Show Us Your Fermentation Fridge

[therook]

Hehe, which part of it!

Pete

the upside down fermenters.

Rook

 

[BrotherNutz]

the upside down fermenters.

Rook

Ahh, ok. I spun some nylon rod and made caps for the ends of the fermenters. The ones you see in the pics there were the prototypes. Into the caps there is a stainless tap with stainless barb, a stainless tube that runs to the 'top' of the fermenter, and a stainless barb to release CO2. OK, so the tube is connected internally in the nylon cap to the CO2 barb, liquid does not come out here, save for the krausen blow-off. Internally in the nylon cap there is also a port that leads to the valve. Trub, yeast etc can be dumped out here during ferment.

The idea is nice enough, but not as practical as it seems. The shoulders of the carboys are too flat and gunk does not fall to the bottom as I would like.

When running the beer out into a keg, it does get some yeast into it. Not an issue I reckon, but I would prefer it didn't. A connect is plugged into a CO2 purged keg, and gravity runs it straight from the fermenter, through a line, into the keg.

It is a pretty neat 'no-rack' system, but is not perfect. I may just end up going back to using the carboys in the vertical position and using CO2 to rack the beer off.

The cupboard I bought from a kitchen shop, lagged it with foam, installed a light bulb in each side and a cooling coil in each side. Cooling water is provided by two aquarium pumps, each independently controlled by the PICAXE processor. The cooling water is chilled by a fridge motor/condenser system I ripped from an old fridge. Water is held between 1 and 3 degC. I can be lagering in one side at ~2degC, and fermenting an Ale in the other at 20degC.

 

[Steve]

BrotherNutz - introduce yourself at the meeting on thursday if you are going - I wanna see this bad boy in action! Im the pommie skinhead - prolly wearing a Man Utd shirt.
Cheers
Steve

 

[warrenlw63]

Ah you're a Manc Steve... That explains the Boddies avatar. :lol:

Warren -

 

[Steve]

Ah you're a Manc Steve... That explains the Boddies avatar. :lol:

Warren -

near as damn it Warren, me dad and grandad were. :beer: I started having Boddies on me porridge when I was two - its kinda close to me heart! Anyways back to fridges.
Cheers
Steve

 

[gnewell]

My custom made fermenter fridge controlled by a PICAXE and DS18B20 digital sensors.

Full page at

http://members.iinet.net.au/~u9013943/beer.htm

Pete

Love your custom fermenter fridge. You've inspired me. I like the fact you can control the temperature in each section of the fridge independently. Great idea.
Would love to know how you got the whole fridge / glycol chiller thing working.

Geoff,

 

[BrotherNutz]

Yep, shall do. Beats me what I look like! Although some would have plenty to say on that.....Just ask who Nutzy is. Get Dr Kurtz to point me out.

BrotherNutz - introduce yourself at the meeting on thursday if you are going - I wanna see this bad boy in action! Im the pommie skinhead - prolly wearing a Man Utd shirt.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Ross]

BrotherNutz - introduce yourself at the meeting on thursday if you are going - I wanna see this bad boy in action! Im the pommie skinhead - prolly wearing a Man Utd shirt.
Cheers
Steve

Off Topic - But what a game against Blackburn yesterday :super:

cheers Ross

 

[Steve]

Off Topic - But what a game against Blackburn yesterday :super:

cheers Ross

yeah it was a good result.

Nutzy why is there no krausen in the fermenter on the left and then krausen on the right at the very top with a few inches between that and the wort. Is that just loss from taking hydro readings. What size are those fermenters?
Cheers
Steve

 

[warrenlw63]

Off Topic - But what a game against Blackburn yesterday :super:

cheers Ross

:lol: We'll be hearing from KoNG soon.

Warren -

 

[KoNG]

Yawn....
yeh yeh, The "Scum" rises to the top again.

 

[BrotherNutz]

Love your custom fermenter fridge. You've inspired me. I like the fact you can control the temperature in each section of the fridge independently. Great idea.
Would love to know how you got the whole fridge / glycol chiller thing working.

Geoff,

The chiller.....Really, if one is to play with these things, you need to have a little technical knowledge of fridge systems. They are simple enough, but building one up needs a little know-how. Also some special gear is needed to pull the vacuum into the system, then gas it using an appropriate refridgerant.

 

[DarkFaerytale]

i can see a new thread

"the brothernutz method"

very cool system you have there, beats my fridge...i'm almost scared to post a pic now, perhaps later after i have a couple

-Phill

 

[BrotherNutz]

Nutzy why is there no krausen in the fermenter on the left and then krausen on the right at the very top with a few inches between that and the wort. Is that just loss from taking hydro readings. What size are those fermenters?
Cheers
Steve

Judging by the wet floor, I would say I had just brewed, ergo, just pitched.

The low levels were due to me not brewing enough wort, and also the stainless CO2 spike not reaching right to the top of the carboy. I use a 5" piece of silicon tube on top of each spike now. I can fill the fermenters right up.

Not sure what size they are, but they fill a keg and leave several liters behind.

 

[eric8]

very cool system you have there, beats my fridge...i'm almost scared to post a pic now, perhaps later after i have a couple


At least you have a fridge, mine sits on the floor in the bathroom .
One day. But damn some of these set ups are good, Doc how much do you have on the go at once???
Eric

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

[ Images removed ]
My custom made fermenter fridge controlled by a PICAXE and DS18B20 digital sensors.

Full page at

http://members.iinet.net.au/~u9013943/beer.htm

Pete

I feel very inadequate right now... :unsure:

 

[Doc]

Doc how much do you have on the go at once???
Eric

Usually at least three brews in fermenters at a time. Almost at capcity at the moment. The first photo is my Ale Fermentation Freezer. I also have a lager fridge. Only one in there ATM; a Baltic Porter.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Duff]

Cheers.

PS: I do have a lager fridge

 

[Steve]

This is a combined post for "show us your fermenting fridge" ...the white one
"Show us your kegging setup"....the grey one
and
"Whats in the glass".....Coopers traditional draught






Cheers
Steve

P.S. I was going to take a photo of my laundry for the "Show me your brewery" but its just a normal laundry, seen one seen them all.

 

[Josh]

Here's my fermenting fridge complete with APA in secondary. All the cans and stubbies are from the soccer esky.

And my kegs serving fridge with a newly emptied keg and Pilsner yeast starter cooling down in the main part. Wit yeast starter in the door.