Vintage lab-grade fermentation chamber.

[RutherfordBrave]

I had recently been looking for a good mini fridge to mod into a ferm chamber, but then this came up for a $20 on my local CL. This is what happens when laboratory suppliers go crazy on consumer products -- all it is is a modified mini fridge with a fan and heating coil added to the freezer section. Fits my fermenters that I've checked so far, and will get super hot (>120F) or super cold (<32F).

While an STC-1000 fridge might be significantly more accurate at holding temps, for the price I can still modify this using one and not worry about breaking the disposable spending budget

 

[atoughram]

Nice score!

 

[Rivenin]

hahaha that is epic

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

big pimp!!!

another bonus with industrial units is that spare parts are available and repair is possible. so if you like the equipment, you can keep it going almost indefinitely.

 

[RutherfordBrave]

Totally right on the service part. I just heard back from the manufacturer yesterday about my request for the user manual, and they sent me documents as old as 1985 that go along with this thing.

I have already had to play with the wiring a bit (some had frayed over the years), and I'm toying with the idea of liberating the compressor/coil from the rest of the unit and rebuilding it into a larger chamber that takes up less overall space. It looks to me like there aren't any coils embedded in the walls like most modern fridges/freezers, so if I go this route it should be relatively straight forward.

 

[JonM]

That is freakin' awesome! And I can tell you from experience that, if you have to "modify" the door because of clearance issues, a Dremel with a drywall cutting bit will go through the sticking-out parts on the door like butter.