Insulating Properties Of A Bath Tub

[berto]

Hey guys,
The general concensus here was that copper in the brew was baaaaad.
But ive come up with another idea. You always see old cast iron tubs lying around. And i think you could probably fit 4 fermenters in one. Definately 3, maybe 4.

Was wondering how well it would insulate though. Would i lose a lot of energy, or gain energy really to the outside environment through the tub itself, or would my main problem be from the water in teh bath being exposed to the outside.

Just curious as to what people think. I reckon i might be on a winner idea here with what i have in mind though.

 

[tangent]

history suggests that the 1st Coopers brew was a stout in a bathtub
i'm still dubious about that one though.

 

[barls]

i use to use the good old laundry tub and it stayed cool enough for ales in summer, but that was with a change of bottles 2-3 times a day

 

[Stoodoo]

I'm not too sure about the bath tub, however I use a water filled plastic tub wrapped in 25 metres of plastic bubble wrap. Up till this point, I have only needed to add two 3lt ice blocks (frozen milk containers) each day, to maintain water temps of around 8-10c. Admittedley, my tub only holds the one fermentor, but until I get a fermenting fridge, it'll have to do.

Cheers <_<

 

[PistolPatch]

Cheers Berto! You'll definitley lose and gain a lot of energy from a bathtub. I reckon if you have that much space, get a free fridge as Ross has suggested from the back of one of the electricla shops as even if it doesn't work, it's still going to be a far better insulator.

Better still, get a freezer converted ($20 if you do it yourself). I can get 4 cubes and 2 kegs in mine, that's 140litres. Here's a pic of my converted Westinghouse FJ383 freezer. On a trolley too for easy moving - can't do that with the tub! :beerbang:

 

[pop_shots]

Cheers Berto! You'll definitley lose and gain a lot of energy from a bathtub. I reckon if you have that much space, get a free fridge as Ross has suggested from the back of one of the electricla shops as even if it doesn't work, it's still going to be a far better insulator.

Better still, get a freezer converted ($20 if you do it yourself). I can get 4 cubes and 2 kegs in mine, that's 140litres. Here's a pic of my converted Westinghouse FJ383 freezer. On a trolley too for easy moving - can't do that with the tub! :beerbang:

[post="105588"][/post]​

very nice fridge you got there bud. i plan to convert the refrigerator I have out in my shop to something like that. very impressive. id like to see some kind of thread with nothing but pics of nice looking custom fridges like that...that would be a nice thread to drink a beer and sift through.

 

[berto]

Ive got a converted upright freezer which will hold 6 cubes.
But i want one for lagering now. But the problem is, i cant find anywhere that will give me a bloody fridge. I tried doing a bit of a ring around yesterday. All just said they take em to the tip or something.

 

[Jazzafish]

Berto, have you tried the tip then? :lol:

 

[Simon W]

Yeah, most tips these days have a guy picking all the good stuff out of the dump and selling it in a seperate yard, full of great stuff.
I miss the old days tho, when you went down the dump with a trailer load of junk and came home with a boot load of freebies. LOL

 

[berto]

Problem with Londonderry tip, is everything in the metal sectin is unloaded quite roughly, and for want of a better word, it is F*^$&d. Also, the guys in there pay a special fee to get the rights to get other peoples crap. Have been quite rude about it before, so i now make sure they see me destroy anything in my load which looks even half valuable.

Edit: Just perused the thread again, and PP, that freezer is exactly the same as mine. Found it sitting at the top of a driveway in perfect condition. I was hoping i wasnt picking up somebodies delivery when i grabbed it. Nice and light too compared to most other old fridge equipment you can scavenge.

 

[PistolPatch]

Cheers Berto! Just about to write a new thread about that freezer. As you say, light! Had no access to a spray gun so you're also looking at about 14 cans of spray paint there! lol! Cheers

 

[Darren]

Bath tub with a lid on it would work quite well Berto. You could put your chiller coils in the water. If it were me I would go out and buy a brand new fridge. They are light, very well insulated and cost bugger all to run. I think it is a false economy to get an old clunker of a fridge and restore it then think you are saving money. The energy costs will mount and in about two years your new fridge would have paid for itself. Just my 0.002c.

cheers
Darren

 

[berto]

Yeah. Almost as soon as i had written about the tub i realised it wasnt what was needed/wanted. It wouldnt have required a fridge at all though. I was looking at using coils purely for accurate temperature, within the wort, and allowing me to have a separate temperature dialled in for each brew.