Second Cousin of Fermentation Chamber

[ShakerD]

So I am going to build a 4ft x 2ft x 8ft Chamber so that I can comfortably ferment/lager 48 gallons of beer at all times.

I am going to use 2x6's and 3/8 ply wood and build insulated panels filled with R22 pink insulation. I will calk all joints.

The panels will be made separately and then mounted together so that when we move in two years I can take it apart.

It will be in my insulated but unheated garage. Temperatures in the garage will range between -20 to 30 Celsius or -4 to 90 Fahrenheit. on the extremer scales.

I will probably lager mostly in the winter and brew ales in the summer. I try to keep my 20 keg pipeline full.

** Here is my Question **

I have a small space heater that should be able to do the job but what do I need as far a cooling?

Will a small dorm fridge attached to one end and a fan do the trick? Or will I need something bigger?

I already have a temperature controller.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Cheers

 

[brieuxster]

I would not use pink fiberglass. Rocksol is similar, with these advantages, more R value, less irritating. How well it seals and keeps it's temperatures can change your heating and cooling demands. The total thermal mass will also be part of the calculations. I have window shakers a.c., and will use lights for heat.

 

[ShakerD]

Yeah Roxul is nice stuff. I will have to check out the price difference.

Do you think a mini fridge will keep this cold?

 

[itsme6582]

Here's how to find out your heat loss

Q = SA * T / R
SA = surface area = 112 sq ft for this box
T = Outside temperature - Chamber temp
R = R-Value

If it's 100 F outside, chamber temp of 30, and R22 insulation you'll lose about 350 BTU's per hour.

Then take the heat lost and divide it by the fridges cooling capacity to find out how long the fridge will run over an hour. Multiply this by 60 to convert to minutes.

With a 3500 BTU fridge:
350/3500 = .1 hr = 6 mins

I can't find anything on minifridge cooling capacity but I bet there's a thread on here that has got numbers. I bet 3500 is very high for a minifridge.

 

[ShakerD]

Here's how to find out your heat loss

Q = SA * T / R
SA = surface area = 112 sq ft for this box
T = Outside temperature - Chamber temp
R = R-Value

If it's 100 F outside, chamber temp of 30, and R22 insulation you'll lose about 350 BTU's per hour.

Then take the heat lost and divide it by the fridges cooling capacity to find out how long the fridge will run over an hour. Multiply this by 60 to convert to minutes.

With a 3500 BTU fridge:
350/3500 = .1 hr = 6 mins

I can't find anything on minifridge cooling capacity but I bet there's a thread on here that has got numbers. I bet 3500 is very high for a minifridge.

Thanks for that! So I think my mini fridge would work fine as a fermentation chamber but not for lagering. The other option I saw was a 5050btu A/C unit on Kijiji. I will probably pick that up and run it on low.