So a friend bought a studio apartment and it came with two mini-fridges rather than a full sized fridge. It's NYC, so nobody really blinks an eye at odd things like that. She kept one fridge for drinks, and bought a mini freezer. Since her cooking skills amount to the microwave and mac and cheese, the mini freezer is what she needed. I got the old fridge for free, I just had to carry it down the 5 flights of stairs.
And the Fermenatrix (TM) was born.
(Insert standard disclaimer: It's electricity. If you don't know what you're doing with it, STOP. Hire someone who does.)
In order to fit two cornies inside, I had to do something about the cold plate and the factory thermostat.
How it was when I first got it:
After a few minutes with a screwdriver:
Then I bent the cold plate down. This ultimately didn't work. Either I crimped the coolant line, or the compressor didn't have enough oomph to push the coolant up the vertical plate. It would cool for a minute and the compressor motor would go into thermal protect. The solution I came up with is shown later.
The thermostat removed. I soldered and taped the wires together, then stuffed them out of the way. The hole is covered with packing tape to keep it somewhat waterproof.
The Love controller is just stuck to the back of the fridge with some velcro. Quick and easy.
The temp probe for the Love Controller: It's through a hole where one of the screws from the cold plate was. A 5/16" drill bit finished the hole to the outside of the fridge.
The solution to the cold plate. An angle grinder! I carefully cut the extra metal from the sides, being careful not to nick the coolant tubes.
Now two cornies fit! I'm using foam control drops and a blow off tube. For my main fermenting corny, I just removed the diptube and the disconnect. After this batch is done fermenting, I'm going to try using a bent dip tube so I can transfer with CO2. The other thing to change is to get a gas disconnect and attach the blow off tube to it. I'm not sure the disconnects will fit under the cold plate though.
One step I didn't take a pic of was the door. I removed the seal, removed the molded piece, cut and painted a piece of 1/8" ply, and reassembled. I'll take a pic later.
So far I've done 4 batches, and the beers have all been great. Still need to do a side-by-side of a temp control vs. non controlled taste test. One of these days I'll brew more than a corny can hold and ferment the extra outside the Fermenatrix.
B
And the Fermenatrix (TM) was born.
(Insert standard disclaimer: It's electricity. If you don't know what you're doing with it, STOP. Hire someone who does.)
In order to fit two cornies inside, I had to do something about the cold plate and the factory thermostat.
How it was when I first got it:
After a few minutes with a screwdriver:
Then I bent the cold plate down. This ultimately didn't work. Either I crimped the coolant line, or the compressor didn't have enough oomph to push the coolant up the vertical plate. It would cool for a minute and the compressor motor would go into thermal protect. The solution I came up with is shown later.
The thermostat removed. I soldered and taped the wires together, then stuffed them out of the way. The hole is covered with packing tape to keep it somewhat waterproof.
The Love controller is just stuck to the back of the fridge with some velcro. Quick and easy.
The temp probe for the Love Controller: It's through a hole where one of the screws from the cold plate was. A 5/16" drill bit finished the hole to the outside of the fridge.
The solution to the cold plate. An angle grinder! I carefully cut the extra metal from the sides, being careful not to nick the coolant tubes.
Now two cornies fit! I'm using foam control drops and a blow off tube. For my main fermenting corny, I just removed the diptube and the disconnect. After this batch is done fermenting, I'm going to try using a bent dip tube so I can transfer with CO2. The other thing to change is to get a gas disconnect and attach the blow off tube to it. I'm not sure the disconnects will fit under the cold plate though.
One step I didn't take a pic of was the door. I removed the seal, removed the molded piece, cut and painted a piece of 1/8" ply, and reassembled. I'll take a pic later.
So far I've done 4 batches, and the beers have all been great. Still need to do a side-by-side of a temp control vs. non controlled taste test. One of these days I'll brew more than a corny can hold and ferment the extra outside the Fermenatrix.
B
