My attempt
- Thread starter redrocker652002
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Looks great, nice job!
Thanks. I think I am going to need to put some insulation on the bare wood, right? I am going to see if I can find the thinnest possible at my local hardware store. Or would a good coat of paint with some sort of mildew resistor work?
I just put a waterproofing clear coat on mine. The wood alone seems to be sufficient insulation.
Once you get the joints sealed and the everything painted you should be OK. Wood is an insulator itself to some degree but sealing of everything prevents an air loss. It paint it all white, matching what the cabinet is.
Wood has an R valu of 1R per inch. So adding one layer of reflectex would give you ~ R8.
1.4 for soft woods like a standard kiln-dried 2x4.
One layer of reflectix applied directly adds 4.2 to the total R value. To add 6.0 you have to leave an air space. The refrigerator wall are what, maybe R-7 or a little more?
Not sure if it's worth the trouble for a fermentation chamber. Maybe if you plan to cold crash in there too?
With just wood sides on my extension (which is a full 12"), I can eventually get my chamber down to 38ºF but not lower as long as the ambient temperature isn't too high. Not sure if the limitation is a function of the wood sides or the cooling power of my mini-fridge.
Thanks for all the info. My hope is that this will be used for fermentation and once done can be used to store full kegs until I am ready for them. Who knows, it might even turn into a two tap kegerator at some point. First things first, gonna get some thin insulation or reflectex (sp?) LOL
Mac, ~ this symbol means around. Lets say plus or minus 1 is around.
Sorry missed it. There's a lot of gunk on my screen.
If you decide to use reflectix, you should glue 1 inch strips on the corners and then wrap a layer around to whole thing. The stuff works much better with that little bit of air space.
Indian_villager
Well-Known Member
You can seal it pretty well with HVAC tape. Overlap the tape by 1/2 tape width. That is all I did on my ****** dorm fridge I rescued out of the trash room during move out day senior year of college 14 years ago and it still lagers like a champ! You can probably save some electricity with the insulation, but my 1 rupee would ask that you add a circulation fan that kicks on when the fridge kicks on to maximize your performance.
Great idea, I will have to look into how to do that. I am guessing one of the wires from the thermostat inside the unit goes to the motor and I can splice into that?
Indian_villager
Well-Known Member
If you are using an inkbird or something similar to control your fridge, I just put a cheap power strip on the cooling outlet and have the fridge and a 12v power adapter for the fan plugged into the power strip. If you don't feel like farting around with a 12v power supply you can also just use one of these. AC powered fan
That could be a good idea. Then I don't have to cut into the wires and I can keep air circulating. Perfect. Thanks
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