Hoppo's Rustic Fermentation Chambers (Ale & Lager)

[Hoppopotomus]

I'm slowly building the individual components to my brewery. This thread is to chronicle my fermentation chamber builds. Like my other builds, I'm going with a rustic design quality using knotty pine, cedar logs, etc. I'm building a lager fermentation chamber using an old Absocold dorm fridge as the cooling device. I have had this fridge for almost 20 years, since I lived in the dorms in undergraduate school. It was only used for two years and then was stored at my parents house. I plugged it in and it got cold right away, so she still works. For my Ale chamber, I'm going to use a reptile cage mat heater to as my heating device. Of course, both chambers will have temperature controllers installed. Here are a few pics of the old dorm fridge.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Today I started on my lager fermentation chamber. I recently tore apart an old entertainment center that I build years ago out of ash plywood. I used 1/2 of the wood for my ventilation hood for my e-brewery build. I had just enough to knock out the box for my lagering fermentation chamber today. The first pic. is of my rustic bar and keezer. This is the look that I am going for in my brewing room, which is adjacent to the bar room, in the unfinished side of my basement. I basically just framed a plywood box (48" wide, 32" high, and 25" deep)and put it on casters. The back of the Absocold Fridge contains the cooling coils and compressor, so it was left exposed out of the end of the box. I had to book and laminate pieces of plywood together to get the height that I needed. I removed the door from the fridge, took the feet off, so that it sits flush to the bottom and framed around the box of the fridge. I then used 100% silicone caulk to seal all of the edges.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

The next set of pictures are of the completed box with the casters installed. I contemplated about making the door on the side, but decided to just use a hinged top, sort of like a chest freezer. I plan on using rigid closed cell foam insulation panels and going 3" thick everywhere. There is enough room on either side of the fridge inside the box for insulating. I used some old laminate flooring for the subfloor. Under the subfloor is 3" of rigid foam insulation as well. Next onto knotty pine and then cedar logs for the corners. I plan on knocking this chamber out first, then moving onto the Ale fermentation chamber next, which will only be 36" wide. I had to make the Lager chamber bigger to accommodate for the fridge inside.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Here are some pics. with the t&g knotty pine installed. I'm trying to decide if I want to take the time to knife/mill logs for the vertical corners or just trim out the corners with simple pine corner molding instead to save time. I may go the quicker/easier route and incorporate some log trim across the front of the lid instead. I have 3 more boxes to build, so it would be a lot of log knifing and milling to do all of the corners. I'm also building a 48" grain storage bin that will look basically identical to this one and then a 36" grain weighing and milling station, and of course the 36" ale chamber. Alot of work ahead of me, but it keeps me out of trouble!

Next....onto the top, installing a circulating fan to move the cold air inside of the chamber, and shopping for temperature controllers....again.

 

[Rivenin]

I dig it

 

[Airborneguy]

That looks great! Are you intending to use this for lagering temps (35-32f)? I'm a little concerned that small fridge won't get you to this temps in such a large space.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

No. I'm just trying to hit lager fermentation temps. for the primary fermentation. Secondary lagering at lower temps. will have to be completed in my keezer or I may get another small chest freezer and a temp. controller for this purpose. There's no way that this little fridge will keep temps in the 30's. I'm new to the whole lager scene, as I brew primarily ales at this point. I'm just trying to get a decent set up, so that I have the capability to handle all styles. This little fridge gets very cold at it's lowest setting. In college, I put it on it's lowest setting to try to rapidly cool down a case of beer. I forgot to turn the stat back up and it froze them solid. I'm going to lower the head space in the chamber when I insulate it to decrease the cubic volume of the chamber. Hopefully with a smaller volume and a 6" Inductor fan blowing air directly out of the the feezer compartment, I can keep temps. needed for the primary fermentation. I wanted the box and top to end up close to countertop height, because these boxed components will also serve as countertops for my brewery.

 

[Ramitt]

Nice build. I wish I had your skills.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks, but it's not complicated stuff. Just framing boxes and trimming with knotty pine....really hard to screw up. I'll hopefully be able to start on the Ale chamber tomorrow, which will essentially look the same, but only 3 ft. wide since it doesn't need the extra width for a fridge inside. Once I get that box done, I'll insulate both at the same time and then work on the hinged tops. Although it will add some weight to the tops, I'm going to incorporate tumbled travertine tile to make them consistent with my keezer build.

