Chest freezer setup for fermenting

[TK1]

Hi all,

After doing a few can kits in the dining room (on a sophisticated set-up of fermenter on dining chair wrapped in a rug), I've decided it's time to get a bit more serious and - in conjunction with a new shed build - get set up properly in my own space. baby steps towards AG brewing...

At this stage, I'm looking at getting a cheap chest freezer, and hooking it and a head strip/mat up to a 2-way temperature controller to regulate fermenting temperature.

I am leaning towards a chest freezer as:
1. They're cheaper than decent sized fridges or freezers (and cheaper freezers have cooling coils under each shelf)
2. It will fit the fermenter (or 2 if I get a bigger one) and spare ingredients, etc inside plus provide a worktop for bottling, brewing, etc
3. A freezer (rather than fridge) will let me try to make ice beer styles and cold-crash and things like that

The only downsides I see are:
1. Having to lift the fermenter in and out. Not a huge drama, and there's always a block and tackle
2. Testing SG, etc, but I can get around this by either raising the fermenter enough to get a flask under it, or drilling an access hole in the side wall for a hose to the tap

Anyway, being very, very new to this, I thought I'd ask for opinions, thoughts, etc from the sages on here. I searched and read through the threads on fridge/freezer use, and found nothing to turn me off this approach. Really, apart from the lifting logistics, are there any downsides to using a chest freezer I should know about before I pick one up?

Thanks,
Darren

 

[wereprawn]

Hi Tk1 . A turkey baster would work well for taking samples.

 

[mb-squared]

I have 4 chest freezers (1 keezer, 3 fermenters). I got all of them off ebay for less than $50 each. I'm lifting just slightly over 50 litres in and out of mine, which would be impossible if it weren't for this: http://www.krabach.info/kayak_hoist/hoist.html

cost about $25 at bunnings to get all the bits

cheers,

 

[Phoney]

The other benefits of chest freezers:
They're more energy efficient than stand up freezers, as every time you open the door, you don't let all of that cold air out / warm air in.
They take up less space, as you don't have to provide 1 meter clearance to swing the door out.

I dont find lifting the fermenter in and out any more difficult than lifting kegs in and out of my kegerator.

 

[acarey]

I sit my fermenter on the compressor hump and can lean over to stick the hydrometer test tubey thing under the tap. I'm I'm careful I wont even turn any of my beer taps on with my stomach (I ferment and serve out of my chesty, though not at the same time obviously)

 

[professional_drunk]

I used to ferment in my chest freezer.

Pros
- set the temp and it gets there real fast
- don't lose much cold when you open the lid
- there's a chinese shop near me that sells tall skinny 30Lt fermenters. I think 3 of them could fit in my hisense 205L.

Cons
- lifting 20+ litres of liquid sucks
- taking samples sucks
- inside walls are not as durable as a fridge. (I've damaged mine from a fermenter)
- need to lift and move cold crashed fermenter before filling keg
- unless you get those chinese fermenters, lots of wasted internal space

Nowadays I use an all fridge

Pros
- can get to -5c. Haven't tested it but I think it can go lower.
- can rack from fermenter on top shelf to keg without moving fermenter.
- lifting is so much easier
- can access samples from tap really easy
- uses less floor space

Cons
- takes ages to cold crash
- lose more heat when opening door

I probably wouldn't go back to fermenting in the freezer especially because I like to take regular samples to check the gravity.

 

[sp0rk]

Hi Tk1 . A turkey baster would work well for taking samples.

It would, but it's introducing a potential infection source
I'd just wait 2 weeks and lift the whole bugger out to test
Admittedly, I like to lift heavy things in my spare time, so lifting full fermenters out of a chesty doesn't bother me, ymmv

Also, I now use a standup all freezer for fermenting in
Can cold crash in a couple of hours, easy access for hydro samples, easy to clean in the event of a leak
and I can fit 6-8 fermenters if I'm using jerrys for fermenting in

 

[gaijin]

I just took a SG reading of an oatmeal stout that has been fermenting for the last 3 weeks in my chest freezer. I have 2x30L fermenters, so space is at a premium. I took the sample in a jar lid which is thin enough to slide under the tap at the base of the freezer, but large enough to collect enough for my refractometer with leftover for me (wow, so much roasted coffee flavour).

I hate waste, so the refractometer has been a good investment.

 

[woodwormm]

I just took a SG reading of an oatmeal stout that has been fermenting for the last 3 weeks in my chest freezer. I have 2x30L fermenters, so space is at a premium. I took the sample in a jar lid which is thin enough to slide under the tap at the base of the freezer, but large enough to collect enough for my refractometer with leftover for me (wow, so much roasted coffee flavour).

I hate waste, so the refractometer has been a good investment.

veering OT ... what conversion do you use for refrac reading when alcohol present ? i ant to use my refrac to do same...

slightly back on topic, temp controlled ferment (and decent yeast) will be an amazing leap in your craft. Hands down best thing i did for my brewing (before going AG )

 

[daveHQ]

I ferment in a small chest freezer

Down side is getting the fermenter in and out, either my wife or a mate helps me lift it so it's not too much of a issue

The positive is the temp control is great, heating and cooling a small area is no problem

 

[TK1]

Hi all,

Thanks for the initial replies.

