Fermentation Cooler - Recommendations

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gleemonger

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I'm a new brewer who just relocated from a nice, cool environment in CA, where I didn't need a cooler all year, to Phoenix, AZ. So yes, it's going to get VERY hot pretty soon here. I'll be brewing in the garage, which is not temperature controlled, so I will definitely need some sort of fermentation cooler for all of my batches from here on out.

I've been doing single batches thus far, in a 6.5 gallon carboy (5 gallon for secondary of course), but I'm pretty sure I'll be wanting to do either double batches or two simultaneous batches pretty soon here.

I don't keg yet, but I'm sure I will at some point in the next year or so.

Space is not an issue in my new house at all. Cost is a bit of a factor, but not too bad - if I can do something for under $300 that would be great, but could probably handle up to $500.

What are your recommendations given all of these facts? I know there are chest freezers and upright - it seems like chest freezers would have more space and accommodate two 6.5 gallon carboys more easily, but it seems to me like it would be difficult to get them in and out of there. Any tips would be greatly appreciated, including specific brands of fridge/freezer and temperature controllers...

Thanks!
 
Welcome to "Hell"

I have been using a chest freezer in my apartment but if I had a house would I have purchased a refrigerator. Bending over to place a 6.5 gallon carboy full of beer into the chest freezer kills my back.

As to temp controllers I bought one of the analog ones... wish I would have spend to additional money on digital but now you can build them pretty cheap. Tons of post here on the forums for building them.
 
Welcome to "Hell"

I have been using a chest freezer in my apartment but if I had a house would I have purchased a refrigerator. Bending over to place a 6.5 gallon carboy full of beer into the chest freezer kills my back.

As to temp controllers I bought one of the analog ones... wish I would have spend to additional money on digital but now you can build them pretty cheap. Tons of post here on the forums for building them.


Thanks. Oh man, I hope I don't think of it as hell... but we'll see how I feel in a couple months. So you'd recommend a fridge? If it's just a matter of space and a fridge is a better choice all else equal, then it should be pretty easy for me to get a cheapo fridge on Craigslist I'd think. I agree that it would be much easier to get the carboys in and out of there. I guess the only requirement would be that I find one that's wide enough to slide two in there side by side? If it's tall enough, maybe a shelf in the middle to fit four??

Do you happen to know how the freezer portion of the fridge would work with the temp controller installed? I'm wondering if it would be cooler than the fridge portion, and if so, if it could maybe be used as kind of a mini fridge for bottled beer storage...

Thanks!
 
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