# Fermentation Chambers



## mattric (29/8/12)

With summer around the corner I was wondering if people could post what they use for their fermentation chambers and finding a fridge that will fit a fermenter is starting to be a PITA.

What do you use to keep you yeast happy?


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## Camo1234 (29/8/12)

mattric said:


> With summer around the corner I was wondering if people could post what they use for their fermentation chambers and finding a fridge that will fit a fermenter is starting to be a PITA.
> 
> What do you use to keep you yeast happy?



Are you really having trouble finding a fridge to fit your fermenter? I have three and all fit them... If you can only source a little bar fridge you may need to switch to the jerry can style fermenter as it is narrow and fits nicely in the small bar fridge... Almost all normal sized fridges fit the normal fermenters.
99% of people here would use fridges... A fermentation chamber would be a massive PITA compared to a fridge.


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## mattric (29/8/12)

I have a fridge at home yet it won't fit a cooper fermenter.

What fridge do you use for you fermenter? Have any pics?


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## adryargument (30/8/12)

I whacked together a 2m rectangle box with 2 inch thick sides filled with insulation bats.
Probably cost me ~100 all up. Will be interesting to see how she works come summer, she will be cooled using a fan/radiator/brown pump that pumps water from a cube in the kegerator next to it.

It holds 4x 30l cubes / 2x 60l & 2x 30l / 3x 60l


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## Camo1234 (30/8/12)

quote name='mattric' date='Aug 29 2012, 11:24 PM' post='949167']
I have a fridge at home yet it won't fit a cooper fermenter.

What fridge do you use for you fermenter? Have any pics?
[/quote]


Hey mate, here is a pic of my fridge family... (the rich cousin, the Keggerator, lives inside and so does the black sheep of the family, the food fridge)

The two bigger ones fit the normal 30 ltr fermenters easily but I have never used a coopers one so can't comment.

Seeing as you already have a fridge you may want to just change your fermenter instead of the fridge... the one pictured here is from BCF I think but you can get them at bunnings, super cheap and heaps of other places... they are just water jerry cans.

You next step is that you'll need a temp controller... if you're not sure about that search for STC-1000 and you'll get unlimited info on them.


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## QldKev (30/8/12)

There are "son of fermentor" or "Son of Fermentation" chillers out there. Here is the plans for one. I would ask around who uses them and for how long they have used them. For the first couple of months remembering to change the ice daily (or more often?) would be ok, but then would become a big drama after a while. What happens if you want to ferment on a weekend/week where you are going away? Then what happens to all the condensation form the ice bottles? mould? For the cost of the build, you can source a cheap old fridge and once setup will last many years of service, with the feature of press a button to set and forget. 

QldKev


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## Logman (30/8/12)

mattric said:


> With summer around the corner I was wondering if people could post what they use for their fermentation chambers and finding a fridge that will fit a fermenter is starting to be a PITA.
> 
> What do you use to keep you yeast happy?


Swapping ice gets old real quick - I have a 200 ltr esky and tried to ferment in that when I first started, bought a fridge within a fortnight <_< . You'll find some super cheap ones on Gumtree - *like this one*. Fridge only is awesome, you can get two in there :chug:


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## ashley_leask (30/8/12)

I got a 250L fridge on ebay for $100, I'm sure I could have found one cheaper if I was more patient. I think I could fit two fermenters in there (top / bottom shelves) if I really wanted to.


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## Damien13 (30/8/12)

Can someone point me in the direction of a thread talking of using jerry cans as fermenters?

Do you just syphon when you rack to your kegs... never thought of using a jerry but sounds like a pretty good idea!

Any negatives?
Cheers,

Damien


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## Barley Belly (30/8/12)




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## RobW (30/8/12)

I use one like this too:




If you remove the door lining you can just fit a 30l fermenter in.


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## Yob (30/8/12)

Damien13 said:


> Can someone point me in the direction of a thread talking of using jerry cans as fermenters?
> 
> Do you just syphon when you rack to your kegs... never thought of using a jerry but sounds like a pretty good idea!
> 
> ...




HERE


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## Malted (30/8/12)

Camo1234 said:


> Hey mate, here is a pic of my fridge family...



Wow you must do big starters if that is your stirplate device on the left! Or do you put the fermenter in it to rouse the yeast during stuck ferments?


