I've come to realize that brewing and living in Florida requires a fermentation chamber. I'd like to pick up a used full size fridge with freezer and just use the fridge as the chamber. Will the fridge stay warm enough for ales without using a temperature controller? I'd like to use the freezer part for food so I don't want to cut power to it with a temperature controller... Thanks!
Fridge as a fermentation chamber?
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homebrewdad
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You'll need a temperature controller, or it will be too cold. Most ale yeasts start going dormant below 60 degrees F, and a fridge will be colder than that.
I think that you can wire up a typical fridge/freezer so that you can run both independently, but I may be speaking out of the incorrect orifice.
I think that you can wire up a typical fridge/freezer so that you can run both independently, but I may be speaking out of the incorrect orifice.
In theory I suppose you could play with the temp controller on the fridge and see if you can set it super warm (in the 60's)... put a thermometer in and set it to the warmest setting. If the freezer compartment and fridge have different internal settings, you may have a chance... but you won't have a lot of control over the process.
broadbill
Well-Known Member
If you could isolate the wiring that controls the vent between the fridge and freezer (the vent is controlled by a thermostat that opens to cool the fridge from the freezer ) you could run the refrigerator independently of the freezer...
How to do that exactly is out of my pay-grade.
How to do that exactly is out of my pay-grade.
broadbill
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Lower tech option: do your best with the refrigerator thermostat by setting it to the warmest setting, then use a heat source for the fermenter (brew belt, reptile heating pad, or the like)....control the heat source with the external temp controller.
zzARzz
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There's a good post on MoreBeer regarding your idea here. If you are using the "plug-in" type of controller (the most common, where your refrigerator plugs into the temp controller and the controller into the wall socket) then the freezer won't work since the compressor will only work enough to keep the refrigeration section (the part that would have the temp probe in it) at whatever temperature the controller is set at.
It depends on what type of refrigerator/freezer combo you have as well. Some units use a fan to blow cold air from the freezer into the refrigerator section to keep it cool, while others have independent coils for each section. In either case you could hardwire in your programmable controller to replace the one the refrigerator came with to either control when the fan turns on and off or the coils activate in the refrigerator section and just leave the freezer section "stock." This would require much more involved electronics expertise than the "plug-in" variety of controllers, but if you are brave/adventurous enough I'd say give it a shot. There are a few how-to posts around the net about wiring controllers into chest freezers for kegerators that you could use as a guide (such as this one, and this one).
It depends on what type of refrigerator/freezer combo you have as well. Some units use a fan to blow cold air from the freezer into the refrigerator section to keep it cool, while others have independent coils for each section. In either case you could hardwire in your programmable controller to replace the one the refrigerator came with to either control when the fan turns on and off or the coils activate in the refrigerator section and just leave the freezer section "stock." This would require much more involved electronics expertise than the "plug-in" variety of controllers, but if you are brave/adventurous enough I'd say give it a shot. There are a few how-to posts around the net about wiring controllers into chest freezers for kegerators that you could use as a guide (such as this one, and this one).
High jack: does anyone use this method to lager and ferment ale in the same fridge? Set the fridge to ambient lagering temps and use a fermwrap to heat the ale carboy separatly.
Sounds like maybe the fridge should be the kegerator and then get a chest freezer and temp controller for fermentation if I'm set on using the freezer above the fridge... Wiring in a temp controller to separate the fridge from the freezer might be too much trouble.
Thanks for all the responses!
Thanks for all the responses!
I just did a lager and I am using my fridge to ferment it in... on a setting of 4 out of 6 its at 46-8 degrees... so i've set it to about 2.5 to get it a bit warmer say 50-53 ambient to ferment... we are having unseasonably cool temps in the 70's in IL so its working well.
For my Ales our baseemnt is about 64 if not 62 so I don't use anything other than a rubbermaid container w water...and some frozen bottles if I want it lower.
For my Ales our baseemnt is about 64 if not 62 so I don't use anything other than a rubbermaid container w water...and some frozen bottles if I want it lower.
broadbill
Well-Known Member
I recall that Jamil mentioned this method in one of his podcasts, so I'm guessing there are people who are doing it.
I also think its done when people have a large chest freezer and use it for dual serving and fermenting. You can separate sections with a piece of foam insulation and have serving on one side...fermentation control with additional controllers and heat belts on the other side.
I might have to try it out. At first, I couldn't do lagers because I didn't have temp control. Now that I have temp control, I still considered lagers off the table because I couldn't give up my fridge to one lager for a few months while half a dozen ales could be fermed properly instead in the same time.
I figure I'll wrap the ale carboy with a fermwrap and then some insulation so it doesn't effect the ambient lager temp.
