I’d like to start considering a proper fermentation chamber for the garage. As I understand it my options are;
-made from scratch
-refrigerator
-freezer
Am I missing anything? Which option requires the least amount of work, budget aside?
Freezer or fridge are easy. All you need is a temp controller.
I figured the freezer may not work as it only is able to get up to a certain temperature, far outside of the range of ale fermentation. How would a temp controller be able to change that?
The temp controller has its own thermostat and switches the power to the unit on and off. You plug the freezer/fridge into the controller, set the freezer/fridge to a cold or coldest setting, and the controller takes over. Most have short cycle protection to keep your compressor from going bad too soon.
Why do I see a lot of videos of people taking insulation out of the 'fridges and freezers?
I dunno. Maybe they are rigging the existing thermostat. An external controller is by far the easiest and least permanent solution.
Trying to fit a fermenter where it normally wouldn’t? Just a guess.
With the temp. controllers, do you have to submerge the probe into the beer? Tape it on the side of the fermenter?
Your choice. I use a thermowell that measures the beer temperature directly. A thermowell is basically a long sealed off tube that houses the probe in the beer. While most probes are waterproof, a thermowell is the better choice.
Plenty of people stick it to the side with some insulation such as bubble wrap or foam. The insulation allows it to measure the beer more than the air in the chamber.
Both options work well.
What about sticking the probe into a nearby beer bottle of water?
People do that as well. The logic is the liquid has a larger thermal mass compared to the air. The downside there is the fermentation itself is generating heat and could be higher.
I’ve done this in my keezer to keep it from running so often. It runs longer, but less often.
I would not stick the probe in a seperate thing of water. You are trying to measure the temp of your fermenting beer, which will be warmer than the bottle of water because the action of fermentation causes heat. I have a 14cf chest freezer with a Ranco version of what Denny posted. It fits 3 6 gallon buckets easy and I fit two 30L Speidels in easy. I tape a square chunk of foam (yoga mat) to the side of the fermenter and tuck tge probe between the foam and the fermenter at a level where the beer is. The freezer plugs into the controller. Then I tape a medical type heat pad to one wall inside the freezer, one without an automatic off switch, and that plugs into the controller. You set the controller to the temp you want and walk away. The nice thing about a chest freezer is that when you open it all tye cold air doesnt spill out (cold sinks, hot rises).
I only have single stage controller and a chest freezer. To raise temperature on my lagers for a D-rest, I set the rest temperature, say 65F, fill a couple gallon water jugs with hot tap water and put them in the freezer. If not enough heat added, I repeat the process the next day. Not set and forget, but it works fine. Got the idea from the many who add frozen water bottles to a cooler or a chamber to drop the temperature, so hey, doing the opposite works too!
Done this as well. It works just fine. After an early cold snap I finally caved and bought a ceramic reptile bulb setup.
Chest freezer from Costco + temp control = $200 is the way I went. I tried looking on craigslist but trying to find a non-rusted/quality refrig for under $200 wasn’t available. I tried a standup freezer but the selves didn’t work for the carboy.
My opinion is to get a good refrig so you can upgrade to a conical later or don’t need to lift the fermentor up as high. If you’re on a budget and can’t find a cheap refrig on craigslist, I’d go for a chest freezer. Negative for the chest freezer is lifting the fermentor ~4 ft to get it out.
I have two converted chest freezers and a fridge I use as fermentation chambers. You need temp controllers on everything AND your chest freezer will need to have a fan inside with a tub of DryLock. Chest freezers typically will have condensation form inside due to the freeze thaw cycle, and you’ll get rust and mildew form in the unit. A fan recycling the air will stop the water issues. Your beer will turn out great.
Denny, does your temp control turn heat and cooling on at the same time, or do you have to switch between a heating and cooling mode?
My approach is a separate insulated box that is ducted into the freezer compartment on a top-freezer refrigerator. The freezer works perfectly and holds all my hops and the refrigerator holds all my kegs. The chamber temperature can be varied between freezing and 70F. A muffin fan from a computer is inserted into one of the ducts and a Johnson A419 controls when it operates. I use a 12 gal conical in the chamber and since the chamber is elevated, I just open the tap on the conical and drain the beer into a waiting keg sitting at floor level. It really has been a good system.
That is one badass rig, Martin. Brilliant idea!