Wine cooler as a lager fridge?

[A_McG]

Hi, a friend of mine wants to sell his wine cooler, never uses it. Manufacturer specs show it cools to 40f which is more than enough for primary, but would 40f be cold enough for letting 'lager'.

It's a Haier brand, approx 2x2 base 3ft tall

I've been in the market for a beer fridge for awhile, but a separate smaller fridge just big enough for a fermenting bucket would be an awesome addition to the brew space.

 

[JimRausch]

40* would be OK for lagering.

 

[SanPancho]

thats probably good enough in terms of temp. but long term aging in a bucket is generally a no-no. too much oxygen ingress as most buckets dont seal. you'd probably want a carboy, so might wanna see if that will fit in cooler.

 

[A_McG]

thats probably good enough in terms of temp. but long term aging in a bucket is generally a no-no. too much oxygen ingress as most buckets dont seal. you'd probably want a carboy, so might wanna see if that will fit in cooler.

I use the 7gal master vinter buckets and they are a bit larger than my carboys, tho I would probably have to use a blow off tube instead of the standard airlock due to height. I prefer racking to glass, and for lager aging I'll be using glass.

I'll let him know I want it, thanks for responses

 

[A_McG]

So I was wrong on the model, it's a Danby, not a Haier and quite a bit larger than described. Either way it's working great. Brewed a Chocolate oatmeal stout yesterday and this morning it was showing airlock activity.

The temp was set at 58 all night too help cool the wort, I bumped it to 60 when I left for work. My starting temp was a bit higher than I wanted (68f) but still safe.

Here's a pic, please forgive the purple walls, I haven't gotten around to painting the basement yet.