I. Love. Temperature. Control.

[heywolfie1015]

Over the holidays, I got a chest freezer off of Craigslist and did this TSS2 temperature controller build. I have my first lager in the freezer now and it's holding steady at 50F in a garage that never gets below ~60F. I don't have to continuously chuck ice bottles in my old swamp cooler or really even pay attention to the temp (beyond a quick glance to make sure it is holding steady every once in a while). I freakin' love this.

 

[TomSD]

It is a glorious thing. It is one of those things you can live without but once you start using it you'll never want to go back.

 

[heywolfie1015]

Seriously, man. I never want to go back to the swamp cooler in the downstairs bathroom.

EDIT: Thanks for DIY tutorial, by the way. That box is fantastic.

 

[TomSD]

Oh you built mine? I didn't even click your link, lol.

It is really handy if you need portable. Kind of overkill if it will always be used with the same freezer but even then it can be handy. I love that I can just unplug it, bundle up the cords and go.

 

[DobrePivo]

I picked up a 7.2CF chest freezer from Craig's List several months ago when I did my first all-grain batch (American Pils) and have done two lagers since then. It's so nice to have controlled temp to make my favorite beers. Now that I'm into kegging I'm going to build a collar to get 6 Cornies in it.

 

[A4J]

Every year I keep saying that I'm gonna get fermentation temp control but I'm still using the ol' swamp cooler method. I think this year will be the year I finally get one.

 

[heywolfie1015]

Oh you built mine? I didn't even click your link, lol.

It is really handy if you need portable. Kind of overkill if it will always be used with the same freezer but even then it can be handy. I love that I can just unplug it, bundle up the cords and go.

I really like the portability. It literally makes any fridge into a ferm chamber.