I decided it was time for an upgrade to my fermentation chamber. I built the “Son of a Fermentor” about a year ago and, while it worked great, I wanted something that could hold two carboys and not require me to swap out ice jugs in an attempt to control the temperature.
To keep cost down I was able to reuse the foam and fan from the “Son of a Fermentor”, I got the ac window unit for free, and used my bucket heater. To control everything I am using the Inkbird ITC-308. The frame is all 2x4 and the exterior is .25" plywood. The interior dimensions of the chamber are 24" x 36" and 30" tall. I used 2" and 1" foam to insulate things, and used spray foam to fill in all the gaps. I put wheels on the bottom when I realized that I wanted to be able to move it around without help from a few friends. Cost for all the parts that I already didn’t have was about $175
The bottom frame
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Insulation installed
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Frame for the chamber
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Top and one side wall installed
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Put first wall on wrong side…swapped and put two more walls on
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All walls on and foam installed
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Inside look of the ac unit. The openings above that are for a heating chamber I built. (pic below)
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Door frame done and foam insulation installed on top
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Here you can see where the ac unit is hiding. The frame above that is where I built a heat chamber. Air comes in on the right, gets warmed by the bucket warmer, and blown back in the chamber. I liked this setup because I’m not dealing with a heating element that gets really hot but can still warm things if needed.
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Door is on. It’s snug, but I’m willing to accept some leakage around the door.
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A close up of the ac unit and fan for the heater coming into the chamber
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Top wood is on and stain and paint are complete.
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