A fridge, a fridge. My Kingdom.....

[Oneflewover]

Evenin'. My brewfridge has been knackered for a few weeks, but I can't find a replacement! Maybe I'm being a bit optimimistic - 30 squids max within a 25 mile radius - but I'm struggling. I guess everyone had been looking for to pick up a cheap fridge during the hot weather.

Anyway I'm checking fleabay, Gumtree and Facebook marketplace. Any other ideas?

 

[britton]

Yup, me too, can't find one anywhere.

 

[Clint]

How about a couple of hours round your local council tip/recycling centre. People leave loads of fridges there and I bet some are just old or chill too much...something a controller would fix...

 

[Oneflewover]

How about a couple of hours round your local council tip/recycling centre. People leave loads of fridges there and I bet some are just old or chill too much...something a controller would fix...

Might be worth a look, cheers. After all not too fussy as it's going in the garage.

 

[Clint]

If you work...as there...that's how I got mine.

 

[britton]

They are not allowed to let you have anything from the tip apparently? Tried before.

 

[Dutto]

I got my No.2 Brew Fridge from the manager of a local Caravan Park. The Park has loads of mobile homes on site and they almost always have a non-working fridge available for free.

The recent heat-wave was an aberration and I cannot remember EVER wanting to cool a brew below 20*C during the fermentation process. During the heat-wave the inside of the garage reached 28*C but the inside of No.2 Brew Fridge never got warmer than 23*C, even with with 23 litres of B&M Bitter fermenting away inside.

This is what No.2 Brew Fridge looks like inside. The small tray above the heater is made out of some spare wood and the heater is one of these ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LPHIMW0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Enjoy! :thumb:

 

[Oneflewover]

Thanks Dutto. I have a brew fridge that has stopped working. Whilst I take your point, I like to be able to chill the fermentation vessel down to help drop out yeast, trub and hop debris quickly. I also also like to be able to control the fermentation temperature carefully, e.g when brewing a Saison and gradually raising the temperature

 

[Oneflewover]

Any reason why a fridge freezer wouldn't work? Seems to be a lot of them about...

 

[rank_frank]

The fridge part would work OK but the freezer section normally has non-removable shelves that are actually part of the refrigeration mechanism. You'd have a lot of wasted space with a fridge freezer plus you'd have to lift your beer up to the height of the fridge (they're normally on top)

 

[Ajhutch]

I really struggled to find a second hand fridge recently. Took a couple of weeks before one popped up on eBay within sensible driving distance.

 

[Clint]

You can get stuff from the tip as long as you take it off the person tipping it as it's still theirs until they leave it...

 

[Hoddy]

How about a couple of hours round your local council tip/recycling centre. People leave loads of fridges there and I bet some are just old or chill too much...something a controller would fix...

That’s a genius idea Clint. I’ve been searching for ages for a replacement fermentation fridge and I was almost resigning myself to buying a new one. I’ll give that a pop when I get back from holibobs.


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[Hoddy]

Evenin'. My brewfridge has been knackered for a few weeks, but I can't find a replacement! Maybe I'm being a bit optimimistic - 30 squids max within a 25 mile radius - but I'm struggling. I guess everyone had been looking for to pick up a cheap fridge during the hot weather.

Anyway I'm checking fleabay, Gumtree and Facebook marketplace. Any other ideas?

I feel your pain.


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[Dutto]

........... I like to be able to chill the fermentation vessel down to help drop out yeast, trub and hop debris quickly. I also also like to be able to control the fermentation temperature carefully, e.g when brewing a Saison and gradually raising the temperature

The scourge of the modern age is highlighted in "bold"! I still like to use the "Time+Gravity" system.

With regard to controlling the temperature of a brew, the highest average temperature of Birmingham (centrally situated to the UK) is 17*C and for 10 months of the year the average is less than 15*C.

Take a look at these temperatures ...

https://www.holiday-weather.com/birmingham/averages/

 

[Chippy_Tea]

That’s a genius idea Clint. I’ve been searching for ages for a replacement fermentation fridge and I was almost resigning myself to buying a new one. I’ll give that a pop when I get back from holibobs.
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Our recycling centre (not the ones where you take your plastic, cardboard and glass bottles etc) has a big container where they store all the fridges as they have to be sent to get the refrigerant removed if yours is the same you should be able to buy one cheaply.

 

[Oneflewover]

The scourge of the modern age is highlighted in "bold"! I still like to use the "Time+Gravity" system.

I bet there were old boys saying that at the advent of steam powered locomotion in the early 1800s!

Fair play Dutto, but also not sure what the average UK temps have got to do with controlling the fermentation temperature. ......:hat:

 

[STICKY_ICKY]

I had recently been looking on ebay etc and couldn't find anything local and under £30. Spent a couple weeks searching, then freecycle came to mind. Checked and managed to bag one less than 5 miles away for free. All it needed was a clean. It's working a treat, and has currently got an 11% maple stout conditioning in it.

 

[Dutto]

........

Fair play Dutto, but also not sure what the average UK temps have got to do with controlling the fermentation temperature. ......:hat:

Please remember that the current UK heat-wave is an aberration even though it's summer. abigt

If the average temperature in your location is LESS than the temperature at which you wish to control the fermentation temperature of your brew, then there is no requirement for a fridge!

I normally ferment at +/-20*C so if I lived in Birmingham (I thank God that I don't ) I would only need to HEAT my fridge to control fermentation temperature all year round.

A fridge is ideal for the purpose of fermenting because the insulation that is designed to stop the heat entering the space when it is in refrigeration service, is the same insulation that prevents the heat from escaping when using it as a Brew Fridge during cold weather.

The fluctuations outside of any fridge are kept at bay so that the interior of the fridge stays very stable if the door is kept closed. Over an average summer day, the external temperature may fluctuate from +30*C to +15*C but the temperature inside the fridge may well stay to within 17*C to 19*C.

Check the graph out again.

https://www.holiday-weather.com/birmingham/averages/

Fermenting at +20*C in Birmingham, you may never need to cool down the FV, but you will definitely need a heater in the fridge for at least 10 months out of every year! :thumb:

 

[Oneflewover]

Please remember that the current UK heat-wave is an aberration even though it's summer. abigt

If the average temperature in your location is LESS than the temperature at which you wish to control the fermentation temperature of your brew, then there is no requirement for a fridge!

I normally ferment at +/-20*C so if I lived in Birmingham (I thank God that I don't ) I would only need to HEAT my fridge to control fermentation temperature all year round.

A fridge is ideal for the purpose of fermenting because the insulation that is designed to stop the heat entering the space when it is in refrigeration service, is the same insulation that prevents the heat from escaping when using it as a Brew Fridge during cold weather.

The fluctuations outside of any fridge are kept at bay so that the interior of the fridge stays very stable if the door is kept closed. Over an average summer day, the external temperature may fluctuate from +30*C to +15*C but the temperature inside the fridge may well stay to within 17*C to 19*C.

Check the graph out again.

https://www.holiday-weather.com/birmingham/averages/

Fermenting at +20*C in Birmingham, you may never need to cool down the FV, but you will definitely need a heater in the fridge for at least 10 months out of every year! :thumb:

Living where you do I can understand why you might not need cooling (I was brought up on the Wash)

I now live on the South coast and definitely do. Besides which my Inkbird frequently cycles between heating and cooling to keep a stable temp. Not to mention that I frequently like to brew lager or clean ales at 15 - 18c.:hat: