My DIY Fermentation Chamber build...

[jbb3]

I knew when I ordered the fastferment conical I would need another way to control fermentation temp. Up to now, I have been using the ol' swamp cooler. But a conical, even a small 7 gallon, will not sit in a tub of water very well.

I can't take credit for the idea behind this build as I have seen a few versions online, but I did add my own little twists...

Starting from the ground up: The base was framed with 2x's and 3/4" ply. It measures around 64" x 24" to accommodate donor compact frig, bought off CL for $35, and enough chamber space inside to house at least two fermenters.

After the 3/4" ply was screwed down to the base frame, 2x2's were used to lock in the frig and serve as the bottom plate for the side and end panels to fasten to.



Next came the insulation for the base. 1-1/2" of the pink stuff was used as it is fairly stiff/crush resistant.



The foam insulation board is fairly rigid but it will never hold up to dragging stuff across it or dropping anything on it or...

Melamine fiber board was used to cover and protect the insulation. It is also fairly slick which should help with sliding the fermenter stand with a full fermenter in and out of the fermenter.



On to the side, top and end panels...

In the interest of maximizing performance and minimizing cost, I used 1/2" insulated sheathing. Instead of gluing up 3 solid sheets together to make a panel, one solid sheet was glued to the particle board, then 2-1/2" wide strips were glued in place around the perimeter of the panel to act as spacers. The intent is to create a thermal brake (air space) to increase the insulating performance of the panels. Time and use will tell if it performs as intended...



And here are the panels with the solid outer sheet glued into place.



Here is a shot of the partially assembled chamber. Remember the melamine fiber board used to protect the bottom? The remainder of the 4'x8' sheet was used to also protect the back panel and the door.



And the fully assembled chamber.



Now for a few of the twists I mentioned and the brains of the operation...

One of the things that bugged me about fermenting in a bucket, I CAN'T SEE WHAT'S GOING ON!!!

I know that I still won't be able to see inside the fermenter. But I WILL be able to see inside the chamber!!!

A double pain viewing window into the fermenter was made out of some 1/4" plexi I had laying around. Gaskets were made out of some colored foam craft sheets my wife happen to have as she is a pre-school teacher (about time it paid off for something...).

Not sure how this window will perform yet?? The chamber is sitting in an unconditioned space (my shop) so I'm wondering if/when there is a significant temp difference between the inside and outside the chamber, whether the air space between the pains will produce and accumulate condensation?? As with the insulation performance, time will tell...

I'm sure many on this forum have read posts for STC-1000+ temp controllers? Well I certainly paid attention. I had a plain old STC-1000 installed first and decided to change it out for a +. Guess I'm old fashioned. Metric and Celsius drive me crazy...

I'll use the plain old 1000 to control my beer frig as it is pretty old and either freezes everything or under shoots the desired cooling. The controller should fix that.

And now... The control/viewing panel!

Notice the outlet on the lower left of the panel? That is connected to the cooling circuit of the controller. The frig will plug in there and when the controller calls for cooling, it will energize the outlet which will turn on the frig.



Here is the inside of the control/viewing panel. I still need to box in the controller and junction boxes so I can insulate this panel too. I think I'm going to give this thing a test run this weekend. Will have to wait until after.



This view shows the internal outlet. The top outlet is energized all the time. The plan is to plug in a small computer fan with an ac/dc converter to circulate air inside the chamber.

The bottom outlet is connected to the heating circuit from the controller. As with the cooling, when the controller calls for heat, it will energize the bottom outlet which will turn on the heat source. I'll probably use a heating pad strapped to the fermenter.



Thought maybe I can inspire someone out there as many of you have influenced and inspired me on this forum...

Is home brewing beer awesome or what?!?!

 

[megalomani]

That is awesome! Let us know about performance.

Many have fastferments that need a temp controlled home. the dimensions and details above are great inspiration. Thanks for the detailed post.

 

[stpug]

Very good. I have a buddy that could use something like this for his FastFerment...... and I just happened to see a GE mini fridge about that size on CL for $30 a couple days ago

 

[dsmith1279]

Nice build!

 

[jbb3]

Thanks! I went to Brewmasters today and picked up a 14 lb sack of the heartland. If all goes well, I'll give the set-up a try this weekend.

 

[Cyclman]

Very nice.

 

[NewBrewB]

Perfect!

 

[Kalmah]

Looks awesome!

