OK. I'm done letting my beer sit in the garage while praying to the temperature gods for mercy.

[Washington_Brewologist]

I'm ready to make a solid purchase that I know will pay for itself in no time. I'm looking at all of my options over these different sites and need some help on making the right decision for my set up.
I'm brewing 5 or 6-gallon batches on a regular basis and have two fermenters always filled with something.
I've got 2 5-gallon kegs which fit nicely into my kegerator.
I've already got an ink-bird temperature controller so I'm good to go there.

Should I go with a chest-freezer or a medium-sized fridge?
Also, If you guys have any advice or tips for a dude jumping headfirst into this whole temperature controlled fermentation thing, I would be most appreciative!

 

[passedpawn]

ink bird and chest freezer is all you need.

Chest freezer will accumulate water in the bottom. This can cause rust throughout the freezer cavity. Consider damp-rid. It works. (btw, damp rid is just calcium chloride, also used for removing snow from sidewalks, so there's a simple DIY solution that will save you a ton of money). But don't worry too much about all that right now.

 

[passedpawn]

Oh yea, I should have mentioned, welcome to lagers

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

Personally I would recommend a fridge. Go for a full size if you can as some of the smaller units' compressors *can* overwork themselves which seems stupid, but, its a fact. My reasoning for fridge over freezer is that I have a bad back so lifting 45-55 pounds with my lumbar as the primary fulcrum scares the s**t out of me (though that is my current set up, strictly due to the fact that I live in an apartment). Aside from being a pain in the back, lifting heavy weight out of a chest freezer it is also hard to lift it gently so it is inevitable that you stir up trub and yeast. Thats my $0.02 and I hope it helps!

In the mean time brew some saisons, keep 'em hot and enjoy the only thing summer heat is good for!

 

[day_trippr]

For fermentation, I also recommend a fridge. I have a pair of Craig's List 17cf top-freezer units which fit pairs of 6.5g carboys or five corny kegs each (flexible) and never show a drop of condensation. I run them using BrewPi minions but any controller would do the job. It's a lot easier to load full carboys in the fridges than it would be to heft them into a chest freezer...

Cheers!

 

[flars]

I would say going for a refrigerator makes a lot of sense. I've had one shoulder repaired and the other is not repairable from lifting fermentors and other heavy things. I have a full size Danby for yeast, bottles, and ingredients. No freezer to take up space. I have it on casters to make moving easy when necessary.

 

[tsin10]

If you are up for a small DIY I would recommend using a small fridge a building a fermentation area to your desired dimensions.

Though having said that the chest freezers allow you to cold crash nicely.

 

[bleme]

I've used both. I'm currently using a fridge but I never had any issues with my chest freezer either. I'd say if you don't have a problem with the extra lifting, get whichever you can find for cheaper.

 

[JohnSand]

I've used both a chest freezer and a small fridge. Neither is a thrill to load or unload. I chose them because they were cheap used.

 

[eric19312]

I use old fridge and it does fine, holds my 60L spiedel no problem. Easier to load and unload than my chest freezer keezer but one issue. I can’t get the thing below about 37F. That’s plenty cold for any fermentation but then I had to hear Charlie Bamforth talking about cold crashing at 31F and I’m just not satisfied. Thinking glycol may be in my future but don’t tell my wife...

 

[day_trippr]

Yeah, dropping 5-10 gallons of beer down to 31°F in a timely manner is pretty aggressive for most fridges.
I don't want to flog my fridges that hard so I cold-crash to 34°F, which still takes two full days for a 10 gallon batch.
If that's going to be a habit a freezer might be the better choice...

Cheers!

 

[Jethro Choicebro]

Another advocate for using fridge(s) here too...

After going round in circles about using a chest freezer, building a chamber etc i settled on 2 mini fridges - big enough to fit a 5gal bucket each and having 2 is great to be able to control them independently - use fermentrack and works great.