Edit: referring to 2nd picture.


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## Camo1234 (30/8/12)

Malted said:


> Wow you must do big starters if that is your stirplate device on the left! Or do you put the fermenter in it to rouse the yeast during stuck ferments?
> 
> 
> Edit: referring to 2nd picture.




I always thought I was supposed to aerate the wort??? I just pour it in there and turn it on for 5 mins and it comes out nice and aerated and hot enought to get the yeast moving quickly h34r:


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## QldKev (30/8/12)

Camo1234 said:


> I always thought I was supposed to aerate the wort??? I just pour it in there and turn it on for 5 mins and it comes out nice and aerated and hot enought to get the yeast moving quickly h34r:




Be good if your making a dry beer


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## woodwormm (30/8/12)

Damien13 said:


> Can someone point me in the direction of a thread talking of using jerry cans as fermenters?
> 
> Do you just syphon when you rack to your kegs... never thought of using a jerry but sounds like a pretty good idea!
> 
> ...




A lot of camping water jerry cans have provision for a tap... I agree with other posters... if you've got a fridge change ur fermenter to suit. Simple and cheap.


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## mattric (3/9/12)

Barley Belly said:


>



Holy crap! thats exactly what I want... what make/model is it?


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## Barley Belly (3/9/12)

mattric said:


> Holy crap! thats exactly what I want... what make/model is it?


It's a Kelvinator 331 Trimline.

It's the fridge only of a pigeon pair, picked it up off Ebay for $50. Took me ages to get one that would take two Coopers fermenters without being massive.

Absolutely love it. Only drawback is it struggles a little bit when I crash chill at 2deg. For this reason, if I ever replace this I'll try to get a freezer only.

Let me know if you need more info.


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## Ivan Other One (3/9/12)

Have a pair of bar fridges, non workers with the compressors etc removed, upside down, and regulate the temp by placing frozen bottles of water in with the fermenter, 

After a bit of experience have learnt how to keep temp between 18-21degC.


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## Bizier (3/9/12)

Barley Belly said:


> It's a Kelvinator 331 Trimline.


I just looked and mine is a 332 Trimline.

It was more expensive than I wanted and I had to wait 'til it came up, but I have never looked back. I used to use my 550L or whatever it is (now keg fridge) and it turned the freezer into a fantastic dedicated mould incubator during warm weather.


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## Barley Belly (3/9/12)

Bizier said:


> I just looked and mine is a 332 Trimline.
> 
> It was more expensive than I wanted and I had to wait 'til it came up, but I have never looked back. I used to use my 550L or whatever it is (now keg fridge) and it turned the freezer into a fantastic dedicated mould incubator during warm weather.



Damn. Got me by 1 :angry:


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## Brad Sofield (3/9/12)

Just enquiring are those 15lt fermenters mate


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## Barley Belly (3/9/12)

BradS said:


> Just enquiring are those 15lt fermenters mate



Do you mean mine?

If so, no. They are 30litres Coopers ones.


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## Bizier (4/9/12)

Barley Belly said:


> Damn. Got me by 1 :angry:


Yeah, but I am ghetto and just using the original shelves doubled up instead of your 'la de da, mr fancy man' door grille stuff.


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## Ivan Other One (4/9/12)

Photo added. Ghetto temp control units





Ivan Other One said:


> Have a pair of bar fridges, non workers with the compressors etc removed, upside down, and regulate the temp by placing frozen bottles of water in with the fermenter,
> 
> After a bit of experience have learnt how to keep temp between 18-21degC.


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## Wal05 (4/9/12)

I use a fridge that I scored from one of the local Girl Guide groups. They were chucking it out because they had been given a newer one. I come across this via a friend of a friend. As you can see this one fits 2 30lt FVs with not trouble at all.

Just keep your ears open and put the word out that you are on the lookout and sooner or later you will come across one at the right price...


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## Edak (5/9/12)

I use a westinghouse 210L (I think that it is the size).
If I used my space more wisely I could probably get two fermenters in there but at this stage only one.

FYI One of the pics shows bottles in there, this is not how I store my bottles.

I got it for about $100 off ebay.

EDIT: The controller is my internet enabled controller which allows me to monitor and control the fridge from my phone/computer/whatever. It is arduino based.


