So I need a vessel for lagering as my interest has grown in making these beers. The keezer is full of beer that I prefer not to chill down to 32F for long periods of time but I figure it can serve as the vessel for primary fermentation and some initial chilling to 38 or so. My efforts at obtaining another freezer/fridge for the garage (this would be #3) have been met with strong opposition by my wife. So here is my plan:
I am going to get a large heavy duty garbage can, cut some thick long strips of insulation (construction grade stuff) and line the entire inside (sides/bottom/lid) of the can then fill in the gaps with the spray foam insulation (maybe cover it all for good measure). A small faucet or ball valve will be installed.
This will be filled with ice water into which my carboy of future lager will be submerged and left for 4-6 weeks.
Obviously changes in ice will be required with draining off water but hopefully not too often ( ambient temps in winter around here are 40F- garage currently sits at 60F but hopefully will be chilling further as winter progresses).
Has anyone tried this?
How often do you think the ice will have to be changed?- I’m hoping that once the carboy is chilled down the cold thermal mass will hold pretty stable with minimal intervention.
Thoughts and suggestions appreciated.
I think it will work well, and is similar to how I did my ales for years- except not at such low temps. 
Give it a shot necessity is the mother of invention as they say…
Just have a temp probe or something so you can follow how fast it cools/warms or stays stable.
yeah I was thinking of making another hole for a thermometer probe
I lager in my serving fridge at ~38F. I’d like my beers to be served warmer and my lagers to lager colder but it’s a decent compromise.
What you’re proposing will work but it’ll take a lot of ice and would be too much of a hassle for me.
You could build one of these. I did. It worked great.
That’s about the same footprint as a small chest freezer. Which is the optimum way to go.
[quote]My efforts at obtaining another freezer/fridge for the garage (this would be #3) have been met with strong opposition by my wife.
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My small freezer is 28" by 21" for footprint which isn’t much more than a large or 50 gallon trashcan. Maybe more “reasoning” with SWMBO will bear fruit?
Is that a chest freezer or an “under the counter” refrigerator euge?
I moved to UTC friges when I moved to Hawaii. I inherited a couple and found a great deal on a multiple lot of Johnson controllers on eBay. I modified the friges by removing the inside panel on the doors (with the butter tray slot and such) and replaced them with flat stock. There is plenty of room for a 7 gal glass carboy and blow-off tube (or airlock on top).
I use these for lagers. Everything else is fermented in a converted bathroom with a window shaker AC installed. aka “The Fermentorium.”
No it’s a Holiday chest freezer from Lowes.