Also do not cold crash to freezing, generally to around 36f

 

[RPh_Guy]

I was asking the same question a few months ago:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/buying-a-freezer-or-refrigerator.650076/

I now have a refrigerator plugged into my inkbird. Love being able to control my temps

 

[Washington_Brewologist]

For fermentation, I also recommend a fridge. I have a pair of Craig's List 17cf top-freezer units which fit pairs of 6.5g carboys or five corny kegs each (flexible) and never show a drop of condensation. I run them using BrewPi minions but any controller would do the job. It's a lot easier to load full carboys in the fridges than it would be to heft them into a chest freezer...

Cheers!

Hey do you think something this size would be sufficient or should I go for something bigger?

 

[day_trippr]

I gotta be frank here: I would recommend running away from that unit as fast as your legs can manage.
Clearly there are cooling lines running in all three shelves, and you'd have to bend at least two of them flat against the back wall to fit any substantial size vessel therein. The risk is breaching the tubing (and you'd have six shots at breaking a tube - the in and out for each shelf).

So while it has been done successfully, there have also been many sad stories. Not worth messing with, there are better opportunities Out There...

Cheers!

 

[Washington_Brewologist]

I gotta be frank here: I would recommend running away from that unit as fast as your legs can manage.
Clearly there are cooling lines running in all three shelves, and you'd have to bend at least two of them flat against the back wall to fit any substantial size vessel therein. The risk is breaching the tubing (and you'd have six shots at breaking a tube - the in and out for each shelf).

So while it has been done successfully, there have also been many sad stories. Not worth messing with, there are better opportunities Out There...

Cheers!

So should I be looking for a fridge that doesn't have these cooling lines? Anything in particular that I should keep my eyes open for? I'm looking to fit my two 6-gallon carboys and possibly some room to spare for some bottled homebrews.

 

[day_trippr]

Pretty sure that unit was an upright freezer, yes? I don't recall ever seeing a fridge with coiled shelves like that.
I'm not sure what the minimum capacity fridge would be that would hold two 6g carboys+, but I will say there's not a lot of room in my two 17cf top-freezer units beyond the pairs of 6.5g carboys I put in them. There's really just enough room for a blow-off vessel...

Cheers!

 

[afro_lou]

If you don’t mind huffing the carboys in and out, chest freezers are typically cheaper/more available. Upright freezers are much easier for ingress/egress, but it’s a little more difficult to find a cheap one. Plus, as you’ve seen, those cooling line shelves are not to be messed with. Just make sure whatever one you get has removable shelves.
Cheapo refrigerators are great too, and usually easier to “convert.” The freezer section becomes unusable during fermentation, so just remember to not store anything in there (made that mistake myself). The only downside to refrigerators is that they don’t get so cold as to really hardcore cold-crash, but I’ve done just fine with a 35°-ish cold crash.

 

[Washington_Brewologist]

Pretty sure that unit was an upright freezer, yes? I don't recall ever seeing a fridge with coiled shelves like that.
I'm not sure what the minimum capacity fridge would be that would hold two 6g carboys+, but I will say there's not a lot of room in my two 17cf top-freezer units beyond the pairs of 6.5g carboys I put in them. There's really just enough room for a blow-off vessel...

View attachment 579185

Cheers!

What are those tubes doing that are attached to your cold crashing fermenters? By the way, AWESOME SETUP!

 

[day_trippr]

What are those tubes doing that are attached to your cold crashing fermenters? By the way, AWESOME SETUP!

I apply very light (.4 psi) CO2 pressure while cold crashing to avoid oxygen uptake...

Cheers!

 

[Washington_Brewologist]

I apply very light (.4 psi) CO2 pressure while cold crashing to avoid oxygen uptake...

Cheers!

So I'm still scouring the for sales looking for a decent fridge or freezer. Came across this one today for a decent price. What do you think?

 

[day_trippr]

Fridge, I presume. That's a plus as the racks can all come out easily.
But...how many humps are there? Looks like a cascade of at least two and maybe three tiers down the back.
It isn't obvious how many vessels you could fit in there...

Cheers!

