Fermentation fridge

[Berk]

Just a few quick questions about fermentation fridges, as having the heating on in the house to maintain a steady temperature is probably defeating the object of saving money on beer by brewing it myself.

Firstly, is my understanding correct in that I can get a suitable fridge, and using a thermostat and something like a 12w greenhouse heater, I can leave the FV inside, where the thermostat will help maintain optimal fermentation temperatures?

Secondly, I'm thinking that it would not need to be a working fridge. This might make things easier in obtaining a broken one for free. However, I have noticed in some of the brew kit discussions I've been reading, that people have working refrigerators.
So, secondly part A: Do you simply switch the fridge off and heater on when fermenting, then turn the fridge back on and heater off for storage?
Secondly part B: Would a broken fridge with heater be sufficient, with the fermented brew being stored in a cool cellar?

Thirdly, would the heater need to be scaled to the size of the fridge? For instance, if I acquired a 5' fridge, or double chest freezer, would I need a larger heater?

I think that's everything I'm wondering at the moment.

 

[Vinnyc]

You use a sensor and unit such as stc1000 to either turn on the fridge or heater. I suppose it depends what you are brewing as to if you need the cooling function.
These are relatively cheap and can be got on fle bay.
I have a 60 tube heater in the bottom of my fridge but mine can hold two FV.

I'm far off an expert but I hope that helps

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=50998&p=489410&hilit=STC#p489410

 

[Berk]

Cheers, that link was useful for learning about the STC. It also answers the question somewhat about using a dead fridge. I'll have to do some more thinking and research about what I want to brew.

At the moment, I can only really think that I'll be brewing bitters, stouts and other ales, as well as some ciders. Lagers don't interest me, I lost the taste for them before I hit 14 :whistle: although I will drink them if there are no other options open to me.

What kind of things require cool fermentation temperatures?

 

[joe1002]

Lager is the only one I know of that needs lower fermenting temp but I use the fridge to cool the beer before kegging to help the yeast drop out :thumb:

 

[Berk]

By drop out do you mean that the cold helps the yeast to settle to the bottom of the FV better?

 

[joe1002]

By drop out do you mean that the cold helps the yeast to settle to the bottom of the FV better?

Exactly that, yes.

 

[Berk]

Interesting, thank you. I'll be keeping my eyes out for a working fridge then. Although I've just had a thought, if the cooling is being controlled by an STC, would a freezer also work? The cooling elements would be be turned off when it reached the desired temperature, acting in the same way as the fridge under the same control.

Which leads me to a second thought, we have a spare freezer, but the shelves are an integral part of it and thus non removable (plus it would stop working if they were removed). So a fridge it is then.

 

[joe1002]

A freezer would work as the stc1000 does the temp controlling however I understand the compressors on freezers can't handle the cycling on and off like a fridge can. You could just increase the compressor delay on the stc1000 I guess.

I have just obtained a chest freezer for a kegerator, I'll see how long that lasts :lol:

 

[Berk]

Be sure to keep us updated if it does die, hopefully it won't though.

Annoyingly, I've just remembered that my Nan has not long got rid of her chest freezer, it was probably big enough for two FV's too. If only I'd started brewing again 6 months ago instead of a few days ago. :hmm: Anyone got a spare time machine?

 

[joe1002]

Always the way hey.

Check out your local freecycle & freegle groups. Remember, you don't want a fridge that has a freezer compartment in the top, it takes up valuable space and may mean your fv won't fit in it.

 

[Monte Cristo]

Another point that maybe worth a note is try and get a fridge that is full width i.e 60cm, not a slimline version it just makes getting the FV in much easier.
Just finished mine last week and it is working a treat. Once it has fermented your beer you can put the bottles back in to carbonate then have it cool them down to clear, if you are bottling of course! :hat:

 

[Berk]

Full width and no freezer compartment, gotcha, thanks. I've still got two FV's going in the kitchen, so I figure I have time before my next brew so I'm just checking freecycle and freegle daily at the moment to see what comes up.

 

[winelight]

You've decided to go for a working fridge anyway, but the other reason to do so for anyone reading this thread is... well think of last summer. With temperatures of 37C you still need the compressor to keep the FV cool even if you don't make lager or don't want to lower the temp to 12C to help it clear.

Of course, the thermostat doesn't need to work. I was offered a fridge that ran flat out all the time, which would have been fine, for example.

 

[Berk]

Now that, is a very good point, and not one I'd considered. Definitely a Home Brew Forum Top Tip in my eyes.

 

[Berk]

Little update on this.

I was getting closer to sorting this out, and planned to stick an ad up on freecycle in the next few weeks and to start looking on ebay for the bits I'd need like the STC1000.

While walking back from the pub last night/this morning :drunk: , my wife spotted a fridge on a driveway just a few houses up from ours. Feeling surprisingly chipper this morning I dashed around and knocked on the door to ask if I could take it. The gentleman said yes, so I ran back home to grab the skateboard, ran back to the fridge in case someone had the audacity to grab it in the two minutes I was gone, and picked it up and wheeled it home. :party:

I did however forget to ask if it was in working order.

It's now sat in my cellar brimming with potential. I'll give it a bloody good clean this weekend, and hopefully order the bits for heating and temperature control this week to get it up and running for next weekend.

Here it is:

Any tips for testing it to see if it works, or will it simply be a case of plug it in and hope it doesn't blow up?

 

[liamtmt7]

Thats a bloody big fridge! Should get a couple of FVs in there.

Or an FV at the bottom and a few shelves of storage for bottles

 

[Gethin79]

Looks like a great find!! :thumb:

Think you'll just have to plug it in and hope for the best. Probably best to test it while you're able to keep an eye on it just in case...seems almost too good to be true!!

If it works though...happy days!!!!

 

[Jimmy321]

Use that as a fermentation fridge, yeah sure no problem. However I would say it looks like a good choice for a kegerator. If it's mid size it would likely hold 4 cornies with a bit of chopping, at least 3 without.

My suggesting would be to keep your eye out for another fridge for fermentation then convert this to a kegerator (if you don't already have one)

 

[Berk]

Cornies are a little out of my price range at the moment, but it's always a possibility for the future as there won't be any major modifications to the fridge for fermenting.

In other news, it's alive, muahahahaha... ahem. :geek:

I turned it on earlier this evening and nothing went bang, so I put the thermometer on top to get a reading of the cellar temperature.

I then put the thermometer in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Definite cooling! It seems I managed to get a working fridge for free. I did manage to work out why they were getting rid of it though.

The door doesn't close properly, leaving a gap in the seal at the top of the fridge, which is probably going to affect how efficient it is. At the bottom of the door on the same side, the seal is overly compressed, so something is up with how the door is hanging. A quick look suggests that the door is reversible, so tomorrow before I clean it I'm going to rehang the door so it opens the opposite way. Hopefully being in the fresh holes, the hinges will fit straighter and fix the issue with the door not sealing tight. Failing that I'll have to look in to other ways of making the seal better.

I've also had some empty demijohns and an empty fermenting bucket in it to see what fits. It will either hold two fermenting buckets, or a fermenting bucket and four demijohns on one shelf. It's so very close to being able to hold two shelves worth of demijohns and a fermenting bucket, but the airlocks would prevent that.

 

[coyspurs]

Well done on finding your fridge, with the STC you will find that beers will ferment better. You may want to consider fixing plywood shelfs as the FVs will be too heavy for the normal shelfs. Get rid of the door compartments as well. Good luck :thumb: