quote:Very cool!
Homebrewtalk published an article I wrote about homebrew naming, if y'all are interested in a quick read.
Homebrewtalk.com
Homebrew Board - Recipes
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Last: 3 mo ago by Chipotlemonger
Finally got around to building that fermentation chamber! Now I just gotta brew a batch to try it out.
Wow, nice.
Thanks, now i'm just hoping it works well enough to overcome the summertime heat in that garage... ended up looking nicer than i had expected though, so if nothing else i have a new cabinet/shelf in the garage 
How are you going to keep it cool?
I thought about building something, but eventually just went the easy route and got a chest freezer from CL and a temp controller.
I thought about building something, but eventually just went the easy route and got a chest freezer from CL and a temp controller.
If you look in the first picture, the piece off to the left is a mini fridge. I couldn't find one on CL for the price i wanted to pay that would fit the fermenter so i decided to just buy the small one, take off the door and build a larger cooler box around it. you can see the temp control (black box) sitting on the mini fridge, and the two lines coming into the chamber. one is the temp probe and the other is power for the fan to keep the air circulating and hopefully and even temp throughout.
Ah, cool, yeah, that should work pretty well.
Very cool build! Homebrewing definitely brings out the ingenuity.
How low of a temp can the fridge go? I'd imagine you'll be fine for most anything except for lagers.
How low of a temp can the fridge go? I'd imagine you'll be fine for most anything except for lagers.
There is one small issue with your design, and it also applies to chest freezers. The coolant lines run through the side walls and there's 1 line which runs through the top of the small dorm fridges. These are designed ed to radiate heat from the cooling process. if you cover the walls over, they will not be able to radiate heat as efficiency. This means your compressor has to work harder and burns out faster. For fridges which are designed to be built into cabinetry, they have a lower front vent to radiate heat and they're more expensive since they require a fan.
So, it will work but the lifespan of the fridge may be reduced. If operating in a hot garage in the summer can't say how well it'll cool, just monitor your fermentation Temps to see. Could work great, could struggle. But if it's not keeping it cool enough to ferment my first suggestion would be to re examine your design and try to build a chamber that doesn't involve covering the sides of the fridge. Nothing is worse than spending the time and energy into brewing and not getting the result you want. Been there, done that.
So, it will work but the lifespan of the fridge may be reduced. If operating in a hot garage in the summer can't say how well it'll cool, just monitor your fermentation Temps to see. Could work great, could struggle. But if it's not keeping it cool enough to ferment my first suggestion would be to re examine your design and try to build a chamber that doesn't involve covering the sides of the fridge. Nothing is worse than spending the time and energy into brewing and not getting the result you want. Been there, done that.
I'm assuming the fridge under normal conditions will get into the 35-40F range, but I have no idea with it in the bigger box as I haven't tested it out yet. The construction adhesive is all curing now so my plan was to seal all of the seams tonight tonight and give it a test run to see how well it cools and holds temperature. I'm hoping with the 3 layers of that insulation all the way around it will have an easy time as theoretically, it should have better or as good as insulation as the fridge itself. but we shall see.
thanks for the tip. i didn't realize that. i left space on the back because i assumed that's where most of the heat radiation happened. however the fridge isn't sealed in place yet so maybe i will slide it out a bit to expose more of the sides before I seal it in. worst case scenario, hopefully it lasts until i can buy something more purpose built, like a deep freeze.
Yeah and you're not chilling down to the low 40's either, that's a lot less work on the Compressor as well. So it could work just fine. One thing I love about brewing is the DIY nature of it. Here's hoping it works out great! Temp control is so important for brewing.
You'll probably be fine for ales, but lagers are probably going to be out of your range, at least in the summer months.
Any temperature control is better than none, though! You need to get something in there, now! :-)
Any temperature control is better than none, though! You need to get something in there, now! :-)
Agreed! i have all the ingredients for my next batch sitting in the pantry/fridge ready to go. so if it looks like it is holding temperature ok, my plan is to brew it up tonight. getting really tired of having to buy beer from the store. i am fine with not doing lagers in it as right now i am still perfecting the art of ales, but when i give my garage a makeover, I am thinking of putting in a nicer setup like this to be able to hold any temp I want.