 

[Washington_Brewologist]

Fridge, I presume. That's a plus as the racks can all come out easily.
But...how many humps are there? Looks like a cascade of at least two and maybe three tiers down the back.
It isn't obvious how many vessels you could fit in there...

Cheers!

It's actually a stand up frostless Kenmore Freezer. Is this not what I should be looking for? Also, you don't think I'll be able to fit two six-gallon carboys in it if I Build a shelf and remove the door panels? Thanks for your input daytripper!

 

[day_trippr]

Sorry, there just aren't enough clues to see where and how many carboys you can fit in it.
But there looks like there might be a shot at putting a pair of 6g carboy on the bottom shelf (though I'd replace that with 3/4" plywood) with the top two shelves removed, but again it's hard to be confident from here.

Best bet is to take a pair of your carboys over and see where they will fit...

Cheers!

 

[z-bob]

Chest freezer and a hoist to lift the carboys/kegs in and out?

 

[bleme]

You could also take a couple cardboard cut-outs the diameter of your carboys.

 

[Washington_Brewologist]

You could also take a couple cardboard cut-outs the diameter of your carboys.

I love advice like this! For some reason I'm always overlooking simple solutions. The other day I was thinking up ways to be able to tell when my kegs were about to kick. I must have thought of 15 different ways, all of which were a pain in the butt. Then someone on this forum was like, "Dude, just weigh your keg when it's empty and then again when its full!" I immediately went down to goodwill and bought an older cheap scale and stuck it right in the kegerator with my keg. Thanks for the tip! Your idea is a lot safer than hauling around my glass carboys!

 

[Washington_Brewologist]

Sorry, there just aren't enough clues to see where and how many carboys you can fit in it.
But there looks like there might be a shot at putting a pair of 6g carboy on the bottom shelf (though I'd replace that with 3/4" plywood) with the top two shelves removed, but again it's hard to be confident from here.

Best bet is to take a pair of your carboys over and see where they will fit...

Cheers!

Ok so I gave up on the last one, size wasn't right. I've decided since I'm young and my back can handle it to go with a chest freezer. It will fit much better in the space I have. I found this unit for free on craigslist. Talked to the guy and he says it works fine. He upgraded to a standup freezer and just needs it gone. It's a bit dirty, but I have no problem spending an afternoon cleaning it up and maybe a quick repaint. What do you think? Anything I need to look out for in particular?
Demensions: 5 feet wide, 2.5 feet tall, 2.5 feet deep.

 

[JohnSand]

Looks great! Good score!

 

[ancientmariner52]

If you are in a position to do so, you can mount a piece of electrical strut above the freezer. Add a trolley and a pulley hoist and loading and unloading becomes a breeze. If appearance is an issue, you can paint the strut and remove the trolley and hoist when not in use. Just be sure you bolt the strut to something really solid, like ceiling joists, with long-enough lag screws or bolts.

 

[Mckoyd]

I use plastic milk crate to haul carboys around.

I find it safer for the back then the one hand grip.

 

[JohnSand]

Good point Mckoyd, welcome aboard!

 

[Bassman2003]

My first question is - Do you want to have the two fermenters at different temps? Like a lager and an ale at once? Or do you always brew ales and will always have both fermenters at the same temperature?

I vote yes for a fridge, mini fridge or maybe even a DIY fermentation chamber. I vote no for a chest freezer like the others have stated to save your back. And it is overkill size wise for just two fermenters.

Second question: What is your space like? Do you have a little or a decent amount of room?

I have a portion of a storage room. Just enough for a mini wine fridge which sits on a brew gear storage cabinet and a full sized over/under fridge next to it with four taps. I can only ferment one beer at a time but the wine fridge has a built in temp controller which ranges from 39f - 65f. Perfect for me. The cabinet underneath was made so the height of the fermenter in the mini fridge can easily just drain via tubing into a keg below. Then an easy trip over to the fridge. Overall, not a lot of lifting outside of the first lift of the fermenter into the wine fridge. Hops are stored in the freezer part of the keg fridge.

So this decision largely depends upon your space, your fermentation needs and how much you want to lift.