Walk-in Fermentation Chamber - the beginning

[BlkWater_brewer]

Been kicking around ideas for building a walk-in unit and still have some decisions to make. One thing I noticed was all the care and effort that went into insulating and sealing the enclosures. Then it hit me. SIPS, structural insulated panels. I built my house using them instead of your normal framing and had a few left over. They are available in different thicknesses but I have both 6 & 10" leftover. All they are are foam boards glued between 2 sheets of OSB. I am using the 6" ones. No need for framing, just cut to size and use adhesive spray foam where the panels meet. This way with the insulation you can use a small cooling and heat source. They are a little pricey when you only need a couple but anyone with friends in construction may be able to set you up. There are always extras and if you have a manufacturer around there are always seconds. Something to consider. Just starting plan it now but it will backup to a wall in my beer cave and I was just going to drill a few holes for lines to a wall mounted tap setup and let it serve double duty as my kegerator as well.

 

[BlackenedBrew]

You have my attention, please continue with this wonderful idea... Don't forget the pictures, please!


Sent via HBT on iOS!

 

[william_shakes_beer]

wouldn't it be cheaper to purchase closed cell rigid insulation and OSB and glue them up with construction adhesive?

 

[dnslater]

How large are you thinking? I'm an Architect and have a couple of thoughts........your probably already on top of most of these issues....

1. 6" SIP's seem like overkill for this project. Assuming this cooler will be inside of a conditioned home or structure, an R-value of 20-25 should be plenty. Most extruded polystyrene insulation is R-7 per inch, so 3-4 inches would be enough - especially if you are using this for fermentation and not refrigeration. Perhaps wood studs every 2' on the outside would work for structure. Also, I believe SIP's use expanded polystyrene, which has a lower insulating value per inch. So 6" SIP may be equal to 3-4" of pink/blue extruded poly.


2. Closed cell extruded foam will also double as your vapor barrier, so nothing further is needed here. Just make sure penetrations and joints are sealed and taped.

3. What are you thinking for a cooling unit? If this cooler is inside your house or basement, the unit will put off heat and condensation, so think about how to vent and drain this. They make small units for IT/Server rooms with remote condensers that could work. There is also a company called CoolBot which has a device that converts a window air conditioner into a cooler compressor. Their website has plans for making your own walk-in cooler.

4. Remember to insulate the floor adequately. It's possible you will need to consider a drain for condensation when you open the door and let humidity in, however if you keep it in the 50's this may not be cool enough to be an issue.

5. You said it would pull double duty as a fermentation chamber and kegerator? Are you fermenting lagers? Don't you normally want your Kegerator around 40F or below?


Link I found here:
http://enegrenbrewing.com/blog/brewery-construction/operation-frosty-box-ii#

Sounds like fun. I look forward to seeing progress. Assume you make a lot of beer?

 

[WPStrassburg]

Rather than spray adhesive between the insulation pieces you should leave a gap (~1/2") between the panels and spray foam it with low expansion foam. This assures that the insulation is continuous from inside to outside and also provides the much needed vapor barrier to prevent moisture from making its way into the foam and into the box.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

The low expansion spray foam was what I meant by adhesive spray foam. When the panels are put together they usually have a 1"x1/2" channel on the faces and are put together flush. I simply drilled several holes to fit the spray nozzle and filled the channels with a special low expansion foam adhesive. Did this for approx 40 panels when I enclosed my timber frame house. Also used about 15 cases of what I called the adhesive foam. (Foam2Foam Prof. Foam Adhesive)


dnslater - the panels are overkill but they are what I had left over, I have some 10" ones as well but that was way too much. This unit is in my first floor walk out basement. I built it for my kids when I built the house 4 years ago. It's now empty since they bought a house and I am not zoned for a two family. So I have 1600SQ ft. that may just become a brewery.
- the floor of the basement is a cement slab with radiant heat (nice in the winters) so i created a 1" space between the floor and a 6" panel that will be tiled as the floor of the walk-in.

You can buy 4" panels if you are buying new. The advantage of the 6" is these panels act as the structure as well so there is no framing needed except the door way. Just set them up, tie them together apply adhesive foam at the seams and lay the appropriate panels across the top and you have your box. Use a sabre saw to cut openings for outlets and fixtures then reseal with canned foam.

As far as my kegerator, that was just an idea but I tend to drink beers on the warm side anyway. Haven't decided on the actual cooling means yet. We'll see. Probably will start assembly next week, I'll get pictures. Google SIP Panels in your area to see what's local. Love SIPS, probably only have about 40-50 2x4's in the whole house.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

wouldn't it be cheaper to purchase closed cell rigid insulation and OSB and glue them up with construction adhesive?

My plan requires no traditional 2x4 framing, hence the beauty to me. If your going to frame it, have someone spray foam it, hands down better than working with small foam sheets.

 

[hammis]

this months BYO magazine has a cool fridge design which i'm sure could be scaled up to a walk in.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

I'll check it out. I am primarily doing this with my panels because it's either use them or pay someone to haul them away. Also I am planning on doing a cooling room build at a new nano brewery and this will be my scaled down model. Had to take a break from it to actually do some brewing on the electric setup I just built. Never too many projects.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

OK, going to get serious this coming week. I have decided on 4' W x 6' D x 8' H. I have isolated the radiant circuit in this particular area and will have only 1" of polyiso between the concrete floor and the sheet of Advantec that will serve as the floor. It will actually be tiled for easier cleaning. The walls and top will all be 6" EPS SIP's. Again that is what I have on hand, otherwise would probably would use the 4 1/2" panels if I were buying them for the project. I got sort of creative for the door and sort of lazy. I am using the door off my present refrigerator, only injecting low expansion foam in the voids. I may revisit this later in what I call my Rev 2 stage but it will suffice for now. Since winter is coming to NH soon I have a thermostatically controlled vent I will be bring outside air in for cooling purposes with a small box mounted electric element and low cfm fan for heat. I used the same heater in a 6x8 unheated closet last winter and was able to keep it between 67-77 degree's my normal range depending on style. I eventually will go the reworked AC route for cooling but don't have the time for venting properly right now.

The hardest part is going to be relocating all the crap I have been storing since I built this house and then being able to find it again.