This is what happens when I cannot sleep, LOL

General Homebrew Discussion
1

I have been storing my fermenter bucket in a hallway closet, which has been keeping temps of anywhere between 60 to 70 degrees as of now.  We don’t get super hot temps on my region, nor do we get super cold.  I was up this morning looking around and found an interesting video on how to make a fermentation chamber using my old mini fridge that has now become my kegerator.  Since, as of right now, I only keg and run one batch at a time, I was thinking, why not use the kegerator as a fermenter chamber as well?  Only problem is the bucket I use does not fit.  So, a YouTube vid I found has me making a 2x4 extension around the door opening, using small metal straps to connect the 2x4 to the fridge and then reattaching the door.  I would buy a temp controller and put it in the fridge to regulate the fermenter temp and off I go.  Thoughts?  I have a bunch of scrap 2x4s, so the cost is minimal at best, and I think I could be a fun little weekend project.  Pro’s and Con’s welcome.  Thanks guys  RR

Edited to attach the link that I found.

2

No specific thoughts but brewing recipes an concepts come to me in my sleep ALL THE TIME!  :smiley:

3

LOL, glad I am not the only one.  LOL

4

With me, it’s in my sleep, while mowing the lawn, watching TV, eating breakfast…you name it. I have a problem.

5

Look for a used chest freezer. Generally no mods required to fit a bucket.

6

I say go ahead and try it, if it costs next to nothing to give a go why not?  My lager fermentation is an old stereo cabinet with a bunch of insulation, a reptile heating cable, and a home-wired temp controller the rig sets in my unheated garage.  Not pretty but it works great for making lager in Vermont winter.

7

Also check Craigslist if you think you’ll need equipment that you don’t have.  You might find something on the cheap.

8

Thanks for all the replies guys, my thought is why not?  I have a keg getting ready to go in the kegerator in the next day or two, so this might be a project after it is done.  But I am going to give it a try.

9

The build is fine and seems like a smaller version of the minifridge expansion that used to be popular (son of a fermentation chamber?). One thing I would say is before you start building onto the fridge is what is your long term plan. Will you want to have a beer on tap and fermenting at the same time in the near future? Will you want more than one beer on tap? Will you want to acquire different fermentation vessels that need different space? Depending on your near term goals it may make sense to go a different route and avoid spending money multiple times on something you could have bought once.

10

Do you think beer thinks about you as much as you think about beer?

The DIY spirit is strong in this one.  Putting a guest bedroom onto an existing refrigerator is both a great idea and ridiculous at the same time.

I personally draw the line when I realize I’ve just reinvented an existing thing:

If only there was way to keep my fermenting beer cooler than the ambient temperature. I’d need to somehow “exchange heat” from the interior of the insulated chamber with the outside air and maintain that temperature through a device that would activate that cooling machine when it reached too high of a temperature. A “thermo-stat” if you will…

This will be my last post because I’m going to be a millionaire with my totally original idea! Wait…