtober suggested.

As a newbie who has made four unsatisfactory batches, I've come to the conclusion that fermentation temperature control is my first hurdle to overcome, followed by the boil all / boil some paradox.

 

[benbradford]

I found that using pre-existing furniture, guts from the fridge, and some foam gets you a fermentaion chamber that is cost effective and large enought for carboys...

 

[badmajon]

...just picked up a mini-fridge for $20, won't hold a carboy as it is, but it'll become a lovely new fermentation chamber in the coming weeks! Thanks for posting this!

 

[cpatel479]

Can anyone detail how they got the guts of the mini fridge out? I'm not very handy, but want to attempt this and I'm not sure what tools I will need to do this. Thanks in advance.

 

[Foosinho]

Can anyone detail how they got the guts of the mini fridge out? I'm not very handy, but want to attempt this and I'm not sure what tools I will need to do this. Thanks in advance.

I used a dremel for precision. Cut the back open enough that you can slide the little "ice tray" thru. Bing-bang-boom.

 

[SpartyParty]

08/25/07

Ok... well since you mentioned it, and because I found a suitable AC powered fan at radioshack the other day, I installed one. I added a switch beside the controller so that in the "ON" position, it comes on whenever the compressor is on. In the "OFF" position it doesn't come on at all. I also added a digital thermometer with the display outside the cabinet. I swear I'm going to stop messing with this and start brewing again soon... I think a buddy of mine and I are going to start and Oktoberfest around Labor Day. Cheers!

The Fan:

The Switch:

- Andy

TOMCAT... When you wired the fan how did you tie it to the temp control? Thanks

 

[inamays]

This is EXACTLY what I am planning to make. Nice job Tomcat!

 

[thomcat333]

Thanks! It definitely served me well... I've since moved on to using a small/medium sized chest freezer for fermentation. More room but more difficult to load.

 

[jclark1299]

Excellent Craftsmanship! I hope mine comes close to as nice as this.

 

[EthenWithAnE]

Sorry, I have to ask before I screw up a lot of work I've put into this already.

Thomkat, or anyone who has done this please chime in. I've used this basic concept for my own chamber (kudos to you for posting this), but i'm at the wiring stage and a little confused. Forgive, I don't have much wiring experience.

I see you took the fridge thermostat off so all that is remaining are the white and grey wires running from the compressor.

Looks as if the white wire is connected with the actual power cord and the grey wire runs into the new thermostat.

Then you have an additional wire that connects the power cord to the thermostat. I'm assuming this powers the thermostat, please correct me if thats the wrong assumption.

Then there is some sort of relay between the power cord and the thermostat....what is this?

Any diagram or answers to the above would be helpful.

Thanks all,
e.

 

[theQ]

8/3/07 update:

...

With the insulation in place, I lined the inside with a water-resistant board that Lowe's sells for laundry rooms, etc.

...

Oh, and the duct tape you see around the outside is to keep the styrofoam board from breaking apart and hold it just a bit more snugly. Not the prettiest bit of work, but I'll probably cover it eventually. I'm still working on the door design.

Very nice, I am in the process of doing my chamber.

Some of questions for you:

1. did you use 2" foam ? I bought 1" think with both side covered by aluminium foil. Reading your post I am not sure is good enough.

2. On the bottom, did you put the laundry sheet on top of the foam. How is that working when you put 2-3 full carboys on it. doesn't sink ?

3. How thick is that sheet ?

4. How did you handle the door insulation ? Don't you look cool air ?

It looks pretty good, it's an inspiration to me and others!
Q

 

[theQ]

8/6/07 - So I worked the night shift last night, but I am off tomorrow, so I struggled through the day and drank a couple beers while I wired up the compressor.

I used a project box to enclose everything, and fed the thermocouple up under the back pannel to the opening for the evaporator coil. It worked out a bit neater than I expected.

Wiring In-Progress:

Install complete:

Controller Up-Close:

On to the caulking and door construction...

Did you placed the thermostat in the black box ? My thermostat had a wire that I assume was the ground, tied to the evaporator, or whatever inside white coil is named.

 

[thomcat333]

1. did you use 2" foam ? I bought 1" think with both side covered by aluminium foil. Reading your post I am not sure is good enough. Pretty sure I used 2" foam.

2. On the bottom, did you put the laundry sheet on top of the foam. How is that working when you put 2-3 full carboys on it. doesn't sink ? Yep, put the laundry sheet directly on the foam. It's worked fine, but then I'm only really holding one carboy at a time. If you want a bigger chamber, there is a lot to be said for getting a cheap chest freezer and slapping a new controller on it... just one other option.

3. How thick is that sheet ? Not sure, but it's pretty thin. Go with the slightly more expensive plastic type sheet if you can. My interior uses a coated fiberboard product. It's okay, but if it gets and stays wet, it eventually starts to soak up water and deform.

4. How did you handle the door insulation ? Don't you look cool air ? The door has a 2" piece of foam in it as well. And I used some weather stripping on both the door and chamber to create a nice seal. So really no leakage at all around the door to speak of.

5. Did you placed the thermostat in the black box ? My thermostat had a wire that I assume was the ground, tied to the evaporator, or whatever inside white coil is named. I cut out the thermostat and just wired the controller directly to the compressor. If you're adding in a digital controller, that will provide the same (albeit much improved) functionality as the old thermostat.

Hope that helps... Cheers!

 

[theQ]

Thanks a lot, it does help big time.

I picked up a discounted aqua glass ( white plastic of a shower).

I will get a picture of the wire that goes thru a aluminium tube connected to the evaporator. I am not sure what's that for and if I could take it out. It's a loose insulated wire (10ga) that comes out of the thermostat and goes loosely thru a 3-4 inch aluminium tube that's connected to the evaporator. I will take a pic and post it here.

Thanks a lot for reply Thomcat.

 

[theQ]

The thermostat I have looks like this one.

http://www.appliancespares.co.za/Images/Products/3037.jpg

That long loop I assume is temp probe.

So you are saying that I am better off taking out the thermostat and let my brewpi (yes I will go with a brewpi temp control)

 

[theQ]

Here's an update on my chamber. I run mine with brewpi. The unit it's not fully done. it's working but I need to insulate the top and the door. Tomcat, what kind of seal is that one you used and where from you got it ?

 

[Royalwapiti]

I have a old GE frig from the 30's. I was hoping to use the box and take the guts from a mini frig and apply it just like you did. My frig is a larger old one with 9.5 cu ft inside. The sidewalls are a full 3 inches of insulation sandwiched by steel.

Do you think the mini frig cooling system would keep this sized antique frig cold enough to keep kegs in for a kegerator? Granted there are various sizes of mini frigs, I have two mini's at home now, one is almost twice as large as the "typical" mini frig.

 

[Mountainsax]

I think one mini fridge should do the trick. I used two on my kegerator build and I'm pretty sure I measures the fridge out at over 20 cu. ft. I have had it holding at 34 deg without any problem in my 60 deg garage. We will see how well it works this summer!

 

[stever1000]

This is great! I have a mini fridge I'm planning on doing the same thing!

 

[NCSU_Brewer]

Great build. Couple of questions:

1. It looks like the frame is made out of 2x2's and 2x4's. Did you have to "compress" the 2" foam insulation since the wood was less than 2" thick?

2. Is the door made out of 2x4's as well?