Low budget temp control ideas

[Willy]

Before I finally got a fullsize fridge - I used a lot of different ways to have temp control without the whole glycol and coiling coils setup on the cheap. A lot of it involves using the seasons and the temp range and expected "delta" for wort in the fermenter.

For instance - from about Nov 20 - March 15 - is a great time to make lagers and pilsners. I can ferment in the garage which is 5-10 degrees warmer than outside temps. For the most part - temps are between a low of 20° and a high of 60. I will allow the inkbird range to keep the ferm at lager temp ranges and just set the heater to kick in at the lower end of the range if I am concerned it may get too warm. Conversely I would bump the heater higher if I expected colder temps. So, yeah... Go for it! Make a lager in winter months even if you don't have a chiller.

In the same way - I can use a Kyveik in the blistering summer heat (say 90-97) and that yeast is thrilled. (Please let it ferment for 12-14 days even though it appears "finished". ) Kyveik cleans up nice if you give it time, at least that is my experience.

I also use the cooler months to lager kegs for 6 weeks. I use the insulated wrap from a water heater wrap, and bundle the keg with a double wrap. Keeps it nicely in the lager temp range without any need for power. I could also put a heater wrap if it was going to get really cold.

For recipes using ale yeast - I just ferment inside a the house, which stays at around 68-70 all year round. No temp control needed.

The seasons of the year let you ferment recipes that you "don't have the equipment" to maintain optimal temperatures. Took me a long time to figure that out but sometimes I am slow.

 

[fluketamer]

yes

swamp coolers lower the temperature a few degrees AND help stabilize it. the swamp cooler can also extend your lagering season. once it warms up past lagering a swamp cooler can lower it a few deg to allow you to still lager or ferment for a few more weeks perhaps.


there are other low budget methods also.

 

[Snuffy]

I brewed lagers for a bit with the submerged cooling loop setup using a cooler with ice water, an inkbird, and a small submersible pump. It maintains temps well but having to rotate frozen bottles of water in and out of the cooler means you must babysit the thing for the entire fermentation. That was enough to put me off lagers for the time being. I could get a dedicated chamber going if I wasn't afraid the wife would pour hot grits in my lap for adding more gear. Not into lagers enough to go that extra mile, TBH. I can keep myself in English and Belgian styles w/o the hassle. If I ever move to a place with a dedicated brew dungeon, I will have a ferm chamber for sure - like all the cool kids.

 

[Willy]

I brewed lagers for a bit with the submerged cooling loop setup using a cooler with ice water, an inkbird, and a small submersible pump. It maintains temps well but having to rotate frozen bottles of water in and out of the cooler means you must babysit the thing for the entire fermentation. That was enough to put me off lagers for the time being. I could get a dedicated chamber going if I wasn't afraid the wife would pour hot grits in my lap for adding more gear. Not into lagers enough to go that extra mile, TBH. I can keep myself in English and Belgian styles w/o the hassle. If I ever move to a place with a dedicated brew dungeon, I will have a ferm chamber for sure - like all the cool kids.

Lagers are harder to make well than ales. Patience is needed too. Giving the beer six weeks to condition makes a huge difference. I would have passed on lager styles too if I didn't love Pilsner Urquell so much. Had to craft my own and it took me 10 batches to dial it in. Dark lagers are cool too and quite tasty

 

[Tony B]

I’m in Southern California and keeping fermentation cool is a year round issue. I’m in the process of building a cooling system. I’m going to use an inkbird to power a pump in a closed loop between a coil in my fermenter and a coil in my kegerator. Cost will be $150-200 when complete. I’m pretty sure it will be able to hold fermentation temperature, but I’m going to do some testing to see how long it takes to drop the temp from say 80F to pitching temp in order to save some water when cooling wort. We shall see.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

swamp coolers

A chest cooler can hold warm water as well as cool water. So one could bottle condition at 75F (for a week) in a 55F basement. Or one could find a combination of cooler size, fermenter size, and yeast strains(s) that allow fermenting at 65F in a 55F basement.

 

[bwible]

Anvil sells this carboy cooler system. I’m not sure how much of a savings it will be as it relies heavily on ice. If you have the capacity to make a whole bunch of ice I guess.

https://www.anvilbrewing.com/carboy-cooling-system

 

[bwible]

I messed around with alot of this stuff too. I decided to bite the bullet a few years ago. I bought a tapless kegerator from Home Depot to use for temp control. I liked the idea of it having a door that opens front instead of having to lift high like a freezer chest. And since its made to be a kegerator its designed for that purpose - not a dorm fridge with shelves in the way, or stuff on the door that sticks out, etc. It comes with 2 shelves but they’re removeable and nothing is in the way.

I think it was about $479. Then I bought an Inkbird controller. They’re not alot. It will hold 2 cornies, will not hold 3. I can get a 7 gallon Fermonster in there pretty easily (photo). It holds a 5 gallon carboy. It will not fit 2 carboys. I have another kegerator I use for serving and between the two I can manage a couple lagers in a row.

