How Critical Is Temperature Stability?

[siiren]

Deebee, i have been using the chiller in the peak of summer.
the lowest I can get the chiller to go is 18C after fresh ice has been added. it levels off at 20C for most of the day but when the temp creeps over 20C (i have an alarm on my thermometer) I change the ice.
Pretty crude method I know, but it was a quick fix for me as I will be moving back to Adelaide in june and didnt want to buy another fridge!
***once these bloody waters in Cairns subside, I may be able to get out of here!! I'm stuck in Port Douglas!!!

 

[ozdevil]

Hoops

Sorry i apoligise it does sublimanate to co2

cheers
ozdevil

 

[deebee]

Siiren, Sounds like your set up doesn't have the fan operated by the thermostat. What is the room temperature when your chiller gets to 18C? Does it achieve 18C in a 30C room? If so, that's pretty good. Would have no problem with lagers in winter.

The chiller is pretty much set and forget also BBB, just change the bottles every few days. The thermostat keeps the temps within a degree or so of your target. I have thought about outside and there is just nowhere out of the weather.

 

[siiren]

room temp up here is 32C Deebee, but the chiller usually settles out at 20C. I still have the fan which circulates the cool air.

 

[PostModern]

PM, your friends who built one, are they happy with it? Does it give good stable temps? Any major hassles?

All responses appreciated.

One of them lurks here. I'll prod him and see if he can give some more info.

 

[ForkBoy]

hehe, oh yeah, that would be me.

Made one of these units a few months ago now, and it's worked a treat to date. Brewed about 4 ales and 1 lager in it so far, and has been in constant use.

Ales are no problems at all in summer and I've not had a fruity ale since switching. Lager in summer was possible (~26C+ inside my cupboard), but daily ice changes were required. Winter would be no problems. My circuit keeps the temp +/- 1C at all times.

The foam I used was 50mm thick, and was quite rigid and strong. I ended up covering with 2mm MDF, however, as it does not stand up well to cat claws =0. If you're in Sydney, check out www.adfoam.com.au (single sheet, 2400x1200, medium density)

It's major benefits, as others have said, are that it's small (compared to a fridge), light, low cost to run, works, and was a fun project.

Downsides are the initial cost ($120ish), the limited range (10C in summer), and the ice changes (daily during first 3-4 days primary, and then once every 2-3 days for secondary).

Having a seperate fermentation box is great, as you can use your beer fridge for lagering/serving instead of dedicating it to 20C fermentation.

If you do plan on making one, I would recommend a couple of things;
- get the shop to cut it to size. I found it difficult to cut a true edge, and ended up using a lot of liquid nails to fill the gaps.
- waterproof the ice chamber, or place the ice packs in a water-proof tray, as some condensation will form.
- upgrade the box to use weather strip on the doors/lid, as this reduces energy loss significantly.

Fermentation temperature control has made the single biggest improvement in my brews to date, and I would not go back. SOFC does the trick for me.

Matt

 

[deebee]

onya matt

thanks for the tips

 

[RegBadgery]

I've been using a bung fridge for quite a while (changing blocks of ice each day).

It works fine though I'll soon be getting a new compressor and a temp. controller. I really like the idea of being able to set the temperature and just let it go. I imagine I might have to do a bit of adjusting during the period of vigorous fermentation but overall it will be easier to maintain a constant fermentation temperature.

I'm also looking at setting up a serving fridge - moving from bottles to kegs - I reckon it will be pretty exciting to have a brew on tap.

cheers
reg