I figure I'll wrap the ale carboy with a fermwrap and then some insulation so it doesn't effect the ambient lager temp.
broadbill
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i feel your pain as i am in FL as well. I have found that if you use the rubbermaid containers filled with water and always are checking the water temp and throwing in frozen water bottles it will work but it is a huge PITA! I recently got a temp controller and a ferm chamber. wow! what a difference. the beers are way better and i made my first lager! It is some $ up front, but well worth the finished product. search CL for a cheap fridge/freezer or whatever you can find then just get a controller for it.
Yeah, I've commandeered the guest bathroom tub for a swamp cooler but clearly I need to go the fermentation chamber route.
I am in Fla and I got a huge industrial freezer. The cheap temperature controller works great.
Unless you are an electrician, I wouldn't get a fridge/freezer combo cause the temp controller will likely cause food spoilage.
Check craigs list for a steal.
Unless you are an electrician, I wouldn't get a fridge/freezer combo cause the temp controller will likely cause food spoilage.
Check craigs list for a steal.
brokebucket
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Bite the bullet and get a smaller fridge with a temp controller just for fermenting. If you want to brew year round, this is the way to go. For a couple hundred bucks, you can set it up to dial in your temps to the degree.
I promise you will not regret it!
I promise you will not regret it!
I'm in Pensacola.
I'm a South Flori-diot myself.
I've said it a couple of times on here, without my fermentation chamber I wouldn't make anything but estery fusel banana bread. Especially in the summer.
zzARzz
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I got my mini fridge (1.8cf) from a Sears Outlet store on sale for about 50 bucks and built a collar to expand it to about 3cf for another $50. Add about $40 for the eBay temp controller and Radio Shack parts I put together and I can now get 2 5-gallon carboys in it without an issue. It's a fairly inexpensive investment that was simple to put together using plans from the good folks around HBT and it saves me a lot of time and trouble. It's usefulness is second only to the homemade stir plate I built for starters.
If you are really getting into brewing they're the two pieces of equipment I couldn't recommend more.
If you are really getting into brewing they're the two pieces of equipment I couldn't recommend more.
m3n00b
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I finally bit the bullet and scored a 13 cuft freezer on craigslist for $60. Enough for 4 buckets/carboys. So much easier than the frozen water bottle thing.
Pelican521
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Not sure if the OP (or anyone else here) interested, but I happened to have a spare full size fridge that I converted into a brew chamber thanks to some help from BigFloyd.
I built both the temp controller and the paint can heater. I'm currently enjoying a damn good SN Torpedo Clone I made using this setup.
The only problem I encountered is I was only able to get down to around 38 degrees for my cold crashing (hoping to get a little lower).
Here's a link to a thread with all the info...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/extra-fridge-temp-control-question-399794/
I built both the temp controller and the paint can heater. I'm currently enjoying a damn good SN Torpedo Clone I made using this setup.
The only problem I encountered is I was only able to get down to around 38 degrees for my cold crashing (hoping to get a little lower).
Here's a link to a thread with all the info...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/extra-fridge-temp-control-question-399794/
Dylan42
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I have been researching this for awhile now and since my pockets aren't too deep at the moment I went for the cool brewing fermentation bag. Its like the rich mans swamp cooler and the poor mans fermentation chamber, I suppose. Even though I live in the PNW it has been mid 70's to mid 80's and too hot for even ales in my closet and the last two beers turned out poorly, I think because of the heat. Cutting to the chase I hope this method works for me it only costs $65 shipped so it might be worth your while.
You probably already have the fridge thermostat turned down all the way, but I'd double-check that just to be sure.
If 38*F is as low as the fridge will go, you'll still cold crash fine. Just give it a full week.
m3n00b
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Not sure how much that bag is but if you can get a used fridge/ freezer on craigslist for free to $40 and build a temp controller for $30 it would be totally worth it no matter how deep your pockets are.
zzARzz
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The mini-fridge fermentation chamber was strangely the more expensive option for me, but all my brew stuff is in one 100 sq.ft. room so it slides nicely under my work table and preserves that all precious real estate others have mentioned.
Dylan42
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m3n00b said:
True I suppose the more correct thing to say is I'm electrically retarded (and a little lazy) and want to get the digital controller from more beer so it's just plug and play and currently fridge/ freezers in my area are going for a lil more than 40 bucks these days which is weird, and i want to brew this weekend.
m3n00b
Well-Known Member
True I suppose the more correct thing to say is I'm electrically retarded (and a little lazy) and want to get the digital controller from more beer so it's just plug and play and currently fridge/ freezers in my area are going for a lil more than 40 bucks these days which is weird, and i want to brew this weekend.
And old fridge would work too. Craigslist is full of people who just want to get rid of things and don't care about the $.
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