Fermentation Fridge - Wanted

[adajam4]

Long shot, but if anyone has one for sale, am in the market for one.

 

[Will3694]

Wherabouts are you? I've got fridge you can have but it's in Newcastle.

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[GlentoranMark]

Freecycle or Gumtree is your best bet, you may even see a Brew Fridge for sale (I have but was too expensive).

Buy an Inkbird for regulation and make your own.

 

[adajam4]

Thank you both for the swift replies.

I am in Norwich - I have a colleague that is based in Newcastle, is it a completed fridge or a brewfridge (as if it is a fridge fridge, as Glentoran Mark has said, a local Gumtree offer may be quicker)

 

[GlentoranMark]

Just my own story but I kept checking Freecycle and Gumtree every day for about 3 months. I texted/ called for a few but always seemed to miss the deal but in the end I got a large larder fridge that can hold 2 FV's for £25.

Just bide your time and the right deal will come.

 

[Will3694]

Currently it's just a fridge.
Probably better to get locally I agree.

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[adajam4]

Thanks for the offer though Will

 

[Aphid]

Just my own story but I kept checking Freecycle and Gumtree every day for about 3 months. I texted/ called for a few but always seemed to miss the deal but in the end I got a large larder fridge that can hold 2 FV's for �£25.

Just bide your time and the right deal will come.

Interesting thread. You got a great deal for just £25. :thumb:
If it holds 2 FVs, what size/capacity is your fridge, please? Do you know if a normal, under counter type fridge would be big enough to hold a standard 25L FV with space underneath for the heater? As you can see I am struggling to understand how big it needs to be.

 

[Rogermort]

I use the dumpy 30L FVs made by Brupaks and I reckon I could get three in the 180cm tall Electrolux that I picked up on eBay last week. I've been watching EBay for over a month for the right type of thing but even so I was still made up to get it really, really cheap. Had to drive 30 miles to collect it though.


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[Poochops]

I watched gumtree daily for about two weeks, there were loads of manky looking fridges coming up for peanuts and a few less old coming up but for £££s. I spotted a cracker barely used advertised for forty quid must go this weekend, no takers, next day it was twenty quid collected today, needless to say i picked it up that morning! Couple of years old, clean as a whistle, poked the heater cable through the drain hole and plugged it all into the inkbird, it's been full of fermenting brews ever since.
Provided you get one without an icebox you'll be right with an undercounter size, mine takes a 33l FV on the bottom shelf with a stubby airlock and there's bags of room above. The heater is on the base below the bottom shelf. Id be buggered though if it had an icebox unless it was a taller type fridge.

 

[Aphid]

I use the dumpy 30L FVs made by Brupaks and I reckon I could get three in the 180cm tall Electrolux that I picked up on eBay last week. I've been watching EBay for over a month for the right type of thing but even so I was still made up to get it really, really cheap. Had to drive 30 miles to collect it though.


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Thanks for the additional info. I think a factor that is running through my mind is cost - the cost of running a larger fridge, like your 180cm, against the more common but adequate under counter offering available for sale. Clearly, what holds a lot also holds a little. Any thoughts?

 

[Aphid]

I watched gumtree daily for about two weeks, there were loads of manky looking fridges coming up for peanuts and a few less old coming up but for ��£��£��£s. I spotted a cracker barely used advertised for forty quid must go this weekend, no takers, next day it was twenty quid collected today, needless to say i picked it up that morning! Couple of years old, clean as a whistle, poked the heater cable through the drain hole and plugged it all into the inkbird, it's been full of fermenting brews ever since.
Provided you get one without an icebox you'll be right with an undercounter size, mine takes a 33l FV on the bottom shelf with a stubby airlock and there's bags of room above. The heater is on the base below the bottom shelf. Id be buggered though if it had an icebox unless it was a taller type fridge.

Thanks for that. From an initial search on Gumtree there are quite a few fridges for sale locally, many under the counter size. Clearly one with a freezer compartment is to be avoided. Not needed and takes up space. I also see that in many there is a space taking recess at the bottom housing the fridge pump (?) and other bits. Does your beer fridge have this? Assuming that the capacity is still sufficient for a single FV. Or should I be looking for a fridge without?

 

[Poochops]

Hi, yes they all have a half shelf at the bottom where the compressor and gas tank is located behind, no problem there, some people have built a plywood shelf to replace the glass one but I couldn't see the point and it works fine with the original glass one. An ice box on the other hand would be a pain in the arse without major surgery, you really don't want to be trying to remove the icebox unless you got the thing for free so have nothing to lose

 

[Rogermort]

I can also reveal that if you get a tall larder fridge with water cooler/dispenser they take up loads of space internally and need to be removed. Doable but a bit of a PITA.


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[Jakeyboi]

I got an under counter fridge with an icebox, and a normal 30l fv does not fit. I tried to doctor it but they have coolant tubes running through the bottom of the ice box. ☹️

 

[Aphid]

Hi, yes they all have a half shelf at the bottom where the compressor and gas tank is located behind, no problem there, some people have built a plywood shelf to replace the glass one but I couldn't see the point and it works fine with the original glass one. An ice box on the other hand would be a pain in the arse without major surgery, you really don't want to be trying to remove the icebox unless you got the thing for free so have nothing to lose

Thanks for your comments. I had wondered if the wooden supporting frame for the FV was to enable easier circulation of warming air from the heater underneath. Sounds like heat circulation is not an issue with an original glass shelf in place?

 

[Aphid]

I got an under counter fridge with an icebox, and a normal 30l fv does not fit. I tried to doctor it but they have coolant tubes running through the bottom of the ice box. ☹️

Good to know. So avoid larder fridges with an ice box. :nah:

 

[Rogermort]

Hi, yes they all have a half shelf at the bottom where the compressor and gas tank is located behind, no problem there, some people have built a plywood shelf to replace the glass one but I couldn't see the point and it works fine with the original glass one. An ice box on the other hand would be a pain in the arse without major surgery, you really don't want to be trying to remove the icebox unless you got the thing for free so have nothing to lose

What weight of fermenters are you supporting on the glass shelf?


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[robbym123]

I wouldnt worry too much about the extra running cost of a large Fridge. Most of the time it will be at 16-20c, not a million miles from room temp. Therefore the fridge won't be running nearly as much as when it is maintaining 2-5c.

I have a larder size one which i picked up on Freecycle - it was in really good nick, just needed a clean. They do crop up quite often on there. As long as you aren't too fussy regarding size, make etc - but it is free after all!.

Mine has been perfect, room for 2 60 litre fermenters stacked one on the other. Controlled by Inkbird and greenhouse heater it maintains a steady temp and will go all the way down to 1C when crash cooling.

Total cost was about £40 for the heater and inkbird. Great thing is that if the fridge does die, it owes me nothing.

 

[Aphid]

I wouldnt worry too much about the extra running cost of a large Fridge. Most of the time it will be at 16-20c, not a million miles from room temp. Therefore the fridge won't be running nearly as much as when it is maintaining 2-5c.

I have a larder size one which i picked up on Freecycle - it was in really good nick, just needed a clean. They do crop up quite often on there. As long as you aren't too fussy regarding size, make etc - but it is free after all!.

Mine has been perfect, room for 2 60 litre fermenters stacked one on the other. Controlled by Inkbird and greenhouse heater it maintains a steady temp and will go all the way down to 1C when crash cooling.

Total cost was about £40 for the heater and inkbird. Great thing is that if the fridge does die, it owes me nothing.

'Rehoming' for free is always a winner. ;-) Well done. Out of interest, what Wattage is your heater? Assuming it's the tubular greenhouse type?