Fridge size needed for 5 Gallons

[ChiN8]

2 fridge questions.

I'm looking into a dorm fridge or maybe 2 if this will work.

1) I live in North Carolina and it gets truckin hot down here in Ft. Bragg. So I'm looking for a cooling mechanism while fermenting and don't know if a dorm type fridge would fit a 5gal carboy (Just purchased my brew kettle! very excited!)

2) After I brew 5 gallons worth of beer, I'm probably looking at like 50-65 bottles of beer....... anybody have an type of fridge to fit those bad boys? am I going to have to go full size?

 

[pstrohs]

I don't think that you will be able to find a mini-fridge that can fit a five gallon carboy, but there are many other ways to control your fermentation temps. Search "fermentation temperature control" and you can get some ideas that fit your budget, space, needs, etc.
You will get about 48-52 bottles from a five gallon batch.

 

[iron_city_ap]

A dorm type fridge MIGHT be able to fit a carboy, but you would need to get one of the larger dorm fridges and even then, I think you have to carefully take apart and modify the freezer section. There is one piece, the metal sheath around the freezer I believe, that if you break it, time to go buy another fridge..... you'd be better off buying a used full sized fridge. Probably cheaper too. It doesn't even have to work well. You just need it to be able to cool into the 60's (unless you plan on getting into Lagers)

 

[ChiN8]

I was thinking/hoping there might be a side by side that would hold a large enough threshold to hold a Carboy on the left/freezer side and the bottles on the right/refrigerator side.....

HOPEFULLY

 

[iron_city_ap]

You would need a commercial fridge to store 2 side by side. I don't know that I'd use a freezer for regular fermentation. I think at its 'warmest' setting, it would be too cold for most beers. Then again, I could be wrong, or you could swap out the thermostat. Have you checked in the 'equipment' section on here to see what those guys are saying or have said?

 

[turtleboy3737]

I use a mini-fridge as a fermentation chamber but I had to remove the shelves and such and the panel inside the door. I used a 6gal better bottle

 

[ChiN8]

I use a mini-fridge as a fermentation chamber but I had to remove the shelves and such and the panel inside the door. I used a 6gal better bottle

What CU is your mini-fridge?

 

[turtleboy3737]

I'll try to look that up when I get home, at work at the moment

EDIT FOR PIC

 

[kidoduck]

Search the threads for mini fridge conversions. There are lots. The model numbers change occasionally, but you might find a used one out there. Some of them, you can(carefully) bend the freezer shelf down against the back wall to make room for a carboy. I found a fridgidaire with a removable freezer shelf, installed a temp controller I found on ebay. It tightly fits a 6 gal glass carboy.
As I was writing this, I had a deja vu, looked back, found this post by me under the thread "Best mini fridge for fermentation chamber":

There are a few threads on this. I have heard Sanyo 4912 mentioned a lot. I have a Frigidaire 445 that barely holds a 6 gallon carboy. I mentioned this to someone in a post not too long ago, so like I said, do a search. you should find quite few threads on this question.