Frigidaire 9 CF Chest Freezer - Suitability?

[ASantiago]

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a Frigidaire 9 CF chest freezer from Lowes. You can see it here.

Based on comments I've read here, I want to make sure I'm not getting something that's not going to work right for me. I use Better Bottles (the 6+ gal type) for fermenting and I'm 5'6".

1. How many BBs can I fit in it?

2. Is the height enough to fit the fermenter in with the airlock?

3. Considering my height and the lower weight and risk factor of the plastic BBs, would I be asking for some serious backaches if I ferment in this chest freezer?

I'm hoping someone with this model and similar circumstances (BB, height, etc) will be able to guide me, but of course I welcome any and all comments.

 

[sv_1]

I'm using an old 9cf freezer and it will easily hold 3 carboys with airlocks. I bet more would fit, but I've never had the need.

Can't answer the question about your back

 

[ASantiago]

I'm using an old 9cf freezer and it will easily hold 3 carboys with airlocks. I bet more would fit, but I've never had the need.

Can't answer the question about your back

Thanks! Does yours have a step/bump/hump inside for the compressor? That's my main concern in terms of interior space.

Fair enough on the issue of my back.

 

[meschaefer]

Just bumping an old thread, to see if the OP went with this model. I was considering it for the same thing, fermentation chamber for two carboys (although I use glass)

 

[ASantiago]

I've been meaning to come back to this thread and post my experiences with the unit.

I did go with this model and I'm happy with it. It's big enough for my modest brewing requirements. It will hold two 6 gal Better Bottle fermenters. However, I've never done two simultaneous fermentations (I will this weekend), so I don't know how comfortably two fermenters plus a blow off jar will fit. We'll see.

My experiences have been positive so far. The unit cools nicely and relatively fast. It's not a big box, so it doesn't take too much space. The compressor "hump" is handy for keeping smaller things cooled down, like yeast starters, mason jars with washed yeast, etc. Two baskets are included with the freezer, but I only use one and only occasionally. Paired with a digital temp controller, the freezer makes for quite a nice fermentation chamber, which is what I'm using it for.

Now, there are some drawbacks. Because I'm operating it as a fancy refrigerator, the freezer gets condensation on its interior walls and it ends up running down to the floor of the unit. I'm having to make sure I keep the interior dry, or at least wiped off. I hear some people put dehumidifier stuff in there, but I haven't looked into that. As a result of the water, the unit is already showing some minor rust spots. I understand freezers don't have the capability to handle condensation that refrigerators do. Mold is a risk with this.

Getting heavy carboys (or, in my case, Better Bottles) into and out of the freezer can be a bit of a challenge. At 5'6", I have to bend out of balance to do it and that puts pressure on my back. I don't know what the effect would be on a taller person, maybe not as much, but I imagine a shorter person might have a harder time. Luckily, the compressor hump is useful for this. Moving fermenters into and out of the freezer has become a two-step process. Regardless of the direction I'm going, I first place the fermenter on the hump, change grips, and then proceed. I don't know how this is going to work out with two fermenters in the box. I've seen harnesses you can get for the carboys that supposedly make it easier to move them into/out of the box, but I haven't tried one yet.

Overall, I'm quite happy with the purchase. It's awesome to be able to do temp control on not only fermentations, but also on yeast starters. I'll just have to deal with the issue of moving fermenters around.

One final thing to keep in mind is that it's probably better to have a thermowell with either a cap or a rubber stopper for the temp controller's probe to get a reading from the center of the wort. I've investigated a variety of ways to get good temp control, but I think a thermowell is the best. I haven't implemented that yet. At the moment the probe is reading ambient air and, while that works OK, it takes much longer for the wort to achieve the target temperature.

Hope this helps. Sorry for the long post.

 

[meschaefer]

No apologies for the long post needed.

As to the over height and moving carboys, I'am 6'3" and I already have the harnesses for my carboys. They are great, and make moving around carboys very easy. I would never think of moving a full carboy (especially glass) without one again. This past weekend I carried a 6.5 gallon glass carboy with 5 gallons of wort, down a flight of stairs without any issue. They make grabbing onto the carboys very easy. I highly recommend.

Are the better bottles a tight fit, or is there some room left over? Is there ample room up top, or will airlocks be a problem? Would you be able to post a pic, with the two better bottles in the chest?

Since I plan on using it strictly for fermentation I figure that the blow off tubes could go to a jar/bucket on the compressor hump

In regard to temp control, I have heard it suggested to tape the probe onto the carboy with a bit of insulation on the oustide. That way it is measuring the temp of the carboy and not the air around it. If you have two carboys, you put the carboys next to each other and place the probe between them with a bit of insulation.

 

[GatorDad]

I use this exact model for my keezer...

In regard to temp control, I have heard it suggested to tape the probe onto the carboy with a bit of insulation on the oustide. That way it is measuring the temp of the carboy and not the air around it. If you have two carboys, you put the carboys next to each other and place the probe between them with a bit of insulation.

Dogma. Put the temp probe in a small bottle of water. You'll have a much more stable environment for your fermenting.

 

[ASantiago]

Sorry for the delayed response. Been busy brewing... and drinking.

I already have the harnesses for my carboys. They are great, and make moving around carboys very easy... I highly recommend.

They are on my wish list.

Are the better bottles a tight fit, or is there some room left over? Is there ample room up top, or will airlocks be a problem? Would you be able to post a pic, with the two better bottles in the chest?

The fit is OK. It's a little close, but not tight at all. Airlocks are not a problem, as long as you don't try to place one of the baskets directly above (there's plenty of space for them too). I will post a good picture today or tomorrow. I already have both BB in there, plus the blow off bottle. Personally, I'd rather have the blow off bottle on the floor of the freezer rather than on the hump; that's just a personal preference thing. I use the hump for other things (that sounds dirty... ).

In regard to temp control, I have heard it suggested to tape the probe onto the carboy with a bit of insulation on the outside.

There are several ways to do it. Some, as the previous poster, prefer to put the probe in a jar or beer bottle with water. Others just go with ambient air, or with the probe on the side of the fermenter and insulated. All those are workable ways and ultimately you get much better results than without any temp control. But if you ask me, putting the probe into a thermowell and taking readings directly from the center of the wort is "the" way to do it.

 

[meschaefer]

There are several ways to do it. Some, as the previous poster, prefer to put the probe in a jar or beer bottle with water. Others just go with ambient air, or with the probe on the side of the fermenter and insulated. All those are workable ways and ultimately you get much better results than without any temp control. But if you ask me, putting the probe into a thermowell and taking readings directly from the center of the wort is "the" way to do it.

My concern would be that your are measuring the temp in one carboy, and depending on the pace of fermentation you could have different temps in each carboy. i.e. if fermentation takes off faster in carboy one, the temp may be higher than carboy two.

 

[ASantiago]

My concern would be that your are measuring the temp in one carboy, and depending on the pace of fermentation you could have different temps in each carboy. i.e. if fermentation takes off faster in carboy one, the temp may be higher than carboy two.

In that case, you could go with ambient temp or probe in a bottle of water.

Here are the pictures I promised. The last two pics show the relative head space. The basket will fit directly on top of a 6 gal BB with the BB "water-less" airlock. On the last pic you can see that there is plenty of head space for a regular airlock, without a basket over the carboy, of course. Finally, you can see in the pics that 2 BB and a blow off bottle fit fine, snuggly, but not totally tight. The glass jar you see there, for size comparison, is a 4-pint (1/2 gallon) mason jar.