Chest freezer as a fermentation chiller?

[bendog15]

I live in a warm climate and need something to keep my 6.5 gallon carboy in the 62-72 degree range. Was considering building the "son of a fermentation chiller" when I discovered a neighbor selling a Holiday Chest Freezer #LCM070LC which will fit the carboy perfectly.
My only question is- will a chest freezer get too cold to function as a fermentation chiller?

 

[Black Island Brewer]

It will work great as a fermentation chamber, with the addition of a temp controller. It will automatically shut off the freezer when the beer is cooled to the proper temp and kick on when it warms up. There are tons of threads here on the types. I use a dual stage controller, because I need to both heat and cool, depending on the ambient temp in my unheated garage.

 

[sybesbrew]

chest freezer is great for temp control. but you will need a temperature controller. look around the forum. I recommend an STC 1000. they're relatively inexpensive to make(20~$35 depending what you have at home) but still good controllers

 

[3PegBrew]

I got my Johnson Controller probe units off of Amazon and Ebay. Simple to use. Here is the one I use:

http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Controls-A19AAT-2C-Temperature-Controller/dp/B0002EAL58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385346919&sr=8-1&keywords=johnson+thermostat+controller

 

[passedpawn]

You need a temp controller for that freezer. The freezer plugs just plugs into this controller. The controller plugs into the wall. The controller has a dial, or buttons (the digital ones) that let you set the temp. Easy, but it will set you back $50-$80.

Take a look at the analog (A19) and digital (A419) controllers here, from Johnson controls:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-equipment/fermentation-equipment/temperature-control.html

You can build your own for perhaps half that (search STC-1000), but only do that if you really like the do-it-yourself stuff. In my opinion, it's not worth building yourself for something this inexpensive.

 

[BigFloyd]

Can you do basic household-type wiring? If so, the $20-22 STC-1000 digital is the way to go. I use three of them (keezer, fermenter fridge, lagering freezer) and really like the way they work.

The STC-1000 is a dual temperature controller. You wire it into a standard 2-plug outlet that you mount in some kind of project box (either homemade or bought at Radio Shack). One (cool) outlet is for the freezer/fridge. If your fermenter chamber is placed where it’s cold (like a garage in winter), you plug some kind of small heater into the warm outlet and then put that heater inside the freezer. Otherwise, just use the cold outlet.

Set the target temp (in Celsius) on the STC-1000. Set the tolerance (default is +/-0.5*C). When the temp (as read by the sensor) climbs 0.5*C above the target, it powers up the cool outlet and keeps it energized until the temp drops to the target and then turns it off. Likewise with the warm outlet if it gets 0.5*C too cool. You tape the sensor on the side of the fermenter and place some kind of insulation like bubble wrap over top of it so that it reads the bucket temp and not the air.


http://www.amazon.com/All-purpose-Temperature-Controller-STC-1000-sensor/dp/B00862G3TQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382149071&sr=8-1&keywords=stc-1000


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/stc-1000-setup-beginners-433985/#post5538096

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-fish-tank-controller-build-using-wal-mart-parts-261506/


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/



http://brewstands.com/fermentation-heater.html

 

[thadius856]

Buy the freezer if it's a good price. They go on sale regularly for about $170. See the link in my sig if you want to see what else it could possibly fit.

Note that if you ever move up to a conical, you'll want to build a chamber or get a controlled/jacketed conical.