From the comments, I'm keen to go with the chest freezer. Cheaper, and I can make a small stand to lift the fermenter up so I can take samples.

MB Squared - exactly what I had in mind, maybe a rail to slide the fermenter onto a shelf beside it.. I think the setup wil fit nicely in the shed, and I nly need capacity for one ferment at a time (I say that now, but need to spread my time over other hobbies, and a brew or two a month will do me).

Once it's set up I'll post pics. Very excited abut getting proper temp control and space to do it. Hoping to have a filtered water tap beside it and a small cooker for water/hop boiling

Thanks,
Darren

 

[shaunous]

veering OT ... what conversion do you use for refrac reading when alcohol present ? i ant to use my refrac to do same...

Me 2, never realised it was possible.

with cheap shitty refrac's anyway.

 

[Camo6]

I love my upright freezer for all the above mentioned reasons. I'd need a decent sized chesty to keep up with demand I reckon.

 

[Rambo]

There is a calculator for conversions in brewmate. That's what I use.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

veering OT ... what conversion do you use for refrac reading when alcohol present ? i ant to use my refrac to do same...

slightly back on topic, temp controlled ferment (and decent yeast) will be an amazing leap in your craft. Hands down best thing i did for my brewing (before going AG )

Me 2, never realised it was possible.

with cheap shitty refrac's anyway.

View attachment Refractometer Alcohol corrections.pdf

View attachment Refractometer_Chart___During_Fermentation___Brix_to_SG___Revision_12_09_07.pdf

 

[spog]

I just took a SG reading of an oatmeal stout that has been fermenting for the last 3 weeks in my chest freezer. I have 2x30L fermenters, so space is at a premium. I took the sample in a jar lid which is thin enough to slide under the tap at the base of the freezer, but large enough to collect enough for my refractometer with leftover for me (wow, so much roasted coffee flavour).

I hate waste, so the refractometer has been a good investment.

With the refractometer sample why not pull the airlock out and insert a long drinking straw into the brew put your finger over the end to capture a small sample then replace the airlock.
Cheers....spog..

 

[gaijin]

veering OT ... what conversion do you use for refrac reading when alcohol present ? i ant to use my refrac to do same...

slightly back on topic, temp controlled ferment (and decent yeast) will be an amazing leap in your craft. Hands down best thing i did for my brewing (before going AG )

Yeah, sorry about going a little OT, I'm a bit of a forum noob.

...and to continue OT, I made up a spreadsheet which calculates FG using a refractometer. I will try and post it up another time in case anyone wants it (when I work out how to post spreadsheets), but here is the formula (pasted out of excel) in the meantime...

FG based on Original and Current Brix
SG = 1.001843 - 0.002318474*OB - 0.000007775*OB*OB - 0.000000034*OB*OB*OB + 0.00574*FB + 0.00003344*FB*FB + 0.000000086*FB*FB*FB
SG= 1.013267328
OBrix 13.3
FBrix 7.3

This is an example reading from a stout that I'm making. As you can see, the SG is coming out pretty close to what I would expect would be the final gravity.

I work in SG, so to convert your OG to Brix to enable you to plug it into the formula, use this...

SG to Brix Calculator
SG = 1.054
Brix = (((182.4601 * SG -775.6821) * SG +1262.7794) * SG -669.5622)
Brix = 13.33315985

 

[gaijin]

With the refractometer sample why not pull the airlock out and insert a long drinking straw into the brew put your finger over the end to capture a small sample then replace the airlock.
Cheers....spog..

Good idea, but I'm pretty anal with avoiding putting things into an active fermenter if there is an alternative way. I've been brewing for 4 years and no infected batches yet...

When my back gives way from doing it my way, you can say I told you so.

 

[Aces High]

I reckon fridges are much better for fermenting. I have a chesty for kegs and taps and 3 fridges for fermenting. All 3 fridges were given to me for nix.

Trying to lift a fermenter full of liquid with a block and tackle sounds way too difficult, the fridge is so much easier to get the fermenters in and out of. I ferment 45L at a time in a 70L fermenter and have a trolley that I can roll up to the fridge and slide the fermenter in and out with ease. The most I ever lift is about a foot at a time when I lift it onto the bench to fill the kegs and Im standing directly over the fermenter so its easy

Don't worry about losing all your cold when you open the door as you really only need to open the door a few times during the whole fermentation. The beer has a lot of thermal mass, so it wont change temp if you have the door open for 5 minutes. I have a stubby cooler taped to the side of the fermenter with the stc probe slipped in between, that way its reading the beer temp not ambient.

A fridge uses bugger all power when your fermenting at 13 degrees and even less at 18 degrees so don't even consider this in your factoring. If you're worried about this go to bunnings and buy a $25 in line power meter it will tell you exactly how much its using

My fridges will cold crash down to 2.5 degrees in less than 2 days in a shed in 40 degree summer in perth.