I am considering updating my fermentation equipment and I would really like to get a 60L Fermzilla All-Rounder. I mainly brew hoppy pale ales so I would like to be able to do closed transfers to keg. I am not particularly interested in pressure fermenting for the beer styles I mostly brew but it would be nice to be able to carbonate during fermentation to save some increasingly expensive CO2. I currently use this 35L flat-bottomed SS fermentor which is great for the price but doesn't allow for easy closed transfers and has a very large opening which means I need to carefully purge with lots of CO2 to minimise oxidation when dry hopping.
The 60L Fermzilla won't fit in my under-counter brew fridge and I don't have space for a larger fridge, so I am thinking about how I can maintain a constant temperature during fermentation with the 60L Fermzilla. My thought is that I would have the Fermzilla out on the countertop with the addition of a cooling coil and thermowell added to the Fermzilla. I would then add a large tub or possibly use my existing fermentor to hold a large reservoir of water with a bit of glycol in. I would add a submersible pump to the water and control this with an inkbird controller. The water would be kept at 1°C by the fridge and circulated through the fermenting beer when the temp got to high. I already have one hole drilled in the side of the fridge from an aborted attempt to be able to run a gas line in in the past, so I think it should be straightforward to run another one to allow the water to circulate through 3/8 beer line. I know that glycol isn't strictly necessary for this temperature but I have sometimes had ice forming on the back of the fridge and I want to avoid the chance of things freezing and breaking the pump. I am aware that this would probably struggle to cold crash down to really low temps but as I mostly make hazy beers, dropping down to 5-6°C would be fine. I would probably get the Fermzilla insulating jacket to help maintain temperature.
Does this sound like a plausible solution?
The 60L Fermzilla won't fit in my under-counter brew fridge and I don't have space for a larger fridge, so I am thinking about how I can maintain a constant temperature during fermentation with the 60L Fermzilla. My thought is that I would have the Fermzilla out on the countertop with the addition of a cooling coil and thermowell added to the Fermzilla. I would then add a large tub or possibly use my existing fermentor to hold a large reservoir of water with a bit of glycol in. I would add a submersible pump to the water and control this with an inkbird controller. The water would be kept at 1°C by the fridge and circulated through the fermenting beer when the temp got to high. I already have one hole drilled in the side of the fridge from an aborted attempt to be able to run a gas line in in the past, so I think it should be straightforward to run another one to allow the water to circulate through 3/8 beer line. I know that glycol isn't strictly necessary for this temperature but I have sometimes had ice forming on the back of the fridge and I want to avoid the chance of things freezing and breaking the pump. I am aware that this would probably struggle to cold crash down to really low temps but as I mostly make hazy beers, dropping down to 5-6°C would be fine. I would probably get the Fermzilla insulating jacket to help maintain temperature.
Does this sound like a plausible solution?
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