Making some changes before my next brew and hopefully for the better

[rossscottnz]

Ok having my fermenters sitting in the dining room while fermenting I feel wasn't such a good idea due to exposure to direct sunlight during the day and now that we are coming into winter we will be starting to use the wood stove and that thing is dang nasty with the heat it spits out its an old fisher it is either the mama bear or papa bear model but enough of that. I do not want my beer or wine temps to go all over the place or be exposed to sunlight anymore plus I have a temperature controller and heat pad and from what I understand is they are not very efficient when there is too much ambient air so today while I was off work after having a biopsy done yesterday at the hospital I went to my local hardware store and picked up a kit set storage cabinet (worked out cheaper than buying the timber and making one myself) so my fermenters can sit out in the garage out of the way and do its thing out of sight and out of mind. Oh and before anyone comments yes I know I stuck one of the rear boards on the wrong way but for a good reason (chalk board for noting down SG's etc)

 

[IslandLizard]

Good idea!

If necessary, you could add some insulation board on the inside to keep temps inside even more controllable and even, and save on heating cost when temps drop low.

Just be careful lifting those heavy fermentors onto and off that higher shelf.

 

[rossscottnz]

Good idea!

If necessary, you could add some insulation board on the inside to keep temps inside even more controllable and even, and save on heating cost when temps drop low.

Just be careful lifting those heavy fermentors onto and off that higher shelf.

Hey thanks for that suggestion I will look into that when I have some extra cash to spare, as for being careful when putting the fermentors onto the higher shel I certainly will as I don't want to do my back in only time that shelf is going to be used is when I am making wine which I do in smaller batches like the one in the pic and I would only be doing two or three batches of that in a year as I am only making it when my pineapple guava tree is dropping its fruit unless I see some Kiwifruit for dirt cheap then I may look at a batch of that too. Beer will always be down on that bottom one as I only have one temp controller at this stage.

 

[rossscottnz]

Starting to insulate the cabinet ran out of staples and need macguyver tape to do the back

 

[IslandLizard]

I was thinking more along the lines of 3/4" or 1" rigid foam board insulation. Although reflective, the foam you're using is really thin.

 

[rossscottnz]

I was thinking more along the lines of 3/4" or 1" rigid foam board insulation. Although reflective, the foam you're using is really thin.

That would take up too much room as the cabinet is only 380mm deep and the fermenter only just fits in there I have to actually turn the fermenter so the tap is facing the side of the cabinet so I can shut the doors , in saying that I can actually feel some warmth in there now when you stick your hand in alongside the fermenter. Also I have now got it finished off and the back of it is now lined

 

[Sparkncode]

A good start.
You could glue polystyrene on the outside of the cupboard particularly the back if it has a very thin back like some I have from mitre ten.

A bit stuck inside to the top would probably help too. Of course everywhere is better but as you say space limitations.

Long term put feelers out in case someone you know wants to get rid of an old fridge and see if you can pick one up cheap as a definite benefit in summer.
I had one batch go fusal due to too much heat in summer so the fridge solves that but in winter your cupboard should do fine. If its really cold and struggling to maintain temp over night i guess a blanket draped over the cabinet could help.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I have a feeling the screws in the particle board will not hold up from the weight...

 

[rossscottnz]

I have a feeling the screws in the particle board will not hold up from the weight...

That shelf above the fermenter will not be used for 23 litre batches of beer only the bottom will be used for that as that is where the heat pad is. Top shelf small batches only

 

[homebrewer_99]

That shelf above the fermenter will not be used for 23 litre batches of beer only the bottom will be used for that as that is where the heat pad is. Top shelf small batches only

OK, just as long as you put some thought into it...

 

[rossscottnz]

OK, just as long as you put some thought into it...

Absolutely that shelf will be fine for 10-15 litre batches but i prefer it to be kept for fermenting wine as that is mainly done in small batches which is what is on that shelf when i took the picture. Edit: I found some 2 inch foam blocks tonight and placed them in the void under the cabinet once this brew is done so I can get everything out of there I can lay the cabinet on its side and glue those foam blocks onto the underside of it, also going to look into getting a foam/polystyrene panel to glue onto the back of the cabinet on the outside as @Sparkncode suggested.

Thanks for the suggestions and ideas so far.

 

[rossscottnz]

After more thought i wasn't really happy with that foil stuff so I went into bunnings yesterday and found some 10mm thick polystyrene insulating board for $13 so have redone the insulating on it was just the inside of the doors i couldn't do