Well, Alaskan nailed it. Got everything hooked up, started cooling and went from 27.5c to 22.5c and died. Felt the sides and the mini fridge was very warm. Here's to hoping it was a temperature cutoff and I didn't just kill the compressor completely... That being said everything else worked fine so worst case and I'll just use it as a swamp cooler and put the fan on the temp control unit.
Glad I tested it before i started brewing.
Glad I tested it before i started brewing.
I only know this from reading on the Northern Brewer forums a long time ago. If you take the door apart and remove the shelving you can replace it with a piece of hardyboard. Use the same screw holes and the door gasket will fit back into place. Withe the shelves gone there should be enough space to fit the carboy. You can test by placing the carboy in the fridge, if it extends past the opening then removing the shelves won't work. Most small freezers should be ok. Or you can also cut openings in the wood along the side walls to let it breathe. That could work too.
Sucks man, I build a lot of stuff and when it doesn't work/fit...blows. Did you have the external thermostat hooked up?
Sucks man, I build a lot of stuff and when it doesn't work/fit...blows. Did you have the external thermostat hooked up?
quote:Enjoyed reading it. I also liked that it was well written compared to most of the others I have read. I haven't made any recipe a second time so I haven't needed to actually have a name that would be used for a mainstay. I haven't even come up with a "brewery" name yet, which is part of the reason I haven't decided on a name for a couple that I might would like to make part of a rotation.
Homebrewtalk published an article I wrote about homebrew naming, if y'all are interested in a quick read.
Homebrewtalk.com
quote:I try to name all my beers, just because it's fun. Plus, my wife likes to check them in on Untappd, so I need a name to put them in there. I've so far only brewed the same beer again once. That will change pretty soon, though, because my Mosaic/Citra IPA turned out fantastic.quote:Enjoyed reading it. I also liked that it was well written compared to most of the others I have read. I haven't made any recipe a second time so I haven't needed to actually have a name that would be used for a mainstay. I haven't even come up with a "brewery" name yet, which is part of the reason I haven't decided on a name for a couple that I might would like to make part of a rotation.
Homebrewtalk published an article I wrote about homebrew naming, if y'all are interested in a quick read.
Homebrewtalk.com
I did name my "brewery," but a real brewery has since popped up using a very similar name, so I've been brainstorming a new one.
I think i will try to cut some vent holes to expose more of the sides, because the mini fridge I have isn't even close to big enough even if i cut out all of the shelves. I did have the external thermostat hooked up, and it worked great. when i noticed the compressor was shut off i tried plugging the fridge directly into an outlet to make sure it wasn't the temp module but it still wouldn't come on. luckily i tested it this morning and the fridge came on fine so it must have just been some sort of overheat relay that cut off the compressor to prevent damage. so i think i might also put in some large ice blocks initially to help get the starting temperature down so that the compressor won't have to work as hard to just maintain the temp rather than running for an hour to get it down to begin with.
How about, Kyle 98 Juice?
quote:Ha! Most of my beers are named after something to do with artillery (Redleg Red Lager, Willy Pete Wheat, etc), so most of my ideas are focusing in that direction right now.
How about, Kyle 98 Juice?
My last beer was named "S.T.F.U. IPA" jokingly when my wife wouldn't STFU. She laughed.
Thanks khkman22. I like to write as a therapeutic activity because it forces me to focus on what I'm saying rather than throw out a bunch of words and ideas. I can get very scatterbrained and overwhelmed sometimes and it helps me concentrate on what I'm doing.
I've only brewed a few recipes more than once, but I've been working on fleshing out some favorites to eventually have on rotation in the kegerator. My goal is to have the good stuff on tap and spend my brew days experimenting with things like SMaSH, Sours, parti-gyle, or other weird stuff.
I've only brewed a few recipes more than once, but I've been working on fleshing out some favorites to eventually have on rotation in the kegerator. My goal is to have the good stuff on tap and spend my brew days experimenting with things like SMaSH, Sours, parti-gyle, or other weird stuff.
quote:If you have room and an old window A/C unit, maybe you can do something like this.
