First time brew fridge

[shuesmek]

It was free [emoji38][emoji38]
I only got the second fridge as the first fridge was a dud and after some reading I think I want to move on to cold crashing my brews

 

[jackgym]

Hey guys here are some photos of the set up I am using, the fridge has been on for 3 full days now and it's managed to get down to 21.5 and stabilise on that, I'm currently brewing a coopers kit. "Real ale" with coppers enhance NO.2

View attachment 112399View attachment 112400View attachment 112401

It would be better if you had the probe taped to the fermenter under a piece of stubby cooler material.
That way you're controlling the temp. of the wort, not the ambient temp. of the fridge.

 

[wheat and hops]

I blue-tac the probe to the side of the fermenter, seems to work quite well.

 

[wheat and hops]

I got my fridge about the same time in my journey

Once your beer is done, if you drop it to 3 degrees or so for 5 days allot of the yeast will drop out.and your beers will get allot clearer .and you will waste less when bottling .its a really easy way to improve your beer

I'm bottling, would cold crashing provide any benefit to those of us that bottle ?

 

[brewgasm]

I'm bottling, would cold crashing provide any benefit to those of us that bottle ?

Absolutely, will help clarify the beer some and reduce sediment in the bottle.

 

[peterlonz]

Selecting suitable low cost fridges is not dead simple as you might suppose.
Things that need careful checking:
* Internal size need to be capable of holding a Cornelius keg, so that you have a choice: keg, fermentor or maybe both. My fridge accepts 3 kegs with a squeeze. I control fermentation by alternative means.
* Construction: as a general rule older units will have the radiator "coil" at the rear of the unit. Newer designs almost always use radiator cooling fitted closely inside the side walls. In this latter case you will very likely penetrate & destroy the coil if you attempt to drill to fit a beer tap. So in this case use a dispensing tap that you can coil up & leave inside the fridge. To dispense open the door. This is not ideal & an alternative is to fit the tap in the door which has the disadvantage that it gets in the damned way!
* Older fridges tend to have deteriorated seals which can typically cost about $80 to replace. So check the seals for splits & areas where continuous contact does not exist.
* Corrosion: from personal experience I can say that typically older units will likely show corrosion pitting on most of the exterior. Rarely does this present a problem except in appearance & if desired that is fixable with a rub down & repaint. In my case also I discovered more pronounced corrosion at the top door hinge. This was so bad that a substantial repair was necessary & I considered scrapping the unit.

 

[Kev R]

In this latter case you will very likely penetrate & destroy the coil if you attempt to drill to fit a beer tap.

Door is safe to drill holes.
If you need to go through the side, remove a piece of the inside plastic shell (make sure the blade used does not penetrate more than 1 to 2mm ), remove the insulation with a chop stick exposing the coils and drill from the inside.

 

[mongey]

I'm bottling, would cold crashing provide any benefit to those of us that bottle ?

yeah for sure. I bottle

 

[brewgasm]

Selecting suitable low cost fridges is not dead simple as you might suppose.
Things that need careful checking:
* Internal size need to be capable of holding a Cornelius keg, so that you have a choice: keg, fermentor or maybe both. My fridge accepts 3 kegs with a squeeze. I control fermentation by alternative means.
* Construction: as a general rule older units will have the radiator "coil" at the rear of the unit. Newer designs almost always use radiator cooling fitted closely inside the side walls. In this latter case you will very likely penetrate & destroy the coil if you attempt to drill to fit a beer tap. So in this case use a dispensing tap that you can coil up & leave inside the fridge. To dispense open the door. This is not ideal & an alternative is to fit the tap in the door which has the disadvantage that it gets in the damned way!
* Older fridges tend to have deteriorated seals which can typically cost about $80 to replace. So check the seals for splits & areas where continuous contact does not exist.
* Corrosion: from personal experience I can say that typically older units will likely show corrosion pitting on most of the exterior. Rarely does this present a problem except in appearance & if desired that is fixable with a rub down & repaint. In my case also I discovered more pronounced corrosion at the top door hinge. This was so bad that a substantial repair was necessary & I considered scrapping the unit.

Generally most people put the taps on the door so the coil a virtually a non issue. If you are unsure where to drill just go through the door. I got both my brew fridge and keg fridge for free. I was lucky that they both were perfect size. That said I built my keg fridge set up to suit the fridge. Fits 2 19l kegs side by side, three taps on the door because depending on the keg configuration I can fit 5 kegs in there. My 10l kegs have a tall collar so they stack with disconnects on.

Point is it can be very simple to set up a fridge, I worked with what I had and it works great for me and I will likely use it until the fridge packs it in or something better comes along

I use the freezer part of the fridge so it's a non issue not being a dedicated unit.

 

[wynnum1]

I'm bottling, would cold crashing provide any benefit to those of us that bottle ?

If you bottle cold can change the priming sugar quantity that is needed the other problem is drinking the beer before it hits the bottle if its a hot day and left with empty clean bottles.

 

[brewgasm]

If you bottle cold can change the priming sugar quantity that is needed the other problem is drinking the beer before it hits the bottle if its a hot day and left with empty clean bottles.

I don't think that it will change the priming sugar quantity. You will have to let the bottles warm up again so that secondary fermentation can happen

 

[wheat and hops]

thank you. New brew fridge here, second brew in it and readings have stabilised so I'll have a go at cold crashing and see how it goes before I bottle.

I have discovered an issue here. I need to wait for the cold crash to finish before I can add in another brew.

Sounds like I need a second fridge already.