Side-by-Side to Fermentation Chamber Build

[legaleagle]

Great! Since you have experience with this, it gives me some confidence to try it out. I originally envisioned doing this on top of a chest freezer, but my carpentry skills are pretty basic and it seem intimidating. When I saw your thread, I figured it would cut out a lot of the carpentry/insulation issues (plus where I am at it seems like cheap fridges are easier to get on CL than chest freezers). Now, I gotta convince the SWMBO...

 

[southpawbrew]

Legaleagle:

If you find good sources for the pieces for your build (battery operated thermostats etc.) I would love to hear about it. I posted early in this thread HERE about having trouble finding my wiring diagram. After contacting a few service providers and directly to the manufacturer I've concluded I'm not going to get my hands on the wiring. Thus I'm apprehensive about taking on the wiring. Your approach seems more manageable.

I'm looking forward to Pics and details of your build.

 

[legaleagle]

Southpaw - well all it is right now is an idea (lifted from the ingenuity and hard work of several other folks) and a plan. My biggest hurdle right now is convincing the SWMBO to let me put a 2nd fridge in our garage. Gotta bide my time until there's a toy she really wants and work a trade off.

As I envision it, there is not much wiring to deal with. Cheap thermistat's for house a/c-heater uses are plentiful (most have a AA battery backup if your power goes out; in my case the batts would be the only power, replaced as needed) - they can be had for $30-$40 each. Then its just a matter of getting your hands on some 12v wall warts from old electronic equipment laying around and splicing the wires to the power supply of the thermistat and connecting some computer fans (I happen to already have 2 from dead server box) to the fan control connector on the thermistat - easy. The hardest wiring would be locating the thermister on the thermistat's electronics board so you can solder it out with a solder pen and re-solder it to long extension wires to reach your fermenting vessel. That's all the wiring.

 

[southpawbrew]

I'm thinking of going with your idea but just make the freezer side the side for chillin cornies and crash cooling carboys and the refrigerator side for fermenting ales. One thermostat and one ranco controller are better for my budget.

If you mounted the thermostat within the refrigerator side could you forgo "locating the thermister on the thermistat's electronics board so you can solder it out with a solder pen and re-solder it to long extension wires to reach your fermenting vessel" since the thermostat would be reading the actual temp of the ale fermentation side? I maybe way off here let me know what you think

 

[legaleagle]

Southpaw - well first off, this is all just ideas and plans right now, so I cannot speak from actual experience. With that caveat, it seems to me that that you can put one of those cheapo aquarium sticky thermomter strips on the side your fermentation vessel to measure its temp. You could then drop the thermistat temp to below your target fermentation temp (I'd would guess something like 8-10 degrees lower when fermentation is very active, less as the fermentation activity and resulting heat reduce). Thru trial/error I imagine you will be able to zero in on where you need to set the thermistat temp to get your fermentation vessel to a certain temp within a few degrees variation. The trade off I would think is that you gotta pay more attention to your fermentation (and open the fridge door alot more) and adjust on the fly as opposed to setting it and leaving it, along with more temp swings depending on how much attention you do pay to making adjustments. I'd guess it would work pretty well without the thermister extension, which is really more for convenience than any anticipation on my part that it would make that dramatic of a difference in the final product.

 

[legaleagle]

Got a question about those fridges with the fridge on top and freezer on the bottom (I think they are called "French Door" style fridges). Does anyone know if there are there freon or electical lines running inside the shelf that seperates the freezer from the fridge? I know that on side-by-side fridges, there is nothing inside the wall seperating the fridge & freezer; wondering if its the same deal with bottom freezer models. I wanna be able to rip that bottom shelf out to make a fermentor.

 

[BrewBeemer]

Got a question about those fridges with the fridge on top and freezer on the bottom (I think they are called "French Door" style fridges). Does anyone know if there are there freon or electical lines running inside the shelf that seperates the freezer from the fridge? I know that on side-by-side fridges, there is nothing inside the wall seperating the fridge & freezer; wondering if its the same deal with bottom freezer models. I wanna be able to rip that bottom shelf out to make a fermentor.

This might get you in trouble as I Sawzalled one apart that had a R12 leakout failure within the fridge exterior walls so not repairable a total loss, it also had cooling lines between the top and bottom compartments I sawed thru and exposed. We kept the compressor with everything else for future replacement parts.
KB; i'll have to rethink and save this 7 year old side by side fridge with the doors off it sitting outside under a tarp airing out. The renters were heavy smokers is why I replaced the stinky fridge, you've resparked my intrest in saving it vs trashing it thanks. The center divider wall and doors sealing was my main issue for not chopping into it in the past. Like you posted a little light Dremel surgery exploring what's hidden inside the divider wall first. White roof flashing sealer woild waterproof any exposed open cell foam insulation. This can be the fermenting cooler with me only needing a keezer for the family room. I'll make space in the shop for this side by side as all my storage space areas are maxed out.

 

[fatman]

BK, what was the CF of this fridge? How is she holding up for you? I am looking for something like this for Hawaii.

 

[elpresidente]

Has anyone done this with a "top-freezer" model refrigerator? I have a decent-sized old one I could use (maybe 22 cu. ft.?), but I have no idea what is in the panel that separates the fridge from the freezer compartments. If it's just insulation (as in BK's side-by-side fridge) I would think cutting it out would work fine in a top freezer model as well. I'd just rather not destroy the fridge if it definitely won't work for some reason...

