My fermentation chamber build

[ekjohns]

i actually thought about sliding draws a long as$ time ago when i built mine but mine is just a colar on a mini fridge so I had no way of attaching them to the side withouth destroying the foam insulations on the side. I like the design though but would put the biggest cold plated fridge you can get/afford. If you are lagering the fridge will probably run quite a bit if you are going to get it down to 40F or lower for conditioning on top of cooling another large chamber. Although you said your basement doesnt get above 60F and now im going in circles....

 

[wiescins]

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[BYOBKC]

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[Chrisl77]

Due to budget restraints i had to come up with a cheaper way to cool the chambers. I set this up and am testing it now to see how cold i can get it.

I used a 4 inch inline duct fan with a dryer vent damper at the chamber and at the keezer on the return line.

 

[barrooze]

Due to budget restraints i had to come up with a cheaper way to cool the chambers. I set this up and am testing it now to see how cold i can get it.

I used a 4 inch inline duct fan with a dryer vent damper at the chamber and at the keezer on the return line.

So no fridge to cool the FC? Are those 4" ducts insulated? What thickness foam did you use?

 

[Chrisl77]

I have to get insulation for the ducts they didnt have any 4 inch in stock at HD. The entire chamber is insulated in 1.5 inch rigid foam.

 

[Chuginator]

Keep us posted!

 

[Chrisl77]

Its been holding around 11c without insulation on the pipes feeding the cold air when i get some more funds i am going to buy some 4 inch flex pipe with r6 insulation on it. Hopefully that should get it down a few more degrees.

 

[Chrisl77]

Update:
I found some left over insulation i had from a basement reno. I wraped it on the feed duct and can get down to 9c. It looks possible to get it down a little lower it made it to 9c somewhat quick. Just need to get some insulation on the return line now to reduce the cycling of the keezer.

 

[JMG]

Update:
I found some left over insulation i had from a basement reno. I wraped it on the feed duct and can get down to 9c. It looks possible to get it down a little lower it made it to 9c somewhat quick. Just need to get some insulation on the return line now to reduce the cycling of the keezer.

What temperature is your keezer set at? Do you have anything fermenting in the chamber yet that is adding heat (if so, do you happen to know what temp it ferments at normally vs. house temp?)?

I want to do something similar with my keezer and figure I can actually make some calculations so I can have it dialed in.

Thanks.

 

[Chrisl77]

Keezer is set to turn on at 39 turn off at 37. The actual fluctuation is 34 - 41 in the keezer due to the delay in the temp probe and the delay in the keezer wall starting to cool down. Temps where done without anything fermenting I should be doing another brew this week though. I set a probe thermometer right at the air intake inside the fermenter and it was registering 43 degrees as the air temp coming in. The ambient temp inside seems to be hover around 60 +/- a degree or 2.

 

[barrooze]

I'm very interested to hear how well the temps are maintained during fermentation. I plan on doing a FC very similar to this one.

 

[JMG]

Keezer is set to turn on at 39 turn off at 37. The actual fluctuation is 34 - 41 in the keezer due to the delay in the temp probe and the delay in the keezer wall starting to cool down. Temps where done without anything fermenting I should be doing another brew this week though. I set a probe thermometer right at the air intake inside the fermenter and it was registering 43 degrees as the air temp coming in. The ambient temp inside seems to be hover around 60 +/- a degree or 2.

Interesting. I'm thinking of an interesting addition to the system. What if instead of moving air between the chambers, you use a heat pump instead?

I envision a small radiator in each chamber with tubing filled with glycol running between. Then use a second temp controller (thermistor in the ferm chamber) to run a small pump. This might get much more accurate temperature control. This is a play on the old PC watercooling systems I used to build.

 

[Chrisl77]

Might work but i was looking for a temp solution to finish the build on less of a budget then i originally planed on. I eventually plan on getting a mini fridge to run it down the road.

 

[Chrisl77]

Brewed last night temp is is down to 18.6c this morning. A little lower then where i had the controller set at and it is bubbling away. The probe is covered by a piece of 3/4 inch insulation and taped to fermenter. Its working perfect sofar.

 

[barrooze]

That's great! Congrats! What size fan do you have in the FC pulling the cool air from the keezer?

 

[ekjohns]

mine always reads 0.5C degrees colder. Even with a bunch of insulation it still fluctuates pretty fast if I open the door. I just set it 0.5C above what I want and it works like a charm

 

[Chrisl77]

That's great! Congrats! What size fan do you have in the FC pulling the cool air from the keezer?

I droped it a few more degrees and it is holding steady at 16.8c. I used one of these connected to a 4 inch plastic elbow.

It does up to 80 cfm's which is more then enough.

 

[barrooze]

Wow. That thing is nice but pricey! $27.97 for a fan... I think I'll need to find a cheaper alternative.

 

[Chrisl77]

$27.97? It says its $14 online. It was listed at $27.97 at the nearest hd to me but i brought up there website and showed them it was listed at $14 and they price matched it for me.

 

[barrooze]

Is this not it? It looked the same and fit the description you gave: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[Chrisl77]

It is but it the price i see is $14 which makes it a pretty good deal considering a 120 mm fan cost around $19 and then you need to find or buy a transformer for it.

 

[barrooze]

I wonder why the price I see is double what you see...
What does it say your local store is?

 

[Chrisl77]

Any store i set it to in nj shows me that. I also set it to your area and i still see $14. For information if you find a price for an item that is cheaper on there website They can do markdowns upto $50 at the register.

 

[Chrisl77]

Also at the actual HD it was listed at $27.95. I asked at the service desk and showed them on my phone what it was listed at online. They marked it down for me.

 

[barrooze]

So odd... I tried Cherry Hill, NJ and Richfield, MN. Both show $27.9x. I tried the iPhone Home Depot app and it shows $14. I guess I'll show them the app price if I decide to go this route. Thanks for the help! I totally didn't mean to hijack the thread!

 

[Chrisl77]

lol np.

 

[cletusp]

Has anyone tried this with a full size refrigerator? My buddy wants to sell me one for 25$. Door seals are shot, but i dont think that matters for something im gonna screw plywood into.

 

[Chrisl77]

Just build it tall and put a shelf in it so you can put the fermenters vertical instead of horizontal. If your working with a fridge you dont need ducting just take the door off and put it right on the front.

 

[cletusp]

How difficult would it be to go through the side of the fridge? I'd kinda like easy acess to the freezer for hops. Does the freezer even work with the temp controller?