A year or so ago I built a ferm chamber from some 2x's and plywood. It's cooled with an old air conditioner and measures about 3.5ft tall, 5 feet wide and 3ft deep. It's perfect for my sanke fermenters and larger bucket fermenters. The lifting sucks, but I get by with a little help from my friends .
This Christmas I was lucky enough to get a 15 gallon ace rotomold conical. I'm pumped, but the problem I have is that I need to modify my ferm chamber. My first thought is to raise it on some legs(4x's bolted into the 2x framework), maybe two feet or so, cut a hole out of the bottom to allow access to the conical and move the door from a top hinge to the side for easier access to the sanke fermenters. I worry about weight and stability with that set up, however. The most I could see putting in there, without doing any real measuring, is possibly two sanke's and the conical, equaling a total of 30 gallons of beer plus weight of equipment and the air unit. I know I'll need to brace the floor of this thing pretty well to accommodate the weight.
All in all, this sounds like a lot of work, and that I might be better raising the height alone, leaving it on the floor, and adding a stand for the conical on the inside with a side door to access everything. I'm thinking this sounds like a better option. Any ideas, thoughts, concerns, issues, etc., would be appreciated!
This Christmas I was lucky enough to get a 15 gallon ace rotomold conical. I'm pumped, but the problem I have is that I need to modify my ferm chamber. My first thought is to raise it on some legs(4x's bolted into the 2x framework), maybe two feet or so, cut a hole out of the bottom to allow access to the conical and move the door from a top hinge to the side for easier access to the sanke fermenters. I worry about weight and stability with that set up, however. The most I could see putting in there, without doing any real measuring, is possibly two sanke's and the conical, equaling a total of 30 gallons of beer plus weight of equipment and the air unit. I know I'll need to brace the floor of this thing pretty well to accommodate the weight.
All in all, this sounds like a lot of work, and that I might be better raising the height alone, leaving it on the floor, and adding a stand for the conical on the inside with a side door to access everything. I'm thinking this sounds like a better option. Any ideas, thoughts, concerns, issues, etc., would be appreciated!