Fans in Fermatation Fridge

[Isolec82]

In the middle of building a fermentation from a fridge, and saw a video on u-tube of one with a couple of computer fans in it. Is it worth the effort in such a small place? I get the impression that most don't bother.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

This has been discussed several times some say they are not required some prefer to use them you could always add one later it it was not working efficiently without one.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
Big-enders and Little-enders!
As @Chippy_Tea has said, the forum is split on this.
Personally, I don't use a fan.

 

[Leon103]

I use one. Does it make a difference? God knows.

 

[foxbat]

I used to use one. It packed in after a few months and I couldn't be bothered to replace it. It made no difference.

 

[aamcle]

I tested the temperature of various locations in my fridge without a fan and concluded that it didn't need one.


aamcle

 

[dan125]

I never used to use one, but once found a big lump of ice inside the FV, on the side closest to the back of the fridge, with a brew I'd cold crashing very quickly.
Now I leave the fan on all the time a beer is in the fridge to help keep an even temp, and cold crash more gradually over 2-3 days.

 

[Dutto]

I reckon a fan is another thing to worry about so don't use one.

Think of your domestic fridge. Have you fitted a fan in there? If it's really necessary to have a fan in a fridge then surely it is more important to have one in the fridge that's protecting your nearest and dearest from salmonella and other nasty bacteria!:thumb:And before anyone comments "Yes! The contents of my Brew Fridges are my nearest and dearest, and I still don;t have a fan in either of them!"

 

[Clint]

No fan in mine either.....do fridges even come with fans anyway? Except those that sit above a freezer but then the fan just slaves the cold air off the freezer to chill the fridge....

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Is the fan mainly to keep the warm air circulating so there are no hot spots?

 

[ACBEV]

I use a big cupboard (insulated) for fermenting with two levels, lower level for two fermenting and upper level for conditioning bottles. I use a small oil filled radiator attached to a digital thermostat.

When I first used the cupboard the temp was very uneven, so I bought a clip on fan (6 inch), now every part of the cupboard has the same temp., 17-18c. I can maintain his temp. all year round without worrying.

 

[EVVO]

I have a larder fridge that can fit 2 fermenters. My temp sensor just dangles inside. I have 2 fans inside powered by an old computer power supply. 1 fan fixed to heater shelf and 1 to upper shelf. Don’t know if they are necessary but they cost me nothing so what harm can they do.

 

[Clint]

As far as I can tell if your fv goes into the fridge at the right temp,say 19 degrees,the heater and fridge hardly cycle on and off and when fermentation starts the fv generates heat anyway. So there doesn’t seem to be massive swings in temperature...

 

[dan125]

Is the fan mainly to keep the warm air circulating so there are no hot spots?

I think it also makes the heating/cooling more efficient as heat has to transfer through the air to/from the FV.

 

[IainM]

I've got a 2fv larder fridge and no fan, but I wish I had one, as I've cold crashed to 1C and had ice in the lower fv but not the top one, so clearly the temperature isn't evenly distributed.

 

[Fil]

buy a high end domestic or any commercial fridge and it will have a fan or fans fitted..

My thinking is this, the air captured within the fridge is the main and most significant medium of heat exchange, that is the air picks up the heat or cold from moving over either the heat or cold radiator within the fridge and transfers that to the fridges contents as it passes over it. Without a fan you are depending fully on the convection currents that will establish over time to drive this system.

add a fan into the mix and you have air movement to transfer the desired temperature to the fridges contents as soon as the door closes, providing an efficient transfer of temperature via the captured air in the fridge.

it needent be a huge powerful fan an imho a 12v pc fan driven by a 5v phone charger is ample to stimulate a healthy circulation of heat transferring air throughout the small confines of your fridge.


fwiw our kitchen fridge how has an old pc fan sat on its top shelf blowing down over the cold radiator moving the warmer air from the top down and as a result its not iced up the back wall since, and i think the fridge compressor runs less frequently but tbh ive no real evidence of that. .

 

[MmmBeer]

The brew fridge I built is based on an old Husky beer fridge, with an insulated mdf box over the open end. In order to fit 2 FV's and some bottles / DJ's in, it's about 4 ft wide in total. With the fridge being at one end and the tube heater at the other, I felt that a fan was necessary. Rather than faff around with PC fans and drivers, I used a USB desk fan that cost about £3 from the Range.

 

[Isolec82]

Thanks for all the input. It seems the jury is out on this one. It all started when I went to mount the heater on the floor and realised it was right under the fv and was concerned it may cause a local warm spot. Because I have an old pc in the loft with a fan, I think I am going to fit one. Got to get it made now as the new Brew Devil arrived Monday and it keeps calling me to fire it up. LOL

 

[OlsBean]

Think of your domestic fridge. Have you fitted a fan in there? If it's really necessary to have a fan in a fridge then surely it is more important to have one in the fridge that's protecting your nearest and dearest from salmonella and other nasty bacteria!

Lots of domestic fridges do now have fans, ours does and it's not that Posh or Expensive but it is less than 2 years old.

I don't know if one is required in a Fermenting Fridge/Chamber as I'm far too new to brewing but I do know that temperature in my Beer fridge I have out in my shed has difference of almost 3ºc from the top to the bottom some days, maybe test your fridge and add one after if you think it is needed.

 

[Isolec82]

So glad I asked now!! Beginning to think that, stuck to the fermenter, or hanging in the air, the difference may be minimal and certainly not worth getting excited about. I will experiment.