Temp Controlled Brewing

[schooey]

Apologies, Bonj, I misunderstood...

 

[troydo]

I'd real it in a little Mclovin, have a read and a look around this has been done for quite some time and works fine, im not saying it wont reduce your equipments life however it does work fine and people on here have been doing it for years, with new and old freezers.

 

[schooey]

Maybe I'm totally disillusioned here, and if a fridgie or some other learned person comes along and cares to explain the logic to correct the current train of thought here, I will be glad to listen

It was my understanding that the benefits of a chest freezer were that the cold air stayed at the bottom and made the unit more efficient if it was being opened. And that because it was being used as a fridge and only needed to maintain a temp in the range between of -2 to 1 degrees, the compressor would be working less than if it was operating as a freezer?

The fridgemate also allows a lag time before kicking in (default 9 mins) to allow for overload of compressor as well, so I'm not seeing the problem. That dunt mean it's not there all the same....

 

[Hogan]

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.

Totally agree Bonj. My freezer has been operating with a temp control for two years and doing a great job.

Cheers, Hoges.

 

[Hogan]

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.

I bought a growarm when I first kicked off temp control of my freezer. Yes it is pre-wired, its pre-calibration is nothing on the fridgemate, it's now pre-historic and pre-tty darn expensive compared to the fridgemate. There is really no comparison.


Cheers, Hoges.

 

[lagers44]

If you're looking for cheap simple efficient fridge control & know someone with some electronics soldering skills then I think you can't go past Jaycar & their fridgemate system , it's all inclusive & only $40. I've built mine & cant complain at all , works by using it's own temp sensor & switches the fridge / freezer on to maintain preset temps.
Just putting another option out there for people.

 

[pbrosnan]

+1, the only one by the way!

Before the Fridgemate there was the Dixel - http://www.weissinstruments.com/catalogs/dixell/index.htm. They were more expensive but did the same job, I've had a couple of them for about 3 years now and they never fail.

 

[justsomeguy]

It was my understanding that the benefits of a chest freezer were that the cold air stayed at the bottom and made the unit more efficient if it was being opened. And that because it was being used as a fridge and only needed to maintain a temp in the range between of -2 to 1 degrees, the compressor would be working less than if it was operating as a freezer?

Yep and yep.

Though many chest freezer users install a computer fan to circulate the coll air throughout the freezer thus maintaining a constant temperatures throughout the whole freezer. The temp differential between the top and bottom of a chest freezer can be a couple of degrees C. I used to have a chest freezer for a year or two until a move interstate buggered it up. Now using an upright freezer as thats all I could find. Also a bit more floorspace efficient than the chest freezer.

If you install a fan in your freezer than also install a microswitch to turn it off whenever the lid is opened. That will stop the cool air from being blown out of the freezer. I had the fan hooked up to the microswitch on my old setup