ARittner
Well-Known Member
So, every time I do a batch of beer something goes wrong. Nothing so bad as to ruin the beer, but enough so that I know what to do to correct it for next time. This past batch had issues with temperature. Namely, the heat failed in my house and the ale was in the low 50's for a day before I knew.
I went ahead and made the investment in an 8 cubic foot chest freezer off of Craigslist, a Johnson Controls temp controller, and some other stuff. I figure this way I'll be able to keep it warm enough in winter, and cool enough in the summer.
My basement, on average, is about 50-55 degrees in the winter. I was going to do the lightbulb in the freezer trick to keep the air in there warm, setting the temp controller to keep it about 64 or so. The freezer itself would be plugged in obviously, just using it for it's insulated properties.
If the ambient temp is 55, would that even be needed? Is it possible that the heat from fermentation in a closed chest freezer would keep the air inside at the desired temp? I guess my only worry is I'll have the thing all set up to keep the beer warm, but should I consider that I may actually need to keep it cool?
I know, I won't be able to get a real answer from this until I actually go and do it. But I was wondering if anybody knew about how much heat to expect, or had run into a similar situation.
Thanks!
-Andy
I went ahead and made the investment in an 8 cubic foot chest freezer off of Craigslist, a Johnson Controls temp controller, and some other stuff. I figure this way I'll be able to keep it warm enough in winter, and cool enough in the summer.
My basement, on average, is about 50-55 degrees in the winter. I was going to do the lightbulb in the freezer trick to keep the air in there warm, setting the temp controller to keep it about 64 or so. The freezer itself would be plugged in obviously, just using it for it's insulated properties.
If the ambient temp is 55, would that even be needed? Is it possible that the heat from fermentation in a closed chest freezer would keep the air inside at the desired temp? I guess my only worry is I'll have the thing all set up to keep the beer warm, but should I consider that I may actually need to keep it cool?
I know, I won't be able to get a real answer from this until I actually go and do it. But I was wondering if anybody knew about how much heat to expect, or had run into a similar situation.
Thanks!
-Andy