I’ve reached the point in my brewing career where I’m starting to upgrade my equipment and its come time to look at controlling my fermentation temps.
I have a fridge that i lager in now, top temp is 52 F, lowest is 36 F which is perfect for lagering, i could also use it for ales if i put a controller on it (its in my basement which is currently 72 F). In the winter i could add some sort of heating device to it to keep it warm.
Do you think i should;
stick to the fridge i have and throw a controller on it.
get a freezer with controller
build a small chamber using a mini fridge/heating device to control the temp.
I went with the STC because I am cheap and feel confident in my wiring abilities. I rarely use the heater portion, but it is nice to have. $40 in parts and an hour worth of time.
You’re only controlling one ferment at a time, so a small fridge that fits a bucket/carboy is ideal. Check Craigslist - plenty out there.
I just built a STC-1000 controller, and its kind of a PITA. I’m an engineer, and I’ve built my fair share of control panels/components, so it was more of a challenge for me. If you go this route, I can help ya out.
I started with a pre-wired Ranco 2-stage controller, and I recommend it to all homebrewers. I still use it instead of the STC. I have trouble nailing temps without heating AND cooling, especially when ramping up temps. YMMV.
As long as you are happy only going to 36F to lager then there’s no reason to move away from your fridge. Just buy a temperature controller. I have the Johnson Control A419 and it works very well. It switches from cold to heat control by opening the box with four screws and moving a pin inside. Very easy. You can spend less if you feel comfortable wiring the controller yourself. I don’t so I bought a plug and play device. To heat that up in the winter I use a heat wrap that is similar to fermwrap but designs for reptile tanks. It’s cheaper and seems more durable than fermwrap or the old brewbelt.
I assume i would just switch the plug from the fridge to a heating source if i wanted to heat the fridge in the winter and reconfigure the temp settings