These two pieces, the lager and ale fermentation chambers, will form an "L" shape in the right hand corner of my brewery. It will make more sense once I finish the second box and take pics of the layout.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

I built the box for the Ale Chamber today. I used OSB for this box, as it's 1/2 the price of plywood. This box is a little smaller than the lager chamber. It's 36" wide x 32 tall x 24 deep. I used the same casters to make it mobile and the same laminate wood flooring for the floor of the box, which again has 3" of rigid foam insulation below it.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Here's the finished box trimmed out with knotty pine and casters installed. With 3" of rigid foam insulation lining all of the walls and even more in the headspace, it should work fine. I'm using either a reptile cage heating cable or heat mat plugged into a temp. controller for the heat source for this chamber.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Here are the two chambers sitting in the corner of my brewery, which is obviously under construction. I wanted them to form an "L" shape in the corner. The lids will be hinged tops decked out with cedar and travertine tile, similar to my keezer. Next, onto insulation, electrical, and the tops. I'm going out of town for the weekend to Traverse City to my buddies cottage and hitting the casino and a few microbreweries. Should be a riot!

 

[Lucky_Chicken]

subscribed! If this turns out half as good as your last builds it will be great!!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks man. Going out of town this weekend....again, but plan on running the electrical and insulating the chambers next week. Hopefully next weekend I can build the lids and start trimming them out. I'll keep you posted.

 

[-MG-]

Very awesome build!

I'll be curious how well that mini fridge does to cool things down.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

The goal is to decrease the cubic volume inside of the chamber as much as possible with insulation panels, so there is just enough room for two fermenter. I already removed the outside door and the freezer compartment door and plan on filling the entire cavity lower cavity of the fridge with stacked insulation panels to reduce volume. I then plan on installing a 6" Inductor fan to blow cold air out of the freezer compartment and into the chamber, with another fan pulling air back out of the chamber and back to the upper part of the fridge for re-cooling. It has worked well for my coffin keezer, so I hope it works for this. I think that the keys are going to be filling all dead space with insulation and decreasing the cubic volume as much as possible, maximizing R-value, and making the chamber as air tight as possible is the key. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I don't have a doubt that I'll be able to keep primary lager fermentation temps, but secondary lagering down into the 30's may be a bit far fetched for this unit. I'll probably have to get another small chest freezer for that.

 

[TheKeg81]

I'm glad to see you doing this. I have a small fridge from my dorm days as well. I had thought about making a lagering box much like you are doing, but I wasn't sure the little fridge could handle the south Louisiana heat. I was unable to find any information on the cooling unit for my fridge so I couldn't do any type of estimations on cooling capacity. If yours comes out and works well, I may give it a shot anyways and see what happens. If nothing else, I'll probably have a nice place to ferment my ales that's not taking up valuable inside space.

I'm going to be keeping up with this one, subscribed!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

It may be a bit tougher making it work with the heat that you have to deal with down there. I'm hoping that with an already cool ambient temperature in the low 60's in my basement brewing room and with a tight system that the ole mini-fridge will keep up. If not....I can make room in the back of the box for a larger unit if needed. I'll keep you posted.

 

[-MG-]

If you haven't bought the inductor fan I recommend this:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...3&langId=-1&keyword=inductorfan&storeId=10051

While its only 4" they have had this pricing error for over 6 months now. Its around $28 in stores, but $14 online. I would jump on it if you can. I plan on using it for my keezer build.

 

[JoshuaWhite5522]

I am totally subscribed to this one to Hop. Your builds blow me away.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

If you haven't bought the inductor fan I recommend this:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...3&langId=-1&keyword=inductorfan&storeId=10051

While its only 4" they have had this pricing error for over 6 months now. Its around $28 in stores, but $14 online. I would jump on it if you can. I plan on using it for my keezer build.

Yeah I took full advantage of the 4" ones at HD for my keezer build at $14. I checked a couple of weeks ago on their site and they were back up to $28. Thanks, I'll check again. My father inlaw gave me a couple of 6" ones that he pulled out of his duct work for his HVAC system, but I may purchase a few more of the 4" ones if the price is still right for spares.

Thanks Josh......much appreciated. I'll try to keep the progress going, but my wife has a couple of projects that she wants me to knock out before I go much further with my brewing builds. I think she needs to get her priorities in line.

 

[JoshuaWhite5522]

I understand that. I would like to put together my brew stand. She wants to replace the kitchen floor..... I mean we have a floor, we don't have a brew stand. It seems simple to me. Good luck with finding time for everything.

