Cooling without a fridge setup

[stattonb]

So im only new on here and have asked afew questions but i wanted to cool down my 2nd brew to 18 degrees but the lowest i can get it stable is 22 degrees,so i looked at a few topics on here and tried out some of the ideas posted here (water bath and wet towel with frozen bottles) but it wasnt working so i thought id share what i made for beginners like me and people that dont have a temp control setup.
So i made a diy air con that can cool down a room or attach to a cupboard using frozen water bottless, did abit of searching only and made one up for myself.
Basicly the fans suck in the air and hit the frozen bottles and shoot out cold air,the inside is layered with polyester i cut from afew cooler bags i got from vinnies!!!

 

[Major Arcana]

Mate that is some ingenius work right there very impressive! :icon_cheers:

 

[Black n Tan]

Love the ingenuity. May be try it as an evaporative cooler with a wet towel dangling in a water reservoir. Love to hear how well it cools.

 

[stattonb]

yea will have to look into that for sure,ive had it in my closet under the steps for around 2 hours and the temp is done to 15 degrees down from 25 so looking good so far

 

[MartinOC]

VERY, VERY impressive!

Any chance you could post-up a simple schematic?

 

[stattonb]

i basically just watched this video but did it on a larger scale if that helps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL3P2nBjfsU

 

[Spiesy]

Could have got a second-hand fridge for probably another $20

Just being cheeky...

 

[stattonb]

yea lol true couldnt find any in my area which sucks so i just used things i had around the house to make it apart from the cooler bags that cost me $3 at vinnies

 

[Mardoo]

Nice work mate. Nice work.

 

[Waratah67]

I'm intending to try the no-chill cube method that the AG brewers use. I often brew at night (after the kids are in bed) so I hate sitting around waiting for my wort to hit a good pitch temp.

Haven't tried it yet, but I bought a 15L food grade jerry can from Bunnings. I normally end up with about 6-8L of boiling concentrated wort. I intend to pour this in, then add cold tap water to 15L.

The next day I can put it into my fermenter, and adjust temp using hot or cold water till 18C and then pitch yeast.

 

[stattonb]

alot of good ideas i see your from the blue mountains (went there when i was a kids a froze my balls off) i would think keeping a brew cool wouldnt be a problem for ya there lol, will have to research "no-chill cube method"

 

[Spiesy]

I'm intending to try the no-chill cube method that the AG brewers use. I often brew at night (after the kids are in bed) so I hate sitting around waiting for my wort to hit a good pitch temp.

Haven't tried it yet, but I bought a 15L food grade jerry can from Bunnings. I normally end up with about 6-8L of boiling concentrated wort. I intend to pour this in, then add cold tap water to 15L.

The next day I can put it into my fermenter, and adjust temp using hot or cold water till 18C and then pitch yeast.

One of the main components of no-chill, is the near boiling wort killing all the potential nasties in the NC vessel.

How are you going to achieve that what sounds like warm wort?

 

[stattonb]

Love the ingenuity. May be try it as an evaporative cooler with a wet towel dangling in a water reservoir. Love to hear how well it cools.

gonna add water reservoir 2mrw its cooling very well but will added and experiment.

 

[Waratah67]

One of the main components of no-chill, is the near boiling wort killing all the potential nasties in the NC vessel.

How are you going to achieve that what sounds like warm wort?

Three ways. 1. Santise the cubes prior to use, and 2. Experiment with smaller cubes 5L-15L so I still have zero headspace. 3. I am not intending to use this as a storage solution, just cooling. So yeast will be pitched within 24 hours.

Edit: Thinking more about your question I may also top up with boiling water rather than cold water.

 

[stattonb]

picked this up just needs re gasing what do yas think

 

[sp0rk]

Three ways. 1. Santise the cubes prior to use, and 2. Experiment with smaller cubes 5L-15L so I still have zero headspace. 3. I am not intending to use this as a storage solution, just cooling. So yeast will be pitched within 24 hours.

Edit: Thinking more about your question I may also top up with boiling water rather than cold water.

It's been tried, it doesn't work (afaik)
Just nochill, it should be cool enough to pitch within 24 hours, it always has been for me