Fermentation chamber

[ddibbern5]

Hi All,

I’m from northern Illinois & new to home brewing. Currently I have a part mash ale & a cider fermenting in 6.5 carboys.

I see a lot value in controlling my fermentation with a fermentation chamber. I know my house temp fluctuates ~10 degrees a day between home/away & day/night.
Would you mind sharing how you control fermentation temperatures? I’ve seen several great control options but haven’t seen a simple cabinet/chamber design that would be cost effective..? Ideally I would be looking to slightly modify a (craigslist) mini fridge..?
Any advice or current set up photos/info would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[RM-MN]

There are a number of ways to control the fermentation temperature. Search for "son of fermentation chamber" as a start. Using a dedicated controller on a mini fridge, full size fridge, freezer, etc is the best. There are other ways too, depending on the actual temperatures of your house.

 

[balrog]

I took one of those little cube dorm fridges, 1.5 cuft, took off the door, and bought a sheet of 2" thick foam board insulation at a big box store. I simply made a taped-together box big enough to hold the fermeter bucket with 2-3" either side. Set the fridge sticking out one side, put the little Lasko heater and an always on PC fan in the fridge, and hook it to a STC altered with @alphaomega 's STC1000+ firmware. Now, with my basement hitting low 70's in summer I cannot do better than about 55° so I will never cold crash with this little guy, but it will hold 60° for the brews I do with WY1007.

 

[65C]

I have a cheap old fridge that is big enough to comfortably fit a carboy and blowoff in

at it's lowest setting at stays at 17C which is great for fermenting what I brew - so it doesn't need any controllers etc.

 

[ddibbern5]

Thanks all for the feedback!
Rm-mn I couldn’t find anything on “son of fermentation chamber”? I’m sure it’s not operator error [emoji16]
Is it possible to share a link?

Balrog thanks for posting the pictures & information, much appreciated!
65c is it a full-size fridge & can you fit only one carboy in the fridge?
Thanks all!
Cheers

 

[PADave]

Fridge or freezer with an Inkbird controller.

 

[ddibbern5]

Thanks Dave, I guess I’m looking for something with a smaller footprint. I may just need to buy a cheap mini fridge and see what I can figure out..?

 

[MaxStout]

Here's one article on the SOFC. I noticed some other articles and threads under "Son of Fermentation Chiller." Also some YouTube videos on the topic.

 

[ddibbern5]

Ahh I’m sorry I was searching for a thread here. Thanks for the link maxStout!

 

[wisconsinitebrewer]

Here is a quick picture of what I am doing. My college fridge that I expanded. Now it is big enough to hold 2 carboys. I run 3 different temp controls: one for the fridge, then one for each of the carboys. A great setup that has worked for me

View attachment 1509244656865.jpg

 

[ddibbern5]

Thanks wisconsinitebrewer that’s Interesting! Why three controls? 2 heaters and 1 for the fridge? Where are the sensors?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I second a small chest freezer or mini fridge with an Inkbird. So simple. Plug it in and your done and if you ever need a mini fridge or freezer for what is made for you have one. No modifications needed. Under a $100 and your done if you can find one on Craigslist

 

[mongoose33]

Here's how I approached the problem:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=8096372

If you can find a 4.4 cu ft minifridge on craigslist (I bought mine for $60), it's likely a 6.5-gallon fermenter will fit in there. I have to sit mine on a couple boards to raise it above the plastic shelving on the bottom of the door, but I could have removed the plastic on the door entirely. Just trying to keep it intact.

 

[ddibbern5]

Mongoose33 thanks much yes that’s exactly what I was hoping to find! 4.4 cu ft it is then... what is the manufacturer of your fridge. I don’t think I’ve seen a mini fridge that big yet...

 

[Jtk78]

I bought a used chest freezer for $50 and added a collar and temp controller. I have it in my garage and can fit four Fermonsters in there. You could also look at the Brew Jacket Immersion Pro, which would take up essentially the footprint of your fermenter, but comes with a hefty price tag, and you'd need one for each fermenter. For me, warming was much easier than cooling. You could warm with a big tub of water and an aquarium heater. That's what I used until I needed to cool. I've heard others using the tub with frozen water bottles to cool. I lasted 3 days on that method until I bought the freezer.

