DIY fermentation chamber questions

[grrickar]

So thinking of building one out of scrap lumber and plywood, then lining it with foil board board insulation on the inside. My basement on the unfinished side is 65 in the summer and 60 in the winter. Unless I am lagering, I wouldn't need it any cooler, correct?

What if I rigged a reptile heat bulb on a controller for warmth, and a simple 80mm computer fan for cooling, set to intake the cool basement air - all of this connected to a ST-1000 or similar controller?

Is the chamber even needed, or could I get away with a fermwrap or a reptile cage mat heater?

I was thinking the enclosure would help balance the temp and keep it steady, and save on electricity.

Thoughts?

 

[dsmith1279]

Unless I am lagering, I wouldn't need it any cooler, correct?

Correct

What if I rigged a reptile heat bulb on a controller for warmth, and a simple 80mm computer fan for cooling, set to intake the cool basement air - all of this connected to a ST-1000 or similar controller?

That should be fine.

If you don't have to build a fermentation chamber I wouldn't. Make sure that your STC temp sensor is in a thermowell in the fermenter. I find that my fermenter runs up to 5 degrees F higher than ambient during the peak of fermentation.

 

[grrickar]

I know the yeast doing their thing will raise the temp in the carboy a bit, but I am more thinking that for anything but lagering the cool temps in the unfinished part of my basement should suffice - at present it is 60 degrees there, so even if the carboy was 5 over that I think I am in an ideal range. For summer brewing, the temps are still about 65 degrees, so I may need to keep the carboy in cool water bath or wrap a wet towel around it to drop the temp.

As much as I like to tinker, I am reconsidering building anything. I think with constant ambient temps in the basement I may not need to control the situation any more than that...

Granted when people say start fermenting at 65 and raise it gradually to 68 - I won't have that sort of fine control, but thinking a simple carboy wrap and a controller could fix that.

 

[ultra_cas]

Instead of starting a new thread, I'm adding a question to this one, hope that's OK. I'm in the process of building one now, I have the fridge, temp controller, built the base, have all the materials (I think). Was thinking of re-using the existing fridge door (it's big enough) instead of re-building a door. Are there any tricks to re-using the existing door, since it has the seal? Do the doors have magnets behind them to ensure a good seal, meaning I'd need to add a metal strip so the door seals correctly?

 

[binabik]

I built my fermentation chamber using the fridge door. I did not do anything special, just made sure that the sat flush against the outside wall when closed. Mine is a little tight when closing it, but that helps it to stay closed. Once you have it mounted and leveled out it should stay shut. I've had no issues with mine. I put my fermentation chamber of wheels so it's easy to move around if I ever need to relocate it.

 

[jbb3]

I know the yeast doing their thing will raise the temp in the carboy a bit, but I am more thinking that for anything but lagering the cool temps in the unfinished part of my basement should suffice - at present it is 60 degrees there, so even if the carboy was 5 over that I think I am in an ideal range. For summer brewing, the temps are still about 65 degrees, so I may need to keep the carboy in cool water bath or wrap a wet towel around it to drop the temp.

As much as I like to tinker, I am reconsidering building anything. I think with constant ambient temps in the basement I may not need to control the situation any more than that...

Granted when people say start fermenting at 65 and raise it gradually to 68 - I won't have that sort of fine control, but thinking a simple carboy wrap and a controller could fix that.

With the temperature range of your basement, it sounds like you will be fine with a heat lamp/heating pad in the winter and a swamp cooler in the summer.

I wanted to moved everything (brewing and fermenting) out of the house and into my shop so I ended up building one of these...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f258/my-diy-fermentation-chamber-build-499635/