Refrigerator or chest freezer?

[jarhno]

@corkybstewart

I like my fermentation “closet” cooled by an a/c unit. Build it to size/fit what you want/need. I had the a/c unit, so it was wood and insulation and screws 30$ or so for mine.

That’s what I did.  But I had the wood and everything else, I just had to buy a $100 AC.  Here’s a picture of the inside of mine:
[


Even though it’s around 100F in my garage right now, I’m fermenting a smoked roggenbier at 54F internal temp(notice the temp probe wire going into the thermowell).  The AC probably runs less than 15 minutes per hour to keep the temp stable.

That is a really interesting setup. How stable does this closet method keep the temperature? I love working with my hands and not spending $400 or more on a fridge or freezer would be a huge plus.](Photo Storage)

[morticaixavier]

@jarhno

@corkybstewart

I like my fermentation “closet” cooled by an a/c unit. Build it to size/fit what you want/need. I had the a/c unit, so it was wood and insulation and screws 30$ or so for mine.

That’s what I did.  But I had the wood and everything else, I just had to buy a $100 AC.  Here’s a picture of the inside of mine:
[


Even though it’s around 100F in my garage right now, I’m fermenting a smoked roggenbier at 54F internal temp(notice the temp probe wire going into the thermowell).  The AC probably runs less than 15 minutes per hour to keep the temp stable.

That is a really interesting setup. How stable does this closet method keep the temperature? I love working with my hands and not spending $400 or more on a fridge or freezer would be a huge plus.

with a decent temp controller a setup like that will keep the internal temp dead on with 1 or 2 degrees or so in either direction. The beer temp will be even more stable due to the higher thermal mass](Photo Storage)

[blatz]

@davidgzach

Paul, a gallon of water weighs about 8.5#.  A 6 gallon carboy would then be about 51# plus the carboy.  If you can deadlift 385, it should be like feathers to you! 

;D not the weight, rather the shape/size and fragility that makes them cumbersome.

[corkybstewart]

@jarhno

@corkybstewart

I like my fermentation “closet” cooled by an a/c unit. Build it to size/fit what you want/need. I had the a/c unit, so it was wood and insulation and screws 30$ or so for mine.

That’s what I did.  But I had the wood and everything else, I just had to buy a $100 AC.  Here’s a picture of the inside of mine:
[


Even though it’s around 100F in my garage right now, I’m fermenting a smoked roggenbier at 54F internal temp(notice the temp probe wire going into the thermowell).  The AC probably runs less than 15 minutes per hour to keep the temp stable.

That is a really interesting setup. How stable does this closet method keep the temperature? I love working with my hands and not spending $400 or more on a fridge or freezer would be a huge plus.

I have the temp controller set to a 2 degree variance, so if it’s set at 54F it won’t get above 56 internal temp.  If I do this again I’ll go to a used appliance store and get a dead upright freezer carcass to convert.  It would already be very well insulated and have a good door, something my box needs badly.](Photo Storage)

[ynotbrusum]

I have two chest freezers and separate A419 controllers one at ferment temps and the other at lager temps.  I am in the process of setting up unistrut with a carriage mechanism to roll on the unistrut along a pathway between the two.  The lift will be a rope hoist used for hanging deer.  The hoist uses pulleys to minimize the effort to lift.  I have the pieces but I have to engineer the angle for fastening against the angled ceiling (it is not flat above the freezers, so it may simply be a wooden piece ripped at the angle to make it work).  The system will be tons cheaper than a large motor hoist or similar standalone apparatus.

[reverseapachemaster]

I have a small fridge that tightly fits a tall 7.9 gallon bucket. It’s larger than the usual small fridge but much smaller than a regular fridge. Found it on craigslist for $40. Some guy was using it as a kegerator so it has the hole drilled in the top. It fits corny kegs (barely) so it may have a future use as a kegerator. Like everybody else I run it on a digital controller.

It doesn’t get cold enough to lager and I don’t keg to justify a chest freezer so I can’t lager beers properly. I can get beer down to the low 40s which gets me in the neighborhood of a decent lager. So what you brew makes a big difference in which option might work best for you.