Fermentation fridge

[brewchez]

I had a small chest freezer (could fit two fermentors in it) that I used for fermentation that finally quit on me last fall.  Now that the weather is warming up again I need to think about replacing it.  Was debating transitioning to on of those larger sized “dorm” fridges that will hold a bucket/carboy.  Looking to preserve some footprint space for future expansion of my keg freezer setup.
Anyone know off hand what is a good readily accessible fridge model that would handle on fermentor at a time like that?

Cheers

[pete_baker (pete b)]

I would suggest going to a big box store that has display models with your fermenter and seeing what the best fit is.

[Hand_of_Dom]

To fit a 30L bucket in an undercounter fridge, I found that you have to find one that doesn’t have one of the little freezer/iceboxes at the top (we call them larder fridges in the UK).

[blair.streit]

I would suggest going to a big box store that has display models with your fermenter and seeing what the best fit is.

To avoid carrying my SS Brew Bucket around town,  I approximated this by cutting some cardboard to the dimensions of my fermentor. I had a piece for the footprint at the bottom, and another for the height/width.

I don’t have it at my fingertips, but via Google I was previously able to find a thread on HBT where people posted some diagrams with popular models of chest freezers and various items that would fit. That works well for things like kegs, which are standard. In my case, the diagram didn’t have anything like the Brew Bucket so I had to try it in store anyway.

[kgs]

@blair.streit

I would suggest going to a big box store that has display models with your fermenter and seeing what the best fit is.

To avoid carrying my SS Brew Bucket around town,  I approximated this by cutting some cardboard to the dimensions of my fermentor. I had a piece for the footprint at the bottom, and another for the height/width.

I don’t have it at my fingertips, but via Google I was previously able to find a thread on HBT where people posted some diagrams with popular models of chest freezers and various items that would fit. That works well for things like kegs, which are standard. In my case, the diagram didn’t have anything like the Brew Bucket so I had to try it in store anyway.

This might be the HBT thread you’re thinking of? Edit: Note later discussion: this list is outdated.

Chest Freezer Specs and Layouts

[skatz (Stevie)]

Costco sells a danby that is popular for this purpose as well as a two tap kegerator. Last I saw it, it was very affordable. The issue is the door may require modification to fit a fermenter. In my case, I would need to cut away all of the shelving to fit a better bottle.

[Philbrew]

Costco sells a danby that is popular for this purpose as well as a two tap kegerator. Last I saw it, it was very affordable. The issue is the door may require modification to fit a fermenter. In my case, I would need to cut away all of the shelving to fit a better bottle.

If you are referring to the Danby All-refrigerator, I don’t see it at costco.com and it’s out of stock at Walmart.  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Danby-Designer-4.4-cu.ft.-All-Refrigerator/40487632
Bummer, because it works well and is affordable.

Edit: Looks like Walmart has it with a silver front for $6 more.  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Danby-DAR044A5BSLDD-4.-4-CuFt.-Compact-All-Refrig-Auto-Cycle-Defrost-5-Bottle-Wire-Rack/40741375?action=product_interest&action_type=title&item_id=40741375&placement_id=irs-105-t1&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id&category=&client_guid=8174f99c-001b-43af-a769-6b4447baa886&customer_id_enc&config_id=105&parent_item_id=40487632&parent_anchor_item_id=40487632&guid=8e740d5f-2d2b-4dcf-96d4-29e85a085e78&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n

[skatz (Stevie)]

I saw it at multiple Costcos in the Dallas area as well as in Southern California. I have learned that Costco.com is not at all reliable. I think the price was around $160 last I saw it.

[dilluh98]

I’m interested in this. Does anyone know if it would hold 2 x 3 gallon “square” better bottles? I do a lot of split batch (2 x 2 gallon with different yeasts). Looks like it might fit.

[kgs]

@dilluh98

I’m interested in this. Does anyone know if it would hold 2 x 3 gallon “square” better bottles? I do a lot of split batch (2 x 2 gallon with different yeasts). Looks like it might fit.

I pulled my two 3-gallon Better Bottles from the garage to see. Yes, they do fit, and even without removing the drawer you can fit them plus airlocks with room at the top. The Danby’s thermostat is centered at the top, so the necks of the BBs go to the left and right of it. That said, I haven’t used my 3 gal BBs in years; I moved to 5-gallon buckets because they are so much easier to clean and are a good fit for my 3-gallon batches, and I never am fermenting more than one batch at a time. I vaguely recall that a 5-gal BB with a standard airlock on it runs into an issue bumping up against the thermostat.

