Fermentation Vessel/fridge Fit

[GalBrew]

Hi all, quick question. I am in the market for a new fermentation fridge/freezer and was wondering how many vessels can people fit in their particular fridge/freezer? I would like to be as efficient as possible and do as many ferments as once, so how many vessels and what kind of vessel can you workably fit in a fridge and what sort at once? Obviously you would not be doing ales and lagers simultaneously, but do people do multiple ferments?
Cheers,
Adam.

 

[Yob]

depends on the fridge.. If I didnt care about a mess, and with some reinforcing I could fit 4 cubes in there... but 2 is enough come bottling day

 

[Wolfy]

I can fit 2 full sized and 2 half sized fermentors in my old fridge, however as with all fridges it can only be set to one temp, so you can't really do both ales and lagers at the same time.

 

[glenwal]

Doing ales and lagers at the same time shouldn't be to hard. Just need to separate the fridge in two (top with the cooling element, bottom without) and have a fan (controlled by an stc) to move air into the bottom compartment. This is basically how some fridge freezers work.

As for fermenters though, I use the 20l jerry cans from Bunnings. They are allot narrower than a standard round fermenter or cube. I can squeeze 3 across my fridge, so if I built a shelf I could fit 6 all up. Normally only have 2 going at a time though.

 

[Brewman_]

Agree the jerries make a better fit in most fridges, not surprising round pegs never fit well in square holes. Makes a big difference to the brewery when doing lagers that tie up fridges for longer periods.

 

[seamad]

Ive got an older fridge/ freezer that will tale two and also a bigw bar freezer that fits bunnings round20 l or the newer 25 l cube. I prefer the bar freezer because the insulation is much better than a fridge, the fermenter nearly fills it so you are cooling a smaller volume, much smaller overall and can cc much better than a fridge. I would think that there would be considerable power savings because of the above and with a fridge/ freezer the freezer part is pretty useless ( it defrosts when making ales)
Paid $120 including home delivery
Cheers
Sean

 

[MetalRooster]

...also a bigw bar freezer...

Got any details on the make/model?

 

[argon]

I can fit 8 jerries into my upright freezer fermentation fridge. Not that I've ever done it though.

 

[seamad]

Chris, it is an evita 85 l.
Got it @2 yr ago at bigw online. Was on special at the time for $120 with free postage . iirc dont think it was available in store,only online , wish i bought two.
cheers
Sean

 

[GalBrew]

While I am at it what do people like the best? Fridge or freezer? I was listneing to an old brew strong on the way to work and Jamil mentioned that freezers get quite humid on the inside while running on a temp controller compared to a fridge. Any observations or opinions on this?

 

[sean_0]

While I am at it what do people like the best? Fridge or freezer? I was listneing to an old brew strong on the way to work and Jamil mentioned that freezers get quite humid on the inside while running on a temp controller compared to a fridge. Any observations or opinions on this?

Well it's true, but I'm not sure how much of a problem it is. My keezer (which I also use for cold conditioning) gets quite damp inside, whereas my fermenting fridge stays quite dry. However the inevitable spills etc means that both get cleaned fairly regularly with a spray bottle of starsan and a damp cloth. It doesn't really cause me any issues.

 

[mikec]

Two small fridges on top of each other. Why? So you can have two brews going at difference temperatures. CC one before the other, etc etc.

I've got an old 140L freezer, and one of these 130L fridges (fridge only so better use of space):

Westinghouse 130l Fridge

 

[mikec]

While I am at it what do people like the best? Fridge or freezer? I was listneing to an old brew strong on the way to work and Jamil mentioned that freezers get quite humid on the inside while running on a temp controller compared to a fridge. Any observations or opinions on this?

My freezer does get damp inside, especially as it's not frost free. The benefit is it gets colder much faster, and can go lower using less power.

 

[tlbeer]

I ferment in an old Kegerator (series1 I think) with domed door and have just bought 2 x 20L willow cubes to ferment 2 lagers at once instead of one with a 30L round drum fermenter, had to cut the tabs off the ends of the installed plastic taps to get the door to shut properly but other then that minor adjustment they fit great, just have to wait and see how the lagers turn out!!

 

[seamad]

My freezer does get wet but freezes when cc which it does much quicker than the fridge. Only small so easy to clean anyway.

 

[breakbeer]

I just brewed my first ever Pilsner as I have only had a temp controller for a few months. Can only fit one fermenter in my fermenting fridge, but figured out that I could fit the fermenter & 1 keg in my Kegerator. So I used the fridge at 10c for three weeks & the the Kegerator for CC'ing.

My folks have an upright freezer that they don't use so I'm gonna aquire that & set it up like the one in the top pic & possibly use Jerry's to squeeze in 4 (or even 6) at a time. Experiment a bit with the same recipe but small tweaks for each batch

 

[mattfos01]

Two small fridges on top of each other. Why? So you can have two brews going at difference temperatures. CC one before the other, etc etc.

I've got an old 140L freezer, and one of these 130L fridges (fridge only so better use of space):

Westinghouse 130l Fridge

Hi mate, have got hold of one of these 130 litre jobbies as a fermentation fridge. Still inner city so space is at a premium...Did you remove the plastic door shelving to fit a FV. If so how did you go about it?

 

[Bribie G]

From what I can make out from the picture, the door shelves look like the standard type and should be removable for cleaning. Check and see if they are in grooves then just smartly thump one upwards on LHS then RHS and it should pop out. They are often quite reluctant to come out so apply a good whack with heel of hand etc - they look to be along the same lines as my Mitsubishi fridge.

 

[mattfos01]

From what I can make out from the picture, the door shelves look like the standard type and should be removable for cleaning. Check and see if they are in grooves then just smartly thump one upwards on LHS then RHS and it should pop out. They are often quite reluctant to come out so apply a good whack with heel of hand etc - they look to be along the same lines as my Mitsubishi fridge.

View attachment 59573

Thanks mate, after a six month hiatus I should be back brewing again in Jan, with temp control! Heading to Jaycar tomorrow to get bits and pieces to wire up a couple of stc-1000's. Will make a start then touch base with a Electrician mate to check my work. Getting my fridge on Friday. Been a long layover..

 

[QldKev]

My older fermenting fridge is a Kelvinator 320L all fridge, fits 1 fermenter top shelf and 1 bottom shelf. It will also allow 2 x 20L Jerry cans per shelf.

And the newer one (our ex house fridge) is a Westinghouse Freestyle 420L all fridge, fits 2 x 30L square Bunnings fermenters or 3 x 20L jerry cans on the lower shelf.

Allowing 2 fermenters is plenty for you, and if buying new I would consider looking at 2 x bar fridges. As mentioned above great if you want to do a lager and an ale at the same time, also if you only have 1 fermenter on the go you only run one fridge.

Only issue when running 2 x bar fridges compared to 1 larger fridge the bar fridges use more power. Use random examples from Westinghouse
130L bar fridge 2 x 282kw/yr = 564kw/hr (about $141 year)
370L fridge 353 kw/yr (about $88 year)


QldKev