Have you hooked up a Kill-a-watt to measure the energy usage yet? I've been trying to find an upright freezer to fit my conical but I'd be curious to see how a build like this would compare in efficiency.

 

[jbb3]

Looks awesome!

Have you hooked up a Kill-a-watt to measure the energy usage yet? I've been trying to find an upright freezer to fit my conical but I'd be curious to see how a build like this would compare in efficiency.

Thanks!

No I haven't. I doubt this chamber will be able to compare to the efficiency of a freezer. But given the moderate temp range we need for fermenting, there can't be much of a significant difference unless you're lagering. Plus I can fit two fastferments and one 6 gallon carboy in it!

As luck and lack of planning would have it, I got it all set-up for cooling so naturally it has turned chilly this weekend. High in the 50's low in the upper 20's/low 30's. And as mentioned, it's in an unconditioned space.

I was going to use a heating pad strapped to the fermenter but they all have an auto shut off built in and I'm concerned it may not be able to keep up?? So for the maiden voyage, I'm going to use a little variable speed ceramic heater turned all the way down. It will won't have any trouble staying ahead of the cold.

It's going to take some time and experimenting to come up wit the best set-up...

 

[jbb3]

With two batches inside, including my son's Christmas present (Moo Hoo Chocolate Stout clone), the chamber will be tested tonight. Going into the low twenties by morning...

 

[augiedoggy]

Well? how is it performing?

 

[jbb3]

Well? how is it performing?

The chamber is in a unconditioned space. I fermented a couple of batches in the 67-68 deg range with ambient temps that dipped into the 20s. The double pain window hasn't shown any sign of condensation at all. And with an inside/outside temperature differential of almost 50 deg. I think that's a pretty good test... CHECK

Another concern when building the chamber was temperature swings due to the lag in the full fermenter responding to temperature inputs.

The initial test of the chamber with an empty fermenter and a ceramic heater as the heat source was a little concerning. 65 degrees used the set point. Ambient temp was in the mid 50s. The first run overshot the 65 degree target by 4.9 degrees. Not good. And each time the heat cycle kicked on it was the same thing. Around 4.9 deg overshoot.

The STC was set on the default of 1 deg hysteresis (allowable temp range where the controller will not call for heat/cool). I changed that setting to .5 deg. and turned the ceramic heater all the way down as low as it would go.

The next run was better. But the overshoot was still about 1.8 deg. Add that to the .5 deg in hysteresis, still not where I wanted it to be.

I finally thought, heck with it. I'm going to brew a batch, give it a shot and see what I have to do to adjust.

With a full fermenter and the probe in the thermowell, I was pleasantly surprised at the performance and control-ability. When the heating cycle kicks in, I may get a .1 to .2 deg overshoot. So overall I'm getting less than a degree in temp swing from when the heat cycle kicks on until the cycle turns off and the temp tops out.

You can't beat that with a big stick! CHECK

I did have one issue with fermenting two batches at different stages. As you know, the first few days of a vigorously fermenting batch produces more heat then a batch that is a week into ferment. I'm planning to pull my control panel back off and install a second controller to help with that. Just ordered the STC-1000+ last night.

I'll control youngest/most vigorously fermenting batch with the controller connected to the ceramic heater. I'll use the second controller to control the older/less vigorously fermenting batch with a heating pad strapped to the fermenter. It SHOULD work. Well see...

All in all, I very happy with the performance of the chamber!

 

[augiedoggy]

The chamber is in a unconditioned space. I fermented a couple of batches in the 67-68 deg range with ambient temps that dipped into the 20s. The double pain window hasn't shown any sign of condensation at all. And with an inside/outside temperature differential of almost 50 deg. I think that's a pretty good test... CHECK

Another concern when building the chamber was temperature swings due to the lag in the full fermenter responding to temperature inputs.

The initial test of the chamber with an empty fermenter and a ceramic heater as the heat source was a little concerning. 65 degrees used the set point. Ambient temp was in the mid 50s. The first run overshot the 65 degree target by 4.9 degrees. Not good. And each time the heat cycle kicked on it was the same thing. Around 4.9 deg overshoot.

The STC was set on the default of 1 deg hysteresis (allowable temp range where the controller will not call for heat/cool). I changed that setting to .5 deg. and turned the ceramic heater all the way down as low as it would go.