[Visor]

Unfortunately the dimensional information from the HBT spreadsheet is of little use now, unless one is buying a used freezer. Two or three years ago the new Federal energy regulations took effect and almost all of the existing models of both fridges and freezers were discontinued. When we finally received the new replacement models the exterior and interior dimensions of all the freezers were substantially different - larger exteriors and smaller interiors to accommodate thicker insulation in the freezer walls. Additionally the length to width ratio changed, with most models of chest freezers becoming wider and shallower. Just an FYI.

[mainebrewer]

Does anyone know what the inside dimensions of the Danby fridge are?
I’m looking for something to cold crash my lagers while still in a 6 gal carboy and then lager in a keg.

[blair.streit]

@Visor

Unfortunately the dimensional information from the HBT spreadsheet is of little use now, unless one is buying a used freezer. Two or three years ago the new Federal energy regulations took effect and almost all of the existing models of both fridges and freezers were discontinued. When we finally received the new replacement models the exterior and interior dimensions of all the freezers were substantially different - larger exteriors and smaller interiors to accommodate thicker insulation in the freezer walls. Additionally the length to width ratio changed, with most models of chest freezers becoming wider and shallower. Just an FYI.

Great info, thanks. I have been considering a second one so you may have saved me substantial grief.

[kgs]

@blair.streit

@Visor

Unfortunately the dimensional information from the HBT spreadsheet is of little use now, unless one is buying a used freezer. Two or three years ago the new Federal energy regulations took effect and almost all of the existing models of both fridges and freezers were discontinued. When we finally received the new replacement models the exterior and interior dimensions of all the freezers were substantially different - larger exteriors and smaller interiors to accommodate thicker insulation in the freezer walls. Additionally the length to width ratio changed, with most models of chest freezers becoming wider and shallower. Just an FYI.

Great info, thanks. I have been considering a second one so you may have saved me substantial grief.

Thanks, I modified my post to note that the list is outdated.

[Visor]

If someone takes the time to gather this information for the current models, it should for the most part be reliable for some time to come. While most appliance models rarely remain available for more than a couple years, the chest freezers larger than 7 Ft tend to remain unchanged for years. We were selling the same 9, 15 and 20 foot models at the time the new regs took effect as we were in 2006. This is true at least for Frigidaire and Whirlpool built units, I really can’t speak to the other manufacturers. Unfortunately the smaller units [5 & 7 foot] seem to be built to be disposable. Again, just FYI & FWIW.

[dilluh98]

@kgs

@dilluh98

I’m interested in this. Does anyone know if it would hold 2 x 3 gallon “square” better bottles? I do a lot of split batch (2 x 2 gallon with different yeasts). Looks like it might fit.

I pulled my two 3-gallon Better Bottles from the garage to see. Yes, they do fit, and even without removing the drawer you can fit them plus airlocks with room at the top. The Danby’s thermostat is centered at the top, so the necks of the BBs go to the left and right of it. That said, I haven’t used my 3 gal BBs in years; I moved to 5-gallon buckets because they are so much easier to clean and are a good fit for my 3-gallon batches, and I never am fermenting more than one batch at a time. I vaguely recall that a 5-gal BB with a standard airlock on it runs into an issue bumping up against the thermostat.

Helpful info - thanks for doing that!

[kgs]

@dilluh98

@kgs

@dilluh98

I’m interested in this. Does anyone know if it would hold 2 x 3 gallon “square” better bottles? I do a lot of split batch (2 x 2 gallon with different yeasts). Looks like it might fit.

I pulled my two 3-gallon Better Bottles from the garage to see. Yes, they do fit, and even without removing the drawer you can fit them plus airlocks with room at the top. The Danby’s thermostat is centered at the top, so the necks of the BBs go to the left and right of it. That said, I haven’t used my 3 gal BBs in years; I moved to 5-gallon buckets because they are so much easier to clean and are a good fit for my 3-gallon batches, and I never am fermenting more than one batch at a time. I vaguely recall that a 5-gal BB with a standard airlock on it runs into an issue bumping up against the thermostat.

Helpful info - thanks for doing that!

I bought my Danby at CostCo several years ago (and agree they are often in-store when they don’t show up online) so here’s the model: DAR044A2SLD0 … just in case the Danby changed. But I think the biggest change to the Danby happened when the door shelf unit moved from screw-in to glued-in (which is why I haven’t dealt with it). I sometimes wonder if Danby, which got a new CEO in late 2015, knows that its little fridge is popular with homebrewers.