Got a Dedicated Lager/Ferment fridge!

[agroff383]

Hey all, wifey wanted a new fridge, the one we got with the house is pretty small and old. So I readily agreed. Now I have my own fermentation chamber! I have a few questions for those of you with experience setting one up. I have a Johnson Controls A419 on order, just a digital thermostat like I see a lot of you have on here.

1. Can I use the freezer, or is that going to be the same temp that I set on the thermostat?

2. Where is the best place to put the sensor bulb? I know the ferment makes its own heat and I realize that for lagers and what not I need to keep the temp steady as possible. I also know that some use a thermowell, just wondering what goes into that with using buckets primarily, sometimes a 6 gallon better bottle. Is putting the probe in the actual fermentation vessel necessary?

3. What do I set the thermostat in the fridge to? The coldest? Or that doesn't even matter?

I just want to bypass the trial and error and see what you all have done to sucessfully control fermentation. Even if I can keep it steady at 60 I can use it for ales as well, I havent spent a winter in this house yet and I dont know how cold the basement gets. Thanks!

 

[KCBrewer]

The freezer side is going to get colder, but will not be a steady temp. You can keep mugs in it, but the temp will swing from about 25°-45°. Mine usually hovered around 40°, but when you put warm carboys in the fridge, it would cause it to run more for a day or two, which caused the freezer temps to drop below freezing, so not a good idea to store beer in there during this time.

Some people use thermowells, some just tape it to the side of the fermenter, and some, like me, just have it hanging in the middle of all my carboys.

The fridge thermostat setting will not matter if you are keeping it at 60. You are doing it's job with the A419.

 

[remilard]

Hey all, wifey wanted a new fridge, the one we got with the house is pretty small and old. So I readily agreed. Now I have my own fermentation chamber! I have a few questions for those of you with experience setting one up. I have a Johnson Controls A419 on order, just a digital thermostat like I see a lot of you have on here.

1. Can I use the freezer, or is that going to be the same temp that I set on the thermostat?

2. Where is the best place to put the sensor bulb? I know the ferment makes its own heat and I realize that for lagers and what not I need to keep the temp steady as possible. I also know that some use a thermowell, just wondering what goes into that with using buckets primarily, sometimes a 6 gallon better bottle. Is putting the probe in the actual fermentation vessel necessary?

3. What do I set the thermostat in the fridge to? The coldest? Or that doesn't even matter?

I just want to bypass the trial and error and see what you all have done to sucessfully control fermentation. Even if I can keep it steady at 60 I can use it for ales as well, I havent spent a winter in this house yet and I dont know how cold the basement gets. Thanks!

1. The freezer will always be somewhat colder than the fridge. If you are fermenting ales, it won't be below freezing. So, no, you can't use the freezer*.

2. No, you can tape it to the side with some insulation over it (bubble wrap, etc).

3. Coldest.

*At least without some creative engineering.

 

[Malticulous]

I set the bulb on top of the bucket. The temps usually within a few degrees, but you should watch it. I've had big beers go 10F higher.

 

[agroff383]

*At least without some creative engineering.

Please expound on that, my dad has been doing HVAC and refrigeration for 40 years and he has been called much more colorful terms than a creative engineer lol! He loves tinkering with my beer projects.

 

[remilard]

Please expound on that, my dad has been doing HVAC and refrigeration for 40 years and he has been called much more colorful terms than a creative engineer lol! He loves tinkering with my beer projects.

I don't have a solution but the problem is that fridge is designed to work with a certain differential between the freezer and fridge compartments and they share the same coils. You have to find a way to move cold air around so that they can be at a larger differential.

 

[ILuvIPA]

FWIW, Jamil & Palmer did a segment on ferm temps (brew strong) and recommend the sensor under bubble wrap trick. Supposedly they did a study and found that was spot-on with putting the probe in solution.