What to do with Empty Fermentation Chamber

[SGTSparty]

So I've finally gotten all the parts more or less acquired and assembled for my fermentation chamber. Its been a 3 month struggle of moving/cleaning a buddies old fridge, painting, getting my InkBird 308 and heating element, realizing i lost a hinge off a 1980ish fridge and having to order and then jerry-rig a replacement hinge. Anyways. Its ready to plug in! But my Nut Brown is almost done in primary and I wont be brewing again for several weeks. So here's my question:

What do you do w/ your fermentation chamber when its empty?

I know the best answer is "Brew Moar Beeeeer!" but time and funds are tight and that's not a viable option. So what are the next best options? Turn it on w/ a 5G bucket of water in it? Leave it off until x hours before my next brew day?

Also is it better to keep it cooler than I expect it will need to be for my next batch (say 57 instead of 62) to aid in the cooling of that next batch?

 

[EDF713]

Mine is a fridge, I use it to hold my bottled beer when I'm not fermenting. That way I can keep the temp at around 70 to carb up, then turn down all of it at once when the bottles are fully carbonated. This works well since I brew about every other month.

Before fermenting, I ramp it way down, put my fermenter in there, and let it cool down to pitching temp.

 

[SGTSparty]

Mine is a fridge, I use it to hold my bottled beer when I'm not fermenting. That way I can keep the temp at around 70 to carb up, then turn down all of it at once when the bottles are fully carbonated. This works well since I brew about every other month.

Before fermenting, I ramp it way down, put my fermenter in there, and let it cool down to pitching temp.

Yeah thats a good idea but I keg exclusively at this point and I only have 1 spare keg as of right now (so I can have the next batch ready before the next tap runs dry). Once I keg this nut brown I think I may do that, use it to kind of cellar condition the keg until its needed. What do you do with your temp probe? tape it to a bottle? jar/bucket of water?

 

[EDF713]

Yeah thats a good idea but I keg exclusively at this point and I only have 1 spare keg as of right now (so I can have the next batch ready before the next tap runs dry). Once I keg this nut brown I think I may do that, use it to kind of cellar condition the keg until its needed. What do you do with your temp probe? tape it to a bottle? jar/bucket of water?

I just sit a bottle on top of it, might not work with a corny. Once the beer is carbed, I set the temp way down on the controller and let it work like a regular fridge, which keeps it right above freezing.

 

[kh54s10]

Brew more beer! Sorry! just had to.

Either leave it off to save energy, then cool it down a day before you need it for fermentation, or use it as a refrigerator.

 

[bucketnative]

Really, you're refrigerator only needs a few hours to get down to temperature. So leave it off, and save energy.

However, if you have small children, I would consider putting a lock on the door, lest one of them attempt to play in it.

 

[day_trippr]

On the rare period that my fermentation fridge is empty I shut it down, air it out, give it a good cleaning with a mild bleach solution, then close it up until it's needed...

Cheers!

 

[SGTSparty]

Really, you're refrigerator only needs a few hours to get down to temperature. So leave it off, and save energy.

However, if you have small children, I would consider putting a lock on the door, lest one of them attempt to play in it.

I have it in a my brew gear room, which has a locking door and is in the basement. my son is only 16 months so it's not a huge risk yet but its not a bad idea. Especially since I had to MacGyver the hing situation. Might be worth it just to ensure it stays closed.

 

[evilsmurfkiller]

Depends on the need. I usually leave it unplugged, sometimes it ends up being cold keg storage.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

Dry age some steaks.

 

[tracyk]

I am with day tripper, mine is hardly ever empty. So when it is, it is time to clean and air it out. Mine can hold 5 six gallon fermentors, this way the pipeline is always full.

It is up to you if you want to turn it off or not, just open the door to air it out if you turn it off.

 

[ITV]

Since I have a separate beer fridge and keezer, when my fermentation chamber is not in use I unplug it, wipe it down with cleaning solution and keep the door propped open to avoid mold/mildew. I also keep a box of baking soda and a EVA Dry inside.

 

[beernutz]

I have a very old (over 20 years) upright freezer I keep outside under my deck which I use primarily for homemade wine storage. A couple times a year if my other fermentation freezer is full I'll put a fermentation bucket with a lager in it. The temperature is set at 55 degrees year-round using an Inkbird and I have a ceramic heating bulb in it in case the temp drops below 55. The Inkbird is set with 2 degrees hot and 2 degrees cold variance so it will range between 53 and 57.

My point is that I put a Kill-a-Watt energy meter on the freezer and found that it used a whopping 51 cents ($.51 calculated using our $.90/KWH rate) of electricity per MONTH on average. Even if it is empty it costs me practically nothing to keep it set at 55.