Fermenter Fridge

[DublinOhioBrewer]

Hello fellow Brewers,

I have my first ever beer in my fermenter as we speak. I just pitched it and started fermenting it in my 7 gal fermonster last night. I'm already thinking ahead to temperature control.

I purchased an ink bird and a heating pad on Amazon this evening at the advice of my good friend mongoose. Now I need a fridge.

What kind of fridge am I looking for on Craigslist or whatever? I assume I don't really need to mod it because the inkbird will handle the control and the heating pad can be plugged into it as well I assume. I doubt there's one that's big enough for me to have two fermenters in there at once because I would need two inkbirds for that correct?

So I guess I'll just start with one and see how it goes. If anyone can direct me to what kind of fridge I should be looking for I would appreciate it.

As always, thanks in advance you guys are the best!


Cheers! O-H!

 

[Sammy86]

You’re going to get a whole bunch of answers here so I’ll just throw at you what I’ve got...

I have a 7.1 cubic feet chest freezer that can hold 2 6.5 gallon fermentors in it. I got it on Black Friday for 150 bucks from Sears.

I don’t believe you’ll need to two inkbirds because you can’t plug the cooling side into two separate temp controllers.

If it were me I would look for a chest freezer for fermentation and a fridge for serving.

 

[DublinOhioBrewer]

I had never considered a freezer

 

[SEndorf]

Hey Dublin!
I too will throw at ya what I've got.
Craigslist used fridge for $80 for my fermenter. Fits two 6.5 carboys. Ranco two stage controller. Heat provided by a very small ceramic heater on the top shelf. Cold provided by... well.. the fridge.
6 tap keezer made with a chest freezer, controlled by another single temp controller set at 38 degrees.

 

[waldoar15]

I had never considered a freezer

A small chest freezer is usually a better choice since they won't run as much as a fridge with a fan will.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

Craiglist my freind.
https://columbus.craigslist.org/hsh/d/deep-freeze-75/6450692153.html

Way more than you need for 1 fermenter, but it will easily hold 3-4.

Better yet, you section off a space for fermenting and use the other side for serving your kegs. Face it, you have already started down the path to the dark side, why put off the inevitable?

Search you feelings, you know it is true....

 

[PADave]

Chest freezers also usually cost less than a fridge. The problem with having 2 fermenters in one is controlling the temp. Unless you brew two fermemters worth on the same day, you would run into the situation where one would be starting fermentation and you'd want a lower temp, and the other would be finishing and you'd want a higher temp. The first week is the most important to control temps. If I brew again the next week, I just pull the first fermenter out and use the chamber for the newest brew. But my brew schedule is usually every other week at most, so I only need control one fermenter at a time.

 

[Jtk78]

Edit - @PADave see below for how I handle 2 different temps in the same freezer.

I also went with a used chest freezer. Mine has no hump, and I can fit 4 Fermonsters in there at a time, although I did need to add a collar. I'm not sure of the cu ft of it. I've had 4 in there once, but typical is two as I make two batches when I brew.

Regarding the heating / cooling, I can handle this one of two ways. If my fermentation temperature is going to be the same for both vessals, I have a 60 watt ceramic heat emitter in a ceramic light bulb socket. I hook both the freezer and heater up to my Inkbird and go. If my fermentation temperature is going to be different, think IPA and Belgian going at the same time I needed two different heat sources. I bought two heating wraps from reptilebasics.com. Much cheaper than home brew wraps. I hook the freezer and the colder beer up to the Inkbird, and the warmer beer up to a second temp controller. My temp probes are taped and insulated halfway up the fermenter. I liked the wraps because it's not just heating from the bottom, but that is purely personal choice. I have been able to get an 8F difference between the two vessels. I haven't tried a bigger temperature delta than that yet.

There are MANY ways to skin this cat. Mini fridge large enough for one vessel, look up "son of a fermentation chiller", full size fridge may fit more than one, and chest freezers are a popular choice. Keep in mind, you can use a chest freezer as a kegerator later down the road, but not use it for both duties at the same time.

 

[irontodd]

I went with the mini fridge large enough for one vessel. I do 5 gallon batches so I don't have the need for anything larger. A standard ale pail fits nicely. I typically don't brew every week so plenty of time for fermentation to complete. Then I move my pail to my closet. Long term lagering will pose a different issue, as my ferm fridge won't be able to be used for that.