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## j-dunn (6/9/12)

Edak said:


> I use a westinghouse 210L (I think that it is the size).
> If I used my space more wisely I could probably get two fermenters in there but at this stage only one.
> 
> FYI One of the pics shows bottles in there, this is not how I store my bottles.
> ...



Hi Edak



Im Joe, brand new to this forum. I have just recieved a 30lt Conical tank that I will make into a fermenter. I see that you have a temp control on your fridge. I am interested in this and would appreciate any information in regard to it.

I am in the fortunate possition to have access to a mate of mine that worked for Lion Nathan as a chemist and brewer. He is helping me out with my setup and is a wealth of knowledge. The setup needs temp control and maybe your unit is the one!

Cheers

Joe


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## Edak (7/9/12)

j-dunn said:


> Hi Edak
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Hello Joe, 

The controller is a self designed and built one, based on the Arduino development platform. If you are new to the game I would recommend that you buy a fridgemate or similar because they are cheaper and easy (like at over 28's clubs  ) and not over-engineered to send data to a web server for monitoring and control purposes.


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## MastersBrewery (7/9/12)

edak, 
come on mate over engineering brew gear is what home brewers do!!
you know we love it!
MB


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## Edak (7/9/12)

MastersBrewery said:


> edak,
> come on mate over engineering brew gear is what home brewers do!!
> you know we love it!
> MB




I am edak and I am an over-engineer-holic....

I DO LOVE IT!!!!


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## rich_4646 (8/9/12)

Edak said:


> I am edak and I am an over-engineer-holic....
> 
> I DO LOVE IT!!!!



I thought i'd illustrate the under engineered....old crate from work lined with'styrene.Heat from a reptile basking lamp regulated by a room thermo.Cooled by a bar fridge bolted on the back.

I just bought a $15 reject shop weather station so i can monitor the temp in case the globe blows.

The sensor is on the shelf in the pic.










The AIPA is a bit hazy cos i forgot the irish moss but with the massive hit of cascade i'm not to worried.

Rich_4646


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## Helles (8/9/12)

rich_4646 said:


> I thought i'd illustrate the under engineered....old crate from work lined with'styrene.Heat from a reptile basking lamp regulated by a room thermo.Cooled by a bar fridge bolted on the back.
> 
> I just bought a $15 reject shop weather station so i can monitor the temp in case the globe blows.
> 
> ...




I think this might belong in the Ghetto Thread  
Im sure it works very well though


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## ratchie (9/9/12)




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## luke_j (9/9/12)

Are they standalone fridges, or fridge/freezers that you've ripped the freezers out of?


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## ratchie (9/9/12)

luke_j said:


> Are they standalone fridges, or fridge/freezers that you've ripped the freezers out of?



Left one is a freezer right one is an all fridge.


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## krisisdog (9/9/12)

340l fridge with a coopers kit fermenter on top, then 2 30l bunnings water drums. Temp controller on top. $50 eBay fridge, $13 eBay controller.


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## Bizier (10/9/12)

krisisdog said:


> 340l fridge with a coopers kit fermenter on top, then 2 30l bunnings water drums. Temp controller on top. $50 eBay fridge, $13 eBay controller.


awesome!


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## Edak (12/9/12)

I thought I would share my fridge interface.


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## adraine (12/9/12)

ratchie said:


>



Hey Ratchie,


do you have your temp sensors sitting down inside thermowells in your wort? How deep do you have them sitting? do you notice a big swing in temps?

Cheers Ad


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## adraine (12/9/12)

Edak said:


> I thought I would share my fridge interface.




How ******* cool is that????? that is awesome!
does it include timers/alarms? e.g if the fridge doesnt kick in and she goes over temp for too long does she let you know?


Ad


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## MastersBrewery (12/9/12)

Edak said:


> I thought I would share my fridge interface.



I'd pay for that setup, though possibly have a option for a second fridge. Did you make your own shield for this?


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## Malted (12/9/12)

Edak said:


> I thought I would share my fridge interface.



Would be grouse if the labels on the chart went left to right in the same order as the guages, or vice versa...


