I am noodling on building a fermentation temperature control systems that is an alternative to a chest freezer. Here is what I have in mind:
Use a large Rubbermaid trashcan as an immersion chamber. I would create an immersion chiller with copper coils that will sit inside the trashcan (along the outer edge). My fermenter would sit in the can and I would fill it with water up to the level of the liquid in the fermenter.
Separately, I would use an ice chest filled with ice water (I'm thinking of using large water bottles frozen as the cooling agent for now). The water in there will be connected to an aquarium pump and then to the immersion chiller. I would use a temp controller (with a probe in the water bath in the trashcan) to kick the pump on and offer to monitor the temp.
The advantages of this method are: it will be cheaper than getting a chest freezer, I can theoretically create multiple immersion chambers that can be easily set at different temperatures, SWMBO will not really see this as me buying another damn fridge/freezer (beyond my kegorator).
Do others think this will work well? If so, what do people suggest for the pump and controller? I've heard people refer to the STC-1000, but will that end up that much cheaper than a Johnson Controller (non-digital)?
Use a large Rubbermaid trashcan as an immersion chamber. I would create an immersion chiller with copper coils that will sit inside the trashcan (along the outer edge). My fermenter would sit in the can and I would fill it with water up to the level of the liquid in the fermenter.
Separately, I would use an ice chest filled with ice water (I'm thinking of using large water bottles frozen as the cooling agent for now). The water in there will be connected to an aquarium pump and then to the immersion chiller. I would use a temp controller (with a probe in the water bath in the trashcan) to kick the pump on and offer to monitor the temp.
The advantages of this method are: it will be cheaper than getting a chest freezer, I can theoretically create multiple immersion chambers that can be easily set at different temperatures, SWMBO will not really see this as me buying another damn fridge/freezer (beyond my kegorator).
Do others think this will work well? If so, what do people suggest for the pump and controller? I've heard people refer to the STC-1000, but will that end up that much cheaper than a Johnson Controller (non-digital)?