Fridge or chest freezer?

[azzwa]

Hi all just wondering people's thought on wat is better a chest freezer or a normall fridge to ferment in ? I currently use a fridge but have the option to get a chest freezer of mate cheap. Wat would be the better choice on power usage ? Any advice would be good for this noob

 

[mikec]

Chesty would be a bitch to lift fermenters in and out of.

 

[bignath]

IMHO, id definitely go the fridge for fermenting in.

Too hard to lift it in and out of a chesty. Well my chesty atleast - 500lt + *******.

A small freezer, maybe 130lt would be a different story, but i'd still prefer (and actually do use) a fridge for fermenting, and a chesty for dispensing.

 

[scon]

To answer your question on power usage, the chesty will win easily on that.

But they're harder to get in and out of, so it's a tradeoff between those two characteristics.

 

[Yob]

it's free... get it. Keep and then keep an eye out for cheap kegs over the few months... dont let it get away from you.

At the same time keep an eye on Gumtree etc for a free/cheap fridge and then you are set..

:beerbang:

 

[azzwa]

Thanks for the replies the only reason I was thinking of the chesty was for when I cold crash thought it might get down to temp quicker and hold better rather than the motor cutting in and out all the time.

 

[slash22000]

I don't have any problems lifting batches out of my chest freezer, but if you have back problems or something then it could definitely be an issue.

If anything my chest freezer insulates too well. I'm waiting for a batch I cold crashed a few days ago to rise to 20ºC for dry hopping and it's taken 2 days to rise from -0.5ºC to about 16ºC as of this morning. :huh:

 

[Phoney]

Why is lifting fermenters in and out of chest freezers any more difficult than lifting kegs in and out of chest freezers?

(assuming you don't have a 60L fermenter)

 

[mikec]

Why is lifting fermenters in and out of chest freezers any more difficult than lifting kegs in and out of chest freezers?

(assuming you don't have a 60L fermenter)

The handles are harder to hold on to.
You're trying to lift it without disturbing sediment. So straight up vertical - not good for the old back.
With a keg you can tilt it and get leverage off the fridge.

 

[Phoney]

Oh OK, I've never noticed. I lift both in and out the same way. *shrugs*

 

[scon]

I don't have any problems lifting batches out of my chest freezer, but if you have back problems or something then it could definitely be an issue.

If anything my chest freezer insulates too well. I'm waiting for a batch I cold crashed a few days ago to rise to 20ºC for dry hopping and it's taken 2 days to rise from -0.5ºC to about 16ºC as of this morning. :huh:

If you don't have an STC-1000 or similar you should consider it. They're under $30 and not only can you connect your fridge to them, but you can have a heat belt inside your fridge for heating.

Edit: so are you cold crashing then dry hopping the same batch? Isn't that a little backwards to normal?

 

[slash22000]

If you don't have an STC-1000 or similar you should consider it. They're under $30 and not only can you connect your fridge to them, but you can have a heat belt inside your fridge for heating.

Edit: so are you cold crashing then dry hopping the same batch? Isn't that a little backwards to normal?

It's hooked up with a STC-1000, I just don't have the heating part attached to anything. I live in Darwin so it's not like I need to keep the beer warm (well outside of this one specific instance).

I cold crash and fine my beer before I dry hop, yes. Dry hopping when your beer is full of crap defeats the purpose. The hop goodness will attach itself to all your yeast, particulate etc and drop out of suspension along with it. I cold crash / fine for 2 - 3 days, let it rise to room temperature, dry hop, then cold crash again to drop the hops out.

 

[pommiebloke]

Get an upright frost-free freezer hooked up to a STC-1000 if you can. Freezer is more economical to run, has better insulation and if you put some plywood shelves in there it makes a kick-arse fermenting space. And no doing your back in lifting in and out.

I got my (huge) upright freezer on eBay, they come up fairly frequently. Just make sure it is FROST-FREE otherwise you can't take out the existing shelves as the coolant runs through them.

 

[thylacine]

Hi all just wondering people's thought on wat is better a chest freezer or a normall fridge to ferment in ? I currently use a fridge but have the option to get a chest freezer of mate cheap. Wat would be the better choice on power usage ? Any advice would be good for this noob

Can depend on the on-going quantity of beer required. eg as the sole beer drinker in the house (kids grown and gone...), I find that my 150 litre small chest keeps me well supplied. As I use ex-fresh wort kit containers as fermenters, I can fit four into my freezer. Once a month I have a brew week-end where I produce four different recipes. ie. four lagers or four ales. The "Fridgemate" monitors the temperature. I generally get 19 'longnecks' per fermenter.

I also have a 423L all fridge (no freezer section) and a 'bar' fridge. Currently, I have nineteen different recipes in the fridges to choose from. Variety of styles appeals to me...

Cheers

 

[slash22000]

Update on my chest freezer: In 10 hours, it's risen from 16.1ºC this morning to 17.7ºC now. Insulation.

 

[bignath]

Dry hopping when your beer is full of crap defeats the purpose. The hop goodness will attach itself to all your yeast, particulate etc and drop out of suspension along with it.

Who told you that?

Plenty of people dry hop their beers toward the end of fermentation before they cold condition their beer, with excellent results.

At the end of fermentation, I dry hop my fermenters, close the fridge door, and drop temp on stc to condition it. Works great.

 

[bum]

Do you leave the lid open?

 

[slash22000]

Plenty of people dry hop their beers toward the end of fermentation before they cold condition their beer, with excellent results.

Well I shouldn't say that it doesn't work, but every piece of advice I've seen from major breweries etc always say to get as much crap out of the beer as possible before you dry hop.

 

[bignath]

Do you leave the lid open?

Yep.

I also pick my nose, scratch my arse, and then cough and sneeze into my fermenter too.

 

[treefiddy]

Well I shouldn't say that it doesn't work, but every piece of advice I've seen from major breweries etc always say to get as much crap out of the beer as possible before you dry hop.

That might be more to do with economy of scale.
Those who bottle cannot really get clear beer before they dry hop.

On homebrew scales we're also talking a few grams of hops. Scale those few grams up to commercial quantities and then it becomes an issue.

Edit: To the OP: If the chesty is cheap and you're young go for it. There's no harm in lifting 20 kg's out of a freezer as long as you take care.