Thanks to BK for an inspiring thread!

Yes, I am interested to find out if this can be done as well...does anyone know? I don't want to pass up a good fridge that isnt side by side if I can do it just the same with the other style fridge with freezer on top.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

BK, what was the CF of this fridge? How is she holding up for you? I am looking for something like this for Hawaii.

It was a 27 cu. ft. fridge. I used it as a deep freezer for about 6 months until it died. Good for fermentation and lagering, bad for deep freezer Oh well.

I transferred the components to a new smaller fridge for my new smaller setup.

I will likely redo this project when I up my system volume again down the road.

 

[gerund]

Has anybody tried the dual zone side-by-side fridge with any success? I have just picked up a 90's Kenmore that will fit a 15.5 sanke perfectly in the fridge section, and a tall 7.75g sanke in the freezer section. I'm trying to see if I can ferment/lager in one section and serve kegged beer in the other.

Thanks

 

[jcdillin]

I've been doing it for quite a while now. I keep my freezer side at 40F and I keep my fermentation side at 65F. I just use a computer fan in the original tunnel that connects the two sides.

 

[gerund]

Do you use a temperature controller to activate the fan when the temperature reaches a certain high temperature?

 

[jcdillin]

Correct, i'm using a BrewTroller loaded with FermTroller firmware. It controls each side independently.

Here is my build thread on it, I haven't updated it in a while.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/old-fridge-turned-computer-controlled-fermentation-chamber-125277/

 

[Forbein11]

I've done the side by side as well. Below is the build thread for it. Best of luck. I usually either serve or lager in the freezer side and ferment in the fridge side. Has worked out very well for me. If you go this route and have any questions, feel free to fire away.

 

[gerund]

Wow, that brewtroller setup is fan-freaking-tastic. I think it's a bit out of my league though, I don't have much electrical experience.

I've got a Love Tss2-2100 on its way, and I need to track down a wiring diagram for my particular model.

Keeping the CO2 tank outside the freezer is a great idea. I think Forbein11 and myself have very similar refrigerators, I can't thank you enough for the level of detail in your post.

 

[dogtailale]

Small Question

The amana after you cut out the center wall and built the wood shelves and left the wiring alone.
Would that now be basically considered a 25 sq ft refrigerator and maintain a temp of lets say 40 degrees?
What Im looking at is a aging chamber also. Looks like a dozen+ cornys.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

I'm not sure, I never ran it without the controller. I suppose if you manipulated the built in thermostat to its hottest setting, it would likely keep the whole space above freezing, but I have no real idea, just conjecture.

I am glad some people are finding use for side-by-sides. I think they offer a lot of advantages. Plus, you can find them CHEAP!

 

[dogtailale]

Small Question

The amana after you cut out the center wall and built the wood shelves and left the wiring alone.
Would that now be basically considered a 25 sq ft refrigerator and maintain a temp of lets say 40 degrees?
What Im looking at is a aging chamber also. Looks like a dozen+ cornys.

I tried It so far so good. Although while I was gutting mine I found out it is a 22sqft not a 25

Took out 85% of the wall left about a foot up top. Its not finished yet no wood shelve yet. Need to cleanup ruff edges, get some foil tape,+ + +
Any ways 8pm yesterday 6 cornys 60ish degree water were placed in unit, ambient air 60dg to 52dg today7am 41degrees. Thermostat set at 1.0 on the scale of 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

 

[humann_brewing]

I just wanted to confirm that the love TSS2 comes with the temp sensor right?

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Not if you order from Dwyer. You order the probe separately. It is int he accessories section at the bottom of the order page.

 

[EarthBound]

I was thinking of doing something like this with my fridge; however, mine is freezer on top. Do you know if there's any coolant lines between the freezer and the fridge? I hope not.

 

[Hermit]

I was thinking of doing something like this with my fridge; however, mine is freezer on top. Do you know if there's any coolant lines between the freezer and the fridge? I hope not.

There shouldn't be. On some models you can take the doors off, pop the center strip and slide out the divider. May be some wires to contend with, especially in the center strip (mullion heater).

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

You need to find the assembly drawings of the fridge. This will show you where the coolant lines and electrical circuit is physically run. I was able to find mine with some Google-foo. Without knowing how the fridge is put together, I would not start cutting it up.

 

[EarthBound]

Thanks, guys!

 

[rudu81]

I have a whirlpool side by side (circa 1986) and for the life of me cannot find a wiring diagram. The closest I've come is a parts catalog, but it doesn't show how it's wired. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks

 

[redde2brew]

If you a have a GE or Hotpoint you can call 800-626-2000 ext #3. They will email you a electrical diagram.

My question is my diagram doesn't show a ground on the power. I'm guessing that it is grounded to frame outside of fridge. Should I run a ground from frame to the termial block or is there an another location to ground to.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Green will be the ground plane. I would not trust that the frame is grounded.

 

[redde2brew]

Green will be the ground plane. I would not trust that the frame is grounded.

I have not got no solid green wires any where. I have green with a stripe going to ground clips attached to metals surfaces from several devices in the fridge. this is why I think the ground is located outside.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

That is the ground plane. The green with yellow stripe is often used for ground.