cheapy fv cabinet

[Baz Chaz]

Its amazing what Heath Robinson type outfits appear on the forum :lol:

a great many of 'em work as well :thumb:

the 'den' gets a bit cold during the night so to keep the temperature even I made a box for my FV :!:

front opens and top just lifts off for ease of access

polystyrene tile on bottom of box, enough room for either bubble wrap or more tiles when I can scrounge 'em for the sides

immersion heater (fishtank style) keeps wort at 23 deg ( a midges warm but the first brew was OK) and the airlock lets me keep an eye on how things are going

made from scraps of timber left over from a job :whistle:

todays brew bubbling away nicely :party: simples :!:

 

[Dunfie]

That looks great Baz. :clap:

If it gets really cold you could easily use a PID to drive a heatbelt for some temperature control.

 

[Baz Chaz]

Cheers for that D ... hope the immersion style heater and a bit more insulation would work if I'm brewing when it's colder :hmm:

having said that my better half ....lovely lass that she is, suggested during winter bring the box into the utility room where the boiler is, while the contents are fermenting :clap: they're good to us at times aren't they

 

[graysalchemy]

I made this as were i brew regularly gets to 0c in winter.

It is basically six pieces each made up of an out skin in thin chip board with a frame in 2 x 1 and loft insulation in the frame and another skin. These are then screwed together ( door obviously hinged). The heater is a 100w ceramic reptile heater with a temp controller. It works very well I can keep constant temps. The shelves are removable and I can get a 60l fermentor and a couple of DJ in at one time. Then when I have bottled I put the shelves in to condition the bottles.

:

AG

 

the 'den' gets a bit cold during the night so to keep the temperature even I made a box for my FV

Good idea BC, I would be interested in knowing how you sealed the heating cable in the bung.

 

[Baz Chaz]

............ I would be interested in knowing how you sealed the heating cable in the bung.

Its an ELECTRIM 75 and it comes with bung already in place on the cable, spare hole for airlock :thumb:

 

[craigite]

That looks great Baz. :clap:

If it gets really cold you could easily use a PID to drive a heatbelt for some temperature control.

Oh, I like that one "PID with belt" :clap:
so, what kind of probe do we use? Infections and all that. :sick:

 

[matty198111]

am i right in thinking u put a fish tank heater straight into the bin, if so how do u control the temp of it

 

[jamesb]

am i right in thinking u put a fish tank heater straight into the bin, if so how do u control the temp of it

Fish tank heaters have an inbuilt thermostat on them. Usually with the perfect range for fermenting beer.

Some brands are more accurate than others though.

 

[Baz Chaz]

am i right in thinking u put a fish tank heater straight into the bin, if so how do u control the temp of it

The one I bought was an ELECTRIM 75 which I bought from a homebrew supplier :idea: this one was pre set to be between 22 - 24 deg c :thumb:

 

[pjbiker]

I've done something similar but use an electric fan heater with a thermostat in it. A bit of experimentation with a thermometer in the FV and you can maintain a reasonable temperature. I could do with sealing the air leaks a bit better for winter to save energy.