What kind of fridge shall I get for a 50-gallon fermentation tank?

[Elysium]

Maybe this is not the right section for this question and I know that above 50-gallon batches it is not homebrewing....but hey, I am in Spain.

So......I am planning to get this 52-gallon fermentor and I'd like to get a fridge to put it in. The reason why I want it like that is because I want to get 2 tanks and I might have 2 different temperature for the 2 different batches.

Obviously the temp should probably be between 0 ºC (32F) - 18 ºC (64.4F). That will cover ales and lagers......(I still dont know if I wanna brew lagers at this stage...but I guess I should be open to all options).

So, this is the tank: https://www.brouwland.com/en/our-pr...ks/d/tank-sst-floating-lid-conic-bottom-200-l

54 cm (21.25 inches) diameter and 150 cm (60 inches) tall. Plus a stand.....I guess.

So, my idea is to get a fridge and get a thermostat that will control the temp and turn the fridge on or off.

Is this a good idea? Or shall I go for another method that might be cheaper and easier to set up? Any thoughts on this?

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

You would be better of building an insulated fermentation chamber or room, something you can roll the fermentors into. Not being familiar with your average temperatures there, normally a small air conditioner on a temperature controller would be all you need. Google fermentation chambers or look under the DIY Forum. A refrigerator, short of a commercial walk-in unit won't cut it for two vessels this size with out major expense.

 

[PatrickLS83]

In addition to looking at fermentation chambers, I think you should look into jackets such as these:

http://www.gotta-brew.com/products/cool-zone-cooling-jacket.html

You could wrap 2 around each fermentor (you'll need the extensions for this) and then pump chilled water or glycol to bring the temps down. With the shape of these tanks it shouldn't be hard to add insulation around the cooling jackets. There's lots of DIY glycol chiller write-ups where people have taken cheap window AC units and plastic coolers and made very effective chillers. I made one myself with the guts of a mini-fridge and have them hooked up to similar tanks as the ones you're looking at (albeit mine are smaller). This might be a good cost-effective solution for you.

 

[Elysium]

In addition to looking at fermentation chambers, I think you should look into jackets such as these:

http://www.gotta-brew.com/products/cool-zone-cooling-jacket.html

You could wrap 2 around each fermentor (you'll need the extensions for this) and then pump chilled water or glycol to bring the temps down. With the shape of these tanks it shouldn't be hard to add insulation around the cooling jackets. There's lots of DIY glycol chiller write-ups where people have taken cheap window AC units and plastic coolers and made very effective chillers. I made one myself with the guts of a mini-fridge and have them hooked up to similar tanks as the ones you're looking at (albeit mine are smaller). This might be a good cost-effective solution for you.

I think I might be better off just building a small chamber then out of wood with insulation and airconditioning.

I'll look into this though too. Cheers.