 

[wisconsinitebrewer]

Thanks wisconsinitebrewer that’s Interesting! Why three controls? 2 heaters and 1 for the fridge? Where are the sensors?

Yep, 2 for the heaters and then one for the fridge. I set the fridge at a slightly lower temp then I want the beer (5-8 degrees). It does a real good job at holding my temp. One sensor is in some water for my fridge. The others are in thermowells in the carboys.
I thought about going a different direction similar to what others have brought up but I just worked with what I had already.

 

[mr_stout]

ddibbern5, I use a medium sized fan and a small water bath (old oil pan), I also have a probes to monitor the temperature in the closet. It is easy and it is working to cool down the carboy a few degrees. I got the temperature below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This was the cheapest way I could find to do it. I will make it so that the fan comes on only when the temperature rises above 71 degrees.

 

[mongoose33]

Mongoose33 thanks much yes that’s exactly what I was hoping to find! 4.4 cu ft it is then... what is the manufacturer of your fridge. I don’t think I’ve seen a mini fridge that big yet...

https://www.menards.com/main/kitche...-freezer-and-refrigerator/p-1444426295822.htm

You can't see it well in the pics in the thread I posted above, but the fermenter sits on a couple of boards to allow it to sit high enough so the bottom of the door plastic molding doesn't hit it. This pic shows it better:

 

[ddibbern5]

Mongoose33 thanks for the info and the link that is great information & a sweet setup! Great looking work bench & the chamber fits perfectly!

 

[SleepyCreekBrews]

....from the "Bling" department .... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=522070

 

[ddibbern5]

Thanks sleppycreekbrews. Your chambers look awesome! Tell me about the hair dryer does it bring the chamber up to temp? Think it will work on a larger chamber?

 

[PADave]

Thanks sleppycreekbrews. Your chambers look awesome! Tell me about the hair dryer does it bring the chamber up to temp? Think it will work on a larger chamber?

One of these is a great heat source. Nice gentle heat, safe. Only time you need heat using a chamber is to raise the temp to finish out. The yeast will provide plenty during active fermentation.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZXOP1C/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[mongoose33]

One of these is a great heat source. Nice gentle heat, safe. Only time you need heat using a chamber is to raise the temp to finish out. The yeast will provide plenty during active fermentation.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZXOP1C/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I have one of these and it works very well.

Typically I tuck it inside the lifting straps on the fermenter. If ambient is a bit colder (such as fermenting in a fridge in a 40-degree garage), I'll put a towel on the outside of the mat to direct its heat into the fermenter.

You'd think a 21-watt matt wouldn't be warm enough, but in a typical ambient environment application it's just fine.

In fact, I used it to provide more general heat in my ferm chamber when I was doing two experimental beers side-by-side. I just spread the mat out behind the fermenters and it was able to handle the temps.

Now with the garage getting colder during fall, I'd have to put it inside the lifting straps again.

Below is a pic showing the use of the reptile cage mat as heat source, along with a fermwrap. I almost always just add the heat mat when I put the fermenter in the first time, connect to the Inkbird, and then when it's time to raise the temp from my typical 64-degree temp to 71 degrees for the yeast to finish, it's as easy as changing the temp on the Inkbird.

 

[SleepyCreekBrews]

Thanks sleppycreekbrews. Your chambers look awesome! Tell me about the hair dryer does it bring the chamber up to temp? Think it will work on a larger chamber?

Those are indeed awesome, but they're not mine. The ones on the last pages of that thread are basically turn-key, and attractive (if you needed to have it in the house).

Personally I like a heating pad, I think it does a lot better job putting heat into the beer, versus heating the air.

I use something slightly bigger shown in this thread

 

[Jim311]

Mine is basically a big dorm fridge that used to be a kegerator. It still has the taps and lines on it in case I want to serve from it one day, but it has a Johnson Controls temp controller and that's it. Simple and since it was designed to keep a 15 gallon keg cold it is more than capable of keeping a few carboys cool while fermenting.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I just got two mini fridges and two inkbird temperature controllers. One of the fridges I paid full price for and the other I got used for $25. They both required that I cut out the door shelving so my fermenters would fit and I had to bend down the condenser on the $25 unit. They both work pretty well so far.

 

[ddibbern5]

Padave & mongoose thanks for the info on the heat mat. $15 less than the lowest priced one I’ve seen online!