My other kegerator came as a 2 tap kegerator but it holds 3 cornies. So I bought a 3 tap tower for that and moved the 2 tap tower to the tapless. Now I have capacity for 5 kegs when I’m not fermenting any lagers. I must have made a dozen lagers the past couple years.

I know other guys have nicer systems and awesome keezer builds. I’m happy with what I have though and I wish I had done this sooner.

I have the 20 inch one:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/20-in-W..._-326570885-_-1-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a

There’s also a 24 inch

https://www.homedepot.com/p/EdgeSta...VBC7UAR3_XQJwEAQYBCABEgKIevD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[HopSing]

I brewed lagers for a bit with the submerged cooling loop setup using a cooler with ice water, an inkbird, and a small submersible pump. It maintains temps well but having to rotate frozen bottles of water in and out of the cooler means you must babysit the thing for the entire fermentation. That was enough to put me off lagers for the time being. I could get a dedicated chamber going if I wasn't afraid the wife would pour hot grits in my lap for adding more gear. Not into lagers enough to go that extra mile, TBH. I can keep myself in English and Belgian styles w/o the hassle. If I ever move to a place with a dedicated brew dungeon, I will have a ferm chamber for sure - like all the cool kids.

+1 for this set up. I use it in the summer. Take a look at the stainless KegLand temp twister ($40). The additional piece I added to @Snuffy set up is a timer that cycles the pump ($15). When the inkbird temp controller calls for cooling it turns on the timer that will run the pump for 1 minute, then turn it off for 10 minutes. This cycle keeps the temp within range for both 5 and 10 gallon batches and makes any changes in temp more gradual. At the height of fermentation, I'll change out a frozen 64oz bottle every 12 hours for a day or two, then it is once daily.

This is the timer I use https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G6O28NA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

If drilling holes in your fermenter lid has you concerned, you might be able to find a stainless lid / plate that will fit. Since I mash, boil, and ferment in Gen 3 DigiBoil's (BrewZilla) I found this lid that fits the 35L perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09LV2M1Z9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

~HopSing.

 

[Deadalus]

Anvil sells this carboy cooler system. I’m not sure how much of a savings it will be as it relies heavily on ice. If you have the capacity to make a whole bunch of ice I guess.

https://www.anvilbrewing.com/carboy-cooling-system

I have that coil and use it with my glycol chiller and a carboy. I lagered with it in my garage but I needed to build a cozy for the carboy. The coil is nice in that it fits into a carboy, but there's a jacket type product that is likely a better choice for carboys or keg fermenting. The Anvil coil is a narrower outer diameter (3/16") than some other coils which often use 3/8".

I've lagered in my basement during the winter before but mostly lagered in used refrigeration appliances. A kegerator as you mention in your next post is ideal as they have the space without the freezer box in the way like a minifridge. Wine chillers are also similarly built.

Other options I and others have thought about using is to place the coolant reservoir outside or in ground (moreso for wort chilling.) Might be cheaper in the long term but could require some upfront cost. Essentially it's how heat pumps work, exchanging energy with the natural environment.

 

[Knightshade]

Lagers are harder to make well than ales. Patience is needed too. Giving the beer six weeks to condition makes a huge difference. I would have passed on lager styles too if I didn't love Pilsner Urquell so much. Had to craft my own and it took me 10 batches to dial it in. Dark lagers are cool too and quite tasty

I've been poking around here and there (AHA and here) to try and find a dark lager recipe that I might give a go. I've only done 3 lagers so far, but the first two turned out really well and the 3rd is conditioning so hopefully that one does too.

You have a recipe you're willing to share?

Contributing directly to the thread however, I ferment in a mini fridge with an Inkbird controller. If I take the freezer shelf out, I can fit a Torpedo 6G keg in there and I use a seedling mat underneath the keg to warm up the space as needed. Place my blowoff mason jar on the hump in the back, along with an Eva-Dry to keep the space dry. I've managed to have a 1G jug fermenting tea with the same keg in there before too.

 

[Willy]

I've been poking around here and there (AHA and here) to try and find a dark lager recipe that I might give a go. I've only done 3 lagers so far, but the first two turned out really well and the 3rd is conditioning so hopefully that one does too.

You have a recipe you're willing to share?

Contributing directly to the thread however, I ferment in a mini fridge with an Inkbird controller. If I take the freezer shelf out, I can fit a Torpedo 6G keg in there and I use a seedling mat underneath the keg to warm up the space as needed. Place my blowoff mason jar on the hump in the back, along with an Eva-Dry to keep the space dry. I've managed to have a 1G jug fermenting tea with the same keg in there before too.

This recipe is pretty tasty - called St. Arnold's Schwartz-à-Negre. About a 26 SRM, I used 1 oz Chinook for 30 and 1 oz mittlefrau at 15 min. Feel free to substitute some of the base malts to suit your palette.