The next run was better. But the overshoot was still about 1.8 deg. Add that to the .5 deg in hysteresis, still not where I wanted it to be.

I finally thought, heck with it. I'm going to brew a batch, give it a shot and see what I have to do to adjust.

With a full fermenter and the probe in the thermowell, I was pleasantly surprised at the performance and control-ability. When the heating cycle kicks in, I may get a .1 to .2 deg overshoot. So overall I'm getting less than a degree in temp swing from when the heat cycle kicks on until the cycle turns off and the temp tops out.

You can't beat that with a big stick! CHECK

I did have one issue with fermenting two batches at different stages. As you know, the first few days of a vigorously fermenting batch produces more heat then a batch that is a week into ferment. I'm planning to pull my control panel back off and install a second controller to help with that. Just ordered the STC-1000+ last night.

I'll control youngest/most vigorously fermenting batch with the controller connected to the ceramic heater. I'll use the second controller to control the older/less vigorously fermenting batch with a heating pad strapped to the fermenter. It SHOULD work. Well see...

All in all, I very happy with the performance of the chamber!

Thanks for the update I am considering building something myself and looking for feedback. Yours turned out nice.
There are Fahrenheit versions of stc-1000 knock offs on ebay now for about $20 shipped, I bought two and they work well.

 

[jbb3]

Thanks for the update I am considering building something myself and looking for feedback. Yours turned out nice.
There are Fahrenheit versions of stc-1000 knock offs on ebay now for about $20 shipped, I bought two and they work well.

Thanks for asking and for the compliment!

The knock offs sound like they would be great controlling temp for a single set point which would work for most applications. The STC-1000+ have ramping capability which I like and plan to use in the lagering profiles.

Hmmm... I may have just figured out what I'm going to brew next...

Good luck with your build!

 

[augiedoggy]

Thanks for asking and for the compliment!

The knock offs sound like they would be great controlling temp for a single set point which would work for most applications. The STC-1000+ have ramping capability which I like and plan to use in the lagering profiles.

Hmmm... I may have just figured out what I'm going to brew next...

Good luck with your build!

You know I totally forgot about the ramping... I have a real stc-1000 I many try to convert to a +...
Thanks! I cant wait to get my new setup properly configured so I can get back to brewing...already missed out of the holiday ale since it wouldnt be ready till after the holidays...

 

[whattheschmidt]

I might pursue this chamber build. I was looking at and almost bought a used refrigerator but it would have to be very large and likely only hold 1 fastferment. I also don't like the idea of moving something very large into my basement. I would be fine with a single fastferment chamber if it was sized just right for it but such a fridge doesn't seem to exist.

I have been thinking of a chest freezer with collar. Hopefully 9 or so cubic feet would work. This is about the last piece of equipment I really need to make great beer (and one of the most important).

 

[jbb3]

I've got a caramel amber ale fermenting in the chamber @ 65 deg. The weather in Canton, about 40 just north west of Atlanta, dropped to 9 degrees this morning. That's a 56 deg differential from inside to out the chamber and still no sign of condensation in between the panes of the window. I think it's going to do fine...

 

[jbb3]

Summer performance update for those interested...

As stated, I had the chamber in my shop which not only is an unconditioned space, but it's a steel building. While the chamber had no problems keeping up with the cold weather down into the teens and twenties using a small personal ceramic heater, it has struggled in the 90+ degree weather with the Magic Chef compact frig.

With the sun beating down on the steel structure, it can easily reach 110-120 deg inside the shop. The compact frig simply can't over overcome that temperature and provide the cooling needed. Even though the temperature inside the chamber never climbed more than 1 degree over the set ferm temp in the mid sixties, the little frig ran for hours without stopping until the temperature inside the shop started to drop in the evening.

So I had to move the chamber (not an easy task) inside my garage where it remains a moderate 75-80 degrees. The Magic Chef frig is much happier. And so am I. My wife, not so much...

 

[shemp]

Any idea if a window a/c unit would provide more cooling than the fridge?

 

[Vesteroid]

I have been mulling this around and this was a great thread. My guess is a window unit will provide MUCH more cooling than a fridge build. Keep in mind in theory that fridge was designed to cool the interior space only, albeit to a lower temp. That build looks like it triples the cubic footage. My point only is that a window unit is designed to cool a room, not a small space like the poster built. I would think even a 7500 btu window unit with a cool bot controller would cool a room big enough for several 20 odd gallon conicals.