chocotaco
Well-Known Member
Today's amazing weather (in Southern California) makes it clear that summer is approaching. And I would like to be able to keep brewing ales instead of relegating myself to funky Saisons. Which means I am looking at building a fermentation chamber.
A lot of people use something like a chest freezer or mini fridge, connected to a temperature controller that cuts power to the cooler when the target temperature is reached, and restores power when it gets too warm.
To me, this seems like it would be bad for the lifespan of the freezer or fridge. For about the same price as buying a freezer, I could build an insulated box of about the same size which uses a large thermoelectric heat pump and PID controller to keep the box at a specified temperature. Because it has no moving parts except fans, and low thermal stress due to the PID controller, I think this box would last for the better part of a decade if not longer (probably with swapping out the fans every couple of years).
Obviously I would like to avoid going through the hassle of building this thing, and the nice thing about the chest freezer solution is that it's all of-the-shelf. But first I want to tap into the experiences of the community: Do you have the chest freezer (or fridge) solution for fermentation control? Have you found that the cooler does not like to have its power cycled on and off? Have you had it last a while, or have you had it die after some time?
Chest Freezer:
Pros:
Custom TED/PID chamber:
Pros:
A lot of people use something like a chest freezer or mini fridge, connected to a temperature controller that cuts power to the cooler when the target temperature is reached, and restores power when it gets too warm.
To me, this seems like it would be bad for the lifespan of the freezer or fridge. For about the same price as buying a freezer, I could build an insulated box of about the same size which uses a large thermoelectric heat pump and PID controller to keep the box at a specified temperature. Because it has no moving parts except fans, and low thermal stress due to the PID controller, I think this box would last for the better part of a decade if not longer (probably with swapping out the fans every couple of years).
Obviously I would like to avoid going through the hassle of building this thing, and the nice thing about the chest freezer solution is that it's all of-the-shelf. But first I want to tap into the experiences of the community: Do you have the chest freezer (or fridge) solution for fermentation control? Have you found that the cooler does not like to have its power cycled on and off? Have you had it last a while, or have you had it die after some time?
Chest Freezer:
Pros:
- Off the shelf
- Easy build
- Can later be converted to a keezer/kegerator if I start kegging
- Life span?
- Temp control not as precise
Custom TED/PID chamber:
Pros:
- Precise temp control
- Long life span/easily repairable
- Probably could not get cold enough to be a kegerator without consuming massive amounts of power
- Probably less power efficient (depending how well the fridge responds to having its power cycled)
- Initial build is a PITA