 

[rockinmarty]

SWMBO loves your builds she says they look amazing but she wants to kill you for all the ideas you put in my head:cross: keep the great stuff coming. Subscribed

 

[buckley28]

Interested in seeing how things work out. I'm getting ready to build Chambers as well (primary and secondary). Probably one now and the other later but like to see how urs turn out as I'll prob use ur build for some much needed pointers.
Prob going metal studs, 1.5" rigid insulation between the same size studs w/ another .5" layer over all studs then from over that. Going for an interior size of 2x5x2.5 for a total cf of 25. Hopefully able to fit about 4 6.5gal carboys.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks guys....I'll try to keep the progress going on the chambers, but a few things have taken priority for this weekend. I know this is , but

I bought a new plasma TV for the finished side of the basement earlier this week and the wall mount just came today via UPS. I have a feeling that the majority of this weekend is going to be devoted to hanging the TV, hooking up components, running the surround sound, etc. My CPA finalized our tax returns and it's very favorable for us this year, which never happens. This means that the carpeting AND boiler system to heat the floors in the basement should be realistic purchases over the next couple of weeks! :rockin:

 

[Hoppopotomus]

I got the lager fermentation chamber 90% insulated yesterday. I have an SUV, so transporting sheets of the 4' x 8' rigid foam insulation would be difficult. I ended up buying six packs of 48" x 14" polystyrine panels that are 3/4" thick simply because they were easier to transport and much cheaper. They have an R value of 3.4 per panel and I ended up laminating 6 panels thick for a total of 4 1/2 inches of perimeter insulation at an R value of 20.4. The 3/4" plywood for the box adds another .94, and the knotty pine paneling adds about .4, so when all is said and done, I should be around a total R value of 22. As I installed the panes, I caulked every single seam and corner and used Tyvek tape over every seem and corner for every single layer. This box should be air tight. I also packed the lower compartment space of the mini-fridge full of insulation to further decrease the cubic volume to be cooled. I was able to decrease the total interiou cubic volume to 6.8 cu. ft., so hopefully the mini fridge can keep up. I also installed a 6" inductor fan than blows directly out of the freezer compartment, into the chamber and 4" inductor fan on the other side to draw chamber air back into the fridge. I also got the fans wired and cord installed.

I'll post some pics of the progress later tonight or tomorrow, as I am working a 13 hr. day today.

 

[android]

lookin good!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks....I'll try to get some pics. up tonight. I plan on finishing the insulation in the lager chamber tomorrow and starting it on the ale chamber. I just want to get the rest of this BS done, so I can get the tops going. I plan on trimming the tops out with cedar boards with tumbled travertine in interior. I'll also have a log trim piece across the front of each, so still quite a bit of work to do.

I have read some mixed reviews on heat sources. I was going to purchase a reptile cage mat heater for the ale chamber, but some have noted poor results. I have also read about the lightbulb in a can method as well. I still haven't decided on the heat source, but did purchase a 4" inductor fan to circulate air in that chamber as well.

Any feedback on heat sources would be great in helping me make my decision.

Also, someone mentioned that if it's insulated well enough a heat source may not be necessary because of heat generated during ale fermentation. The ale chamber will be 5.625 cubic feet on the inside, just enough for two 6.5 gallon fermenters, a blow off tube bucket, and the 4" inductor fan to circulate the air. My unfinished side of the basement, were the brewery will be, does not have the radiant floor heating and if I turn off the forced air heat ducts, the ambient temp is consistently in the upper 50's to low 60's (dependent on time of year). Any advice or suggestions?

 

[AnchorBock]

Looking good, puts my chamber to shame (mine is pretty ugly, but very functional). I use a small $15 space heater in mine from target. No complaints other than my temp sensor thinks it's a lot warmer after the heater has turned off and the fridge wants to kick in. I typically let them fight each other until fermentation kicks off, then unplug the heater as the fridge is only necessary to keep the heat down that the fermentation is generating. As fermentation slows down I unplug the fridge and plug the heater back in.

 

[cmw6300]

Any feedback on heat sources would be great in helping me make my decision.

This is what I use in my ferm. chamber.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753959&lmdn=Heating

With this in the socket.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753963&lmdn=Heating

This isn't the only place to buy them as any pet place should have them. The lamp itself is a little pricey but well worth it. My chamber is quite large, roughly 6'X3'X3' interior volume and this setup keeps my fermentor stable at ferm. temps. I also have a computer fan that kicks on when the heating cycle activates to keep the air moving inside the chaber.