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## Edak (12/9/12)

adraine said:


> How ******* cool is that????? that is awesome!
> does it include timers/alarms? e.g if the fridge doesnt kick in and she goes over temp for too long does she let you know?
> 
> 
> Ad



I have set this up on my server, it's a script that runs every 10 mins and if it has not received data it sends me an email. I can set this up to do anything such as if temp drifts too far, etc. It's a case of changing the PHP script. I have to remember to enable the script though as I don't use the fridge controller if I have nothing in the fridge.



MastersBrewery said:


> I'd pay for that setup, though possibly have a option for a second fridge. Did you make your own shield for this?



Any number of fridges could be added, it's again a case of changing the PHP script and probably storing the data into different tables. A second fridge could be programmed in within minutes.



Malted said:


> Would be grouse if the labels on the chart went left to right in the same order as the guages, or vice versa...



Haha yeah, that's just aesthetics and the dial colours match the trace colours. 

Also, if you were to look at the complex version (you are looking at the basic version of the page) you would also see:
* Fridge set point
* Beer slope (change in beer temp)
* Fridge slope (change in fridge temp)
* Device status (heating, cooling, idle, reset, etc).
These add a bunch of other colours too which throws it out.


EDIT: AAh screw it, fixed the order, it was all of 13 seconds work including opening Notepad++

EDIT2: Aaand now that I have the Notepad++ open, I might as well work on a script that lets me ramp the temperatures for lagering, etc.


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## adraine (12/9/12)

Edak said:


> Any number of fridges could be added, it's again a case of changing the PHP script and probably storing the data into different tables. A second fridge could be programmed in within minutes.




Would you mind adding my fridge?????  hahahaha


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## ratchie (12/9/12)

adraine said:


> Hey Ratchie,
> 
> 
> do you have your temp sensors sitting down inside thermowells in your wort? How deep do you have them sitting? do you notice a big swing in temps?
> ...




Yes inside some beer line with the end melted closed,about 100-150mm,no big swing in temps I can leave the door open for a few minutes and the temp doesn't change.


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## Edak (12/9/12)

adraine said:


> Would you mind adding my fridge?????  hahahaha



For $5/month I can do that.... 

All you need is an ethernet based device which posts temperature data to my site, Arduino with Ethernet shield can do this.


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## MastersBrewery (12/9/12)

Edak said:


> For $5/month I can do that....
> 
> All you need is an ethernet based device which posts temperature data to my site, Arduino with Ethernet shield can do this.



ahhh well to do that you'd prolly need to be able write code for the arduino, that would lead to being able to code the php, $5 a month saved!!!!!
knew I should have continued that cert iv in IT. Wonder when tafe enrols next???


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## Malted (12/9/12)

Edak said:


> Haha yeah, that's just aesthetics and the dial colours match the trace colours.



I noted that but it was making me go cross eyed with them not in the same order. :blink:


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## Edak (12/9/12)

MastersBrewery said:


> ahhh well to do that you'd prolly need to be able write code for the arduino, that would lead to being able to code the php, $5 a month saved!!!!!
> knew I should have continued that cert iv in IT. Wonder when tafe enrols next???




Hah, my system IS Arduino powered!

I would seriously consider hosting some data for other people if they wanted it...


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## glenwal (12/9/12)

Edak said:


> Hah, my system IS Arduino powered!
> 
> I would seriously consider hosting some data for other people if they wanted it...



i'm sure if you were to put together an arduino with an ethernet shield and temp probe(s) that could upload to your webservice and sell them as a plug and play type device you'd get a few takers.

The problem with just hosting the webservice is anyone who can put together their own arduino powered device can probably host their own PHP webservice too.



edit: your UI is pretty cool btw


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## adraine (12/9/12)

ratchie said:


> Yes inside some beer line with the end melted closed,about 100-150mm,no big swing in temps I can leave the door open for a few minutes and the temp doesn't change.



I've just ordered the stainless one from beer belly. Looking forward to seeing the difference.


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## adraine (12/9/12)

:icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2:


Glen W said:


> i'm sure if you were to put together an arduino with an ethernet shield and temp probe(s) that could upload to your webservice and sell them as a plug and play type device you'd get a few takers.
> 
> The problem with just hosting the webservice is anyone who can put together their own arduino powered device can probably host their own PHP webservice too.
> 
> ...



All this is well over my head. But my old man is a retired electrical engineer. We were discussing an Allen Bradley touch screen controller for the 3v + herms rig I am building just the other day.
Bit OT but anyway


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