Hi all. I've been reading many posts here and learning a lot as I begin to brew my own beer. I am on brew No. 4 (my first partial mash; another IPA), and ran into a little heartache as I started the primary fermentation. I put my beer in the second fridge with the temp adjusted to 67 or so degrees, exactly as I had done with previous brews. Unfortunately, the next day when I checked on it, I saw that the temp in the fridge was up to 74d, and no cool air was blowing. So I turned down the A/C in the house and put it in the bathroom that is always cooler than the rest of the house. It ended up fermenting at 72d or so (Denny's Favoraite 50 yeast btw). A little high for that yeast, but we'll see what happens.
After reading many threads and checking craigslist for a used fridge or freezer, I decided to experiment and build my own cheap cooler to keep my bucket or carboy a bit cooler than room temp. What I came up with was taking a 32 gal trash can ($10) and spraying foam insulation all over the inside (5 cans; $20 or so total). I added a stand at the bottom over the foam to support the bucket/carboy.
Last night I put my bucket in and it was 72d (according to the aquarium strip thermometer on the side of the bucket) with 3 frozen bottles of water. This morning it was 68d in the barrel, and the bucket read 70d (76d in the room). So it seems to work, at least to some degree. I will test it more as I go to see how effective it is.
I am just curious if anyone else has tried anything similar and had any success with it. Also, I would like to get any recommendations for my rig that might improve the cooling ability.
Thanks, and keep up the great work!
After reading many threads and checking craigslist for a used fridge or freezer, I decided to experiment and build my own cheap cooler to keep my bucket or carboy a bit cooler than room temp. What I came up with was taking a 32 gal trash can ($10) and spraying foam insulation all over the inside (5 cans; $20 or so total). I added a stand at the bottom over the foam to support the bucket/carboy.
Last night I put my bucket in and it was 72d (according to the aquarium strip thermometer on the side of the bucket) with 3 frozen bottles of water. This morning it was 68d in the barrel, and the bucket read 70d (76d in the room). So it seems to work, at least to some degree. I will test it more as I go to see how effective it is.
I am just curious if anyone else has tried anything similar and had any success with it. Also, I would like to get any recommendations for my rig that might improve the cooling ability.
Thanks, and keep up the great work!
