Brew Fridge - Settings

[ChrisInBucks]

Afternoon all,

So I have purchased a second hand fridge, tubular greenhouse lamp and an inkbird. All set up and working fine however I was wondering what settings people had found works well for them? I currently have the temperature variance set to 0.3 degrees celsius either way so if I am aiming for 20 degrees it will stop at 19.7 or 20.3. I now have the temperature probe in a cup of water to see if that works but I noticed when the probe was just left to hang in the fridge the temperature kept swinging quite a lot due to what I assume is because of my low variance tolerance.

Any info would be great!

 

[Galena]

Hi
I have just completed my first brew with the same setup, I also have =/- 0.3 and this has worked fine. At first I tested it just free hanging and yes it does swing wildly and the alarm kept going off. The recommended method is to tape it to the FV or a bottle of water with insulation such as a sponge cloth on the outside.
Since doing this it has performed faultlessly for the last 14 days

 

[Fireside Ales Homebrewery]

Afternoon all,

So I have purchased a second hand fridge, tubular greenhouse lamp and an inkbird. All set up and working fine however I was wondering what settings people had found works well for them? I currently have the temperature variance set to 0.3 degrees celsius either way so if I am aiming for 20 degrees it will stop at 19.7 or 20.3. I now have the temperature probe in a cup of water to see if that works but I noticed when the probe was just left to hang in the fridge the temperature kept swinging quite a lot due to what I assume is because of my low variance tolerance.

Any info would be great!

Remember that Fermentation produces a relatively large amount of heat due to the exothermic nature of the process. I find that it is worth monitoring the temp of the brew rather than a cup of water or the ambient temp of the fridge. These temps are not going to be the same as what is in the FV. Also if you have the Inkbird settings set so that the fridge has to keep clicking on because it is battling with the heater you might find that the fridge eventually gives up the ghost.

 

[ChrisInBucks]

Hi
I have just completed my first brew with the same setup, I also have =/- 0.3 and this has worked fine. At first I tested it just free hanging and yes it does swing wildly and the alarm kept going off. The recommended method is to tape it to the FV or a bottle of water with insulation such as a sponge cloth on the outside.
Since doing this it has performed faultlessly for the last 14 days

Great thanks, I'm definitely planning on wrapping the probe in bubble wrap and taping to the FV but glad to hear yours has worked well!

 

[ChrisInBucks]

Remember that Fermentation produces a relatively large amount of heat due to the exothermic nature of the process. I find that it is worth monitoring the temp of the brew rather than a cup of water or the ambient temp of the fridge. These temps are not going to be the same as what is in the FV. Also if you have the Inkbird settings set so that the fridge has to keep clicking on because it is battling with the heater you might find that the fridge eventually gives up the ghost.

Yes my plan is to attach the probe to the FV for a more accurate read. I'm currently just using a cup of water as I'm 10 days into a fermentation and didn't want to upset the process by moving it from its current cupboard to the fridge - won't be using the cup of water again!

Thanks for the advice both!

 

[ChrisInBucks]

Hi
I have just completed my first brew with the same setup, I also have =/- 0.3 and this has worked fine. At first I tested it just free hanging and yes it does swing wildly and the alarm kept going off. The recommended method is to tape it to the FV or a bottle of water with insulation such as a sponge cloth on the outside.
Since doing this it has performed faultlessly for the last 14 days

Ah I forgot to ask, have you found a way of running the heater lamp lead from the fridge that isn't just shutting it in the door? I've got some bungee cords I plan to use to ensure the seal is tight but wondered if you had figured out something more sophisticated - I can't run the lead out of the drain in the fridge as its too thick!

 

[QED]

have you found a way of running the heater lamp lead from the fridge that isn't just shutting it in the door

 

[Galena]

Ah I forgot to ask, have you found a way of running the heater lamp lead from the fridge that isn't just shutting it in the door? I've got some bungee cords I plan to use to ensure the seal is tight but wondered if you had figured out something more sophisticated - I can't run the lead out of the drain in the fridge as its too think!

Mine just runs out of the door at the moment, but I am told that you can get the lead through the fridge drain hole (just) of course this would mean removing and replacing the plug which in my case is sealed so will need a new one. I will give it a try after I have bottled this brew but it works fine through the door, just a little less tidy

 

[The Cat]

Mine just runs out of the door at the moment, but I am told that you can get the lead through the fridge drain hole (just) of course this would mean removing and replacing the plug which in my case is sealed so will need a new one. I will give it a try after I have bottled this brew but it works fine through the door, just a little less tidy

Can anyone recommend a heater that would run through the door as well please?

 

[Galena]

Can anyone recommend a heater that would run through the door as well please?

This is what I have HERE

 

[stan.distortion]

I just run my leads between the door seal too, taped them to the fridge so they don't fall down into the hinge when the door is opened and they never give any trouble.

It's easy to drill a hole in the side and pass the wires through instead, unplug it first just in case there are wires somewhere in there ofc but pretty much anywhere on the body of the fridge is just a thin metal exterior, an inch or two of insulation and a thin plastic interior.

I run pipes to external airlocks that way but haven't done it with the wires as the bare metal edges could damage them, it would just need a grommet or short length of tube to protect them.

 

[The Cat]

This is what I have HERE

Thanks! Will look in to that.

 

[RichK]

I think the two main considerations to avoid cycling of heating & cooling are a) hold sensor against fermenter with tape or a band & cover with some insulation and b) set the compressor delay to a reasonable figure iirc mines at 30 mins

 

[The Cat]

Is there any danger putting a heater into a fridge? With liquid possibly getting to the electrical heater?

 

[ChrisInBucks]

Thanks all.

Will tinker with the settings and definitely impose a compression delay. Fridge is less than a year old but no harm extending its life seeing as I'm hemorrhaging money left, right and centre on this new hobby

I just run my leads between the door seal too, taped them to the fridge so they don't fall down into the hinge when the door is opened and they never give any trouble.

Great idea that, I'll give it a go. Definitely a bit of trial and error and can improve the efficiency as time goes by but just want to make sure I get it fairly well set up from the start and can upgrade and adapt whenever I want.

Is there any danger putting a heater into a fridge? With liquid possibly getting to the electrical heater?

I think as long as the heater doesn't sit right against the back of the fridge where water can collect, you should be fine. Looking online all brew fridges are similar and as long as you're sensible, it shouldn't be a problem.