Well, Alaskan nailed it. Got everything hooked up, started cooling and went from 27.5c to 22.5c and died. Felt the sides and the mini fridge was very warm. Here's to hoping it was a temperature cutoff and I didn't just kill the compressor completely... That being said everything else worked fine so worst case and I'll just use it as a swamp cooler and put the fan on the temp control unit.
Glad I tested it before i started brewing.
I have room for three kegs in the garage fridge currently. We're about to redo the backyard, and part of the project is making space to eventually put in an outdoor kitchen. I'm hoping I can find a mini-fridge that will fit 3 kegs and a CO2 bottle for that, and move my kegerator out there.
So, my plan for my three kegs is to have one be my house beer, looking like the Citra/Mosaic IPA (I call it Killer Junior) will be that. Then have the other two rotate around. Right now, I have what's left of my RIS (D30) and just kegged my red lager (Redleg Red). when the RIS kicks (maybe this weekend, having a party tomorrow), I'll decide what to replace it with. Thinking maybe a sasion for the hot summer months.
So, my plan for my three kegs is to have one be my house beer, looking like the Citra/Mosaic IPA (I call it Killer Junior) will be that. Then have the other two rotate around. Right now, I have what's left of my RIS (D30) and just kegged my red lager (Redleg Red). when the RIS kicks (maybe this weekend, having a party tomorrow), I'll decide what to replace it with. Thinking maybe a sasion for the hot summer months.
My wife and I made a trip to Houston this weekend to see some friends for the Memorial Day holiday, so we stopped off at B-52 to talk with jockitch. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! We were very impressed with the IPL, and we shared it with a few of our friends who thought it was great as well.
We spend Sunday cooking up all kinds of food, but my buddy received a bookshelf brewing kit for Christmas that he decided to brew on the stove as well. Everything turned out well, but we didn't have a hydrometer to take measurements. I'm trusting my own taste of the wort, but it seemed to be appropriate. It was an American Wheat Ale, and my only real gripe with it was that it looked a little dark IMHO. My buddy told me he already has activity in the airlock, so I'm sure it will come out fine. It's never a bad day when you get a new brewer out of it!
We spend Sunday cooking up all kinds of food, but my buddy received a bookshelf brewing kit for Christmas that he decided to brew on the stove as well. Everything turned out well, but we didn't have a hydrometer to take measurements. I'm trusting my own taste of the wort, but it seemed to be appropriate. It was an American Wheat Ale, and my only real gripe with it was that it looked a little dark IMHO. My buddy told me he already has activity in the airlock, so I'm sure it will come out fine. It's never a bad day when you get a new brewer out of it!
Filled a 5gal (closer to 6) rye barrel with my RIS over the weekend. Now to let it rest for a few months.
Brewed 2 other batches of beer as well.
Brewed 2 other batches of beer as well.
quote:Anytime. Wish yall could have hung around longer, but glad to hear you liked it!
My wife and I made a trip to Houston this weekend to see some friends for the Memorial Day holiday, so we stopped off at B-52 to talk with jockitch. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! We were very impressed with the IPL, and we shared it with a few of our friends who thought it was great as well.
It's beer!
Congrats! Always remember, no matter what happens on brew day, beer has been made.
Awesome, congrats!
Got home from the honeymoon to discover why my Best Man was indeed the Best Man.
And Fav13, I haven't forgotten you for the bottles. Just got too swamped before leaving town.
And Fav13, I haven't forgotten you for the bottles. Just got too swamped before leaving town.
Kegging is the way to go!
Nice, that's easily $200 of gear right there! (Mainly due to ball lock kegs being so expensive. When (not if -- you will need more) you buy more kegs, go pin lock -- they are literally half the price.)
quote:
Got home from the honeymoon to discover why my Best Man was indeed the Best Man.
And Fav13, I haven't forgotten you for the bottles. Just got too swamped before leaving town.
Don't worry about it Scriff, I'm not in any kind of rush; you're doing me a solid, after all. Gear looks sweet.
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