Temp Controlled Brewing

[ibast]

OK I've done a bit of a search but it's not really spelled out for me.

What is available for temp control of a fridge for brewing?

Is there anything on the market that is in a box, read to go? I don't mind doing a bit of wiring but I didn't really want to go to the hassle of fabricating up a box and buying lots of bit's and pieces.

Does the freezer still work if you start running the fridge at a higher temp?

 

[Wrenny]

The Mashmaster fridge mate.

See either mashmaster or craftbrewer (click on the things above) and search for frdige mate

 

[0M39A]

I second fridgemate.

you will have to do a little bit of wiring and get a box to mount it in (jaycar UB2 iirc is what i got, and it fits it fine. any jiffy box should do).

as for the freezer, depends on your fridge really. my fermenting fridge i can choose how much air to divert to the freezer and the fridge. i have mine set all the way to fridge and the freezer still gets pretty damn cold.

 

[Supra-Jim]

I have just purchased a fridge mate from Mashmaster. Very nice little unit, very easy to wire up (just one quick trip to DickSmiths for a few small items). Highly recommended.

I also grabbed the S/S submersible temp probe from Mashmaster, as during the colder months i will use the fridgemate in heat mode to run a brew belt to maintain temp. The fermenter will still sit in the fridge and the fridge will give it a little insulation. Easy temp controlled brewing for warm and cold months.

 

[bonj]

+1 for the fridgemate. I have 2 of them. One for the fermenting fridge, and another for the chest-freezer based keg fridge. Both work a treat.

 

[schooey]

+1 for the fridgemate... I have 3 on fermenting fridges of various sizes, one on my upright keg fridge and just bought number 5 for my new keg freezer. :blink:

Due to the a severe increase in wife-static lately, I may very well have one s/h keg fridge complete with two taps, lines, disconnects, fridgemate and SS drip tray, pick up from Newcastle for sale very soon... <_<

 

[tim_mortensen]

Grain and Grape have Fridge Thermostats that require no wiring. Just plug your fridge into it, put the probe inside the fridge and you are away.

You still need to calibrate it, so I just stick a thermometer in a glass of water in the fridge to monitor the temperature.

May not be as flash as a mashmaster, and a bit more expensive, but if you want an out of the box solution with no fiddling it is the way to go. Keeps the temperature very stable.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[white.grant]

Another vote for the fridgemateII from mashmaster. I only wired mine up on the weekend - very easy with the advice from http://helms-deep.cable.nu/~rwh/blog/?p=29 .

grant

 

[captaincleanoff]

just wired mine up with help from that same link, works great!

 

[ibast]

OK you've convinced me with the Fridgemate II, but any advance on what happens with the freezer? I don't think I could face the missus and tell her I'm going to take a freezer out of action as well as two of three fridges for beer.

 

[bonj]

It allows you to turn your freezer into a fridge by setting the temperature on the frigdemate. That's what I do with mine.

 

[schooey]

edit :woops.. my bad, read the question wrong, and Bonj beat me to it anyway..

 

[SJW]

The Mashmaster fridge mate.

+1, the only one by the way!

 

[lobo]

another vote for the fridgemate.

i have my 2nd temp controlled brew in a converted freezer as we speak. a koelsh at 14deg. never have to worry about the weather ahead. set and forget. a couple of wires tho, but nothing too stupid. best single purchase for hombrew yet (apart from kegs!)

lobo

 

[Mclovin]

Just go down to your local Actrol or Heatcraft Refrigeration wholesalers and pickup a Carel or Dixel temperature controller. These modules will switch a load of 10 amps which is more than enough for your keg fridge. Set your control temp to your recomended fermentation temp and you are in business.

 

[Mclovin]

It allows you to turn your freezer into a fridge by setting the temperature on the frigdemate. That's what I do with mine.

Hi there, I would not recomend converting a frezzer into a fridge. No 1 reason being the compressor in your frezzer is designed to compress a smaller volume of refrigerant at lower temperature. When you control the compressor at higher temperatures you are subjecting the compressor to a larger volume of refrigerant that it is not designed to compress.

 

[schooey]

McLovin, I think Bonj meant with the interrupted operation of a normal fridge, when used as a fermenting fridge, the freezer compartment maintains a temperature comparable with that of a fridge rather than a freezer.

 

[bonj]

Hi there, I would not recomend converting a frezzer into a fridge. No 1 reason being the compressor in your frezzer is designed to compress a smaller volume of refrigerant at lower temperature. When you control the compressor at higher temperatures you are subjecting the compressor to a larger volume of refrigerant that it is not designed to compress.

Sorry if I sound like a jerk, but this has all been covered before and the consensus is that it's perfectly fine to operate a freezer as a fridge by interrupting the power. The freezer coils still operate at their normal temperature. I'm not going to start another endless debate over this. My freezer has run perfectly for nearly a year like this, and plenty of others have operated well in excess of that with the same method.

 

[tomtoro]

There is one alternative to the fridgemate that i have come across called a "Growarm". I believe its actually marketed for seed cultivators, but it does the exact same thing and is prewired and precalibrated. It's what i went for mostly cos i don't can't be sure which is the pointy end of a soldering iron.

 

[bonj]

McLovin, I think Bonj meant with the interrupted operation of a normal fridge, when used as a fermenting fridge, the freezer compartment maintains a temperature comparable with that of a fridge rather than a freezer.

No, actually I'm talking about operating a chest freezer as a fridge. With 3 taps mounted in the collar, my freezer will hold six kegs at fridge temperatures. Here is the build thread with photos: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=15543