Home Depot chest freezer for lagering

[BlueSunshine]

So I've been doing alot of searching on lagering and I was wonder if this Home Depot chest freezer would be sufficient for lagering:

http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I'm only going to be lagering one 5 gallon batch at a time, should this suffice? Also, I'm a bit perplexed on the whole electronic temperature controller. Will the freezer stock temperature control get me where I need to be or do I have to buy one that plugs into the wall?

 

[david_42]

Most freezer controls cannot be set above freezing, so you would need an external controller. A small refrigerator would be a better choice.

 

[LagerLover24]

This is similar to the one I have. Mine is a little bigger, but if your only doing one batch it will be fine. However, you will need a controller.

 

[osagedr]

Pick up a used freezer off Kijiji or Craigslist and put the money you saved toward a temperature controller. Pretty reasonable at Northern Brewer or I have occasionally seen them on Ebay, etc.

A refrigerator may not provide you with the precision you desire for lagering in terms of temperature control.

 

[Dwain]

So I've been doing alot of searching on lagering and I was wonder if this Home Depot chest freezer would be sufficient for lagering:

Yes, as long as your fermentation vessel fits inside.

Will the freezer stock temperature control get me where I need to be or do I have to buy one that plugs into the wall?

No, the stock temperature control will not suffice. There are several kinds of controllers that will work. the kind that plugs into an outlet and then the freezer plugs into it works very nicely for me.

 

[BlueSunshine]

Thanks for the responses folks.

Should I be weary of the temp controller? The shutting off and on for freezer isn't good for this motor is it? Also can you plug one into a surge protector?

 

[IrregularPulse]

I'd recommend a fridge with a temp controller. Just remember how heavy that carboy is bending over the chest freezer to lift it in and out vs a front loading refrigerator.

 

[BlueSunshine]

I'd recommend a fridge with a temp controller. Just remember how heavy that carboy is bending over the chest freezer to lift it in and out vs a front loading refrigerator.

Good point. What about using the Brew Hauler:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/the-brew-hauler.html

 

[DubbelDach]

Good point. What about using the Brew Hauler:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/the-brew-hauler.html

Love the Brew-Hauler.

 

[mojotele]

I use brew haulers on my carboys and have a chest freezer for fermentation control and lagering. I have no problems lifting anything out.

But, if you have a bad back or just aren't as strong and manly as I am you may want to look into a standing freezer.

The downside of using a fridge is some of them can't get cold enough.

 

[johnnyo1977]

I googled Ranco and it gives a list of suppliers that have a them. I bought this one the other week, http://www.climatedoctors.com/items/item.aspx?itemid=429705 they shipped it the next day. I bought a cord from homedepot that had a plug all ready installed and cut the old plug off and shortened the cord from the freezer at the same time. It works like a champ.

 

[oceanselv]

I use a side by side fridge for my lagering. The one down side is you are limited in the amount of space. One carboy is about all that will fit on a side by side.

 

[osagedr]

Should I be weary of the temp controller? The shutting off and on for freezer isn't good for this motor is it? Also can you plug one into a surge protector?

Why do you assume it's going to run more often than if you were freezing steaks in it? Yes you will open it more frequently but I find that my freezer with a digital temp controller hardly ever runs. IMO it's a non-issue. I don't see why you couldn't plug one into a surge protector.

What I really like about my 12 cf chest freezer is its versatility. Sometimes I lager in it, and it gets cold enough to lager properly plus I can do my day-by-day reduction in temperature very precisely after diacetyl rest. Sometimes I ferment ales in it and can control the temperature perfectly. Sometimes I have my CO2 tank plus two or three (like right now) corneys in there when I'm carbing stuff up to bottle or dispense. At this point I can't imagine brewing without it!

 

[ajf]

The temperature controllers have ways of controlling how often the compressor cycles on and off. Of the ones I have used, the digital ones have a timer that won't allow the compressor to switch on unless the time limit has expired since it switched off. The analog ones have a differential of about 3 degrees. The compressor will switch off when the temperature gets down to the preset value, but won't switch on again until the temperature has risen by 3 degrees (which takes some time).
Before buying a freezer, carefully measure your fermenter and make sure it will actually fit in the freezer. I found a few where the depth from the floor of the freezer to the lid was too short to hold my fermenter.

-a.