Fermentation Chamber

[kdbentz]

I converted an old freezer into a fridge tobuse as a fermentation chamber.........
My chamber is now heated using a ceramic bulb to avoid the light emmissions.....and the ambient air temperature inside has been holding at 74 (too high I know) for 2 days now, but the strip thermometer on my carboy says 62 and the carboy is cold to the touch......it wont get anybwarmer......the only thing I can think of is that the carboy is in direct contact with the floor of the chamber where the coolness is pumped through.....could this direct contact with the cold floor and maybe one wall be keeping it from warming up even with the warm air inside?
Has anyone else ever had this problem?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[day_trippr]

If this is a chest freezer, the evaporator (the thing that makes "cold") is typically located in the top foot of the cabinet walls (because there's no fan in a chest freezer, and cold air sinks). AFAIK there is never a cooling loop anywhere near the floor itself.

In any case, without knowing how your system is supposed to work, it's difficult to be very helpful diagnosing what may (or may not be) a problem.

What are you using to control this system? Hopefully, a dual-stage external controller with the compressor on a "cool" channel and the reptile bulb on a "heat" channel, so the two aren't constantly fighting...

Cheers!

 

[kdbentz]

Thats exactly what I have......a chest freezer with a bulb to heat and an external controller running the both the bulb and the compressor.......its warm inside but the beer is cold and wont heat up......View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455419025.465388.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455419064.887830.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455419081.006331.jpg

 

[day_trippr]

Very good, that's a fairly standard setup.
So we can get into some details.

- What temperature do you have your controller actually targeting?
- Where is the controller probe located?
- Do you ever hear the freezer compressor running through all this?

What I'd do: add a small (80mm) 12vdc fan to keep the air stirred up, fix the controller temperature probe directly to the side of the fermentor with a thick pad of insulation over it, dial the controller to whatever beer temperature you're actually wanting to achieve with say a 1 or 2°F differential, and see how the system performs...

Cheers!

 

[MaxStout]

Do you have a small fan to move the air around? That might prevent temp variations inside. I use a small computer fan for mine. If you're concerned about fermenter contacting the floor, put a piece of 1" styrofoam sheeting under it.

Edit: day trippr beat me to the punch here. Great minds think alike...

 

[day_trippr]

That's a troo fact

 

[kdbentz]

Ok ill mive the probe and add a fan.....i have the controller set to 68 currently.....was afraid to bump it up too much more because it was already 75 inside......but after a couple days I was considering it again.
And yes I do hear the compressor running quite frequently....probably because its mesuring the aur temp not the beer temp?

 

[kdbentz]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455421789.726942.jpgsomething like that?View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455421854.351158.jpg

 

[slym2none]

You just started a thread with the same name, in the same forum, 2 days ago... one wasn't enough???

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=572207

 

[kdbentz]

Sorry that conversation went sideways and got derailed talking about cars....and it was covering a whole different topic.....I didnt see a problem with starting a new one......guess you do and I apologize if I offended you.

 

[slym2none]

I am not offended, it's just bad netiquette.

 

[kdbentz]

Noted....didnt realize it was a problem.
So do you have any input for my thread or are you just out looking for people who violate the etiquette code and trying to make them feel stupid?

 

[day_trippr]

Ok, back on topic...measuring the air temperature in a chest freezer is definitely going down a bad road - especially if you don't have a stirring fan.

The stratification can be profound - your heater was heating the top of the freezer, the compressor was cooling the bottom, and your temperature probe - wherever it was - was likely baffled.

fwiw, I use inch thick pads of closed cell foam scavenged from random consumer product shipping cartons to insulate the probe from the ambient temperature - in my ferm chambers and my keezer (works just as well with carboys as kegs). The thermal isolation from ambient is just as important as the thermal coupling to the fermentor - or keg. Folks using a wad of paper towels will never appreciate the difference...

Cheers!

 

[kdbentz]

I used a couple layers of thermal hot water heater insulation so it should be insulated plenty well.....and added a fan......and some 2x4 spacers on the floor.......i will give it the night and see what it looks like in the morning.
Thanks for the help.....making more sense all the time.

 

[slym2none]

I wasn't trying to make anyone feel stupid.

Jeez.

I read lots on this site, whether I respond or not. It's how I learn stuff.

*shrug*