Walk in Cooler / Fermentation Chamber build

[slbradley01]

So, I built this a couple months ago. Thought I would share. 4x6 walk-in that I use as a fermentation chamber. Built with an STC-1000 controller, a small A/C unit and a small heater. The best or maybe most unique thing about this project is the structure. I used 2" thick R-16 garage door panels. Visited the local garage door distributors dumpster numerous times to get some scratch and dent panels. For this size cooler you need nine 24" x 8' panels and two 21" x 8' panels, a 32" steel door, one 18' 1x4 PVC trim board, a couple tubes of silicone and some light gauge 3x3 galvanized angle for the floor/sill. I attached a few photos. Three months of use, works great. Able to keep the fermenter at 68 whether the temp outside is 90 or 20. I can crash the 60 gallon fermenter to 35 deg. in about 24 hours. When not fermenting I can keep kegs cool too.

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[slbradley01]

You can cut longer panels to length with a standard skill saw. Just wear goggles, gloves and long sleeves to protect from flying steel chips. Lots of silicone to seal between the panels and floor. If you really wanted to have a tight cooler you could double up the panels to make r-32. Just need twice as many. Garage door Panels are great, won't rot, rust, resist mold, waterproof, easy to clean.

 

[pigroaster]

I made a smaller unit on casters with just Rhino ceramic heaters and I use it for drying hops on stack-able screens and for each batch of beer. After 8 days of primary outside the unit, I put them in this chamber and raise the temp for 2 degrees for two days before I cold crash and gelatin in my fruit cellar in Canada. Works great. Roof is not attached but sits on top so I can vent it when I do hops. Dehumidifier takes out excess moisture in the room and I dry in 22 hours. i weigh 10 bud samples to know when to weigh and vacuum package them.

 

[Rairdog]

Great idea!...I was thinking double panels right off the bat or sandwich a piece of 2 in foam.