Wine cooler for Controlled Fermentation Temps?

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Hey,

I was wondering if anyone has used wine coolers for controlled fermentation temps!

I think it'll work but I thought I'd ask here first... I really want to do a lager!

Thanks,
 
Hi - I looked into it, and it seemed it'd work fine as long as you get good internal measurements which would give you plenty of clearance to get your fermenter in/out and also allow for your airlock or blowoff equipment. The only thing is that, unless you take apart its built-in thermostat setup, you're only able to set the ambient temp of the inside of the fridge (so, the space surrounding the fermenter) and not the actual temp of the fermenting beer by way of a probe in a thermowell. To do that, you could probably cut out a small piece of the rubber seal on the door near the hinge and then set your fridge to its lowest setting, and plug it into an Inkbird controller or similar (Johnson Controls, etc.), and then have the probe for the controller go into your thermowell - that would regulate the fridge based on the beer's temp. The one thing to consider is that I think most of those wine fridges only go down to 39 or 40, so if you intend to do lager fermentations lower than, say, 45, you might be cutting it close. But I don't know anyone who ferments lagers any cooler than 48F internal temp, so I could see it working well. Good luck! A nice homebrewed lager is a beautiful thing.
 
That is what I use. A Visanni Wine Cooler along with an STC-1000. I use a birdbath warmer to heat.
 
Thanks! I'll look into it. I know on the higher end models they have a fairly decent control panel on them. I think to start, I'd probably just throw the carboys in, set my lagering temp and forget about it. At least to start anyway. If I need to change things up I will. Anything wrong with doing that?
 

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