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My apologies...I originally posted this in the wrong forum:
The climate here in South Florida doesn't really resemble England as much as it opposes it at every turn. Unless I could figure out how to turn my wort into a lager at night and an ale during the day, even winter brewing in Palm Beach county requires some climate control. Since we have a modest house, and open our windows from mid-October through April, a fermentation chamber is a necessity. I found inspiration from this page at Broken Glass Brewery.
I've linked some in-progress pictures below. I've finished the framing and most of the insulation. My plan is to have a lift-up lid on the lower section, and a drop-down door on the upper section. I'm using a Love two-stage control as a thermostat, and a heat lamp in an empty paint can as a heater. I used a bass boat battery charger inlet on the control box so the whole unit is powered by a simple extension cord. Rope lights will illuminate the interior when the lower lid is opened, and the donor fridge's light will illuminate the rack when the drop-down door is opened.
I'm hoping to be able to stash four 5-gallon fermenters, but I'll settle for three. Once I'm done fermenting, I plan to change the profile on the thermostat and turn the unit into a big lean-in beer chiller.
I need to finish the control box and interior wiring before I can finish insulating, so I'm kind of in Limbo right now. I'm going to make a big push this weekend, and hope to have a boil over Christmas. It will be my first all-grain attempt. I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone has about construction, etc. Any feedback is, of course, most welcome.
Here is a link to the pix
Update, 12/22: All finished! The wiring and hookups took less time than I thought, but building and insulating the doors took longer. So far, it seems to be working well. I am still on target to boil on Wednesday, but an approaching cold front may push it back to Thursday. Either way, a couple of friends are coming over to "supervise."
The climate here in South Florida doesn't really resemble England as much as it opposes it at every turn. Unless I could figure out how to turn my wort into a lager at night and an ale during the day, even winter brewing in Palm Beach county requires some climate control. Since we have a modest house, and open our windows from mid-October through April, a fermentation chamber is a necessity. I found inspiration from this page at Broken Glass Brewery.
I've linked some in-progress pictures below. I've finished the framing and most of the insulation. My plan is to have a lift-up lid on the lower section, and a drop-down door on the upper section. I'm using a Love two-stage control as a thermostat, and a heat lamp in an empty paint can as a heater. I used a bass boat battery charger inlet on the control box so the whole unit is powered by a simple extension cord. Rope lights will illuminate the interior when the lower lid is opened, and the donor fridge's light will illuminate the rack when the drop-down door is opened.
I'm hoping to be able to stash four 5-gallon fermenters, but I'll settle for three. Once I'm done fermenting, I plan to change the profile on the thermostat and turn the unit into a big lean-in beer chiller.
I need to finish the control box and interior wiring before I can finish insulating, so I'm kind of in Limbo right now. I'm going to make a big push this weekend, and hope to have a boil over Christmas. It will be my first all-grain attempt. I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone has about construction, etc. Any feedback is, of course, most welcome.
Here is a link to the pix
Update, 12/22: All finished! The wiring and hookups took less time than I thought, but building and insulating the doors took longer. So far, it seems to be working well. I am still on target to boil on Wednesday, but an approaching cold front may push it back to Thursday. Either way, a couple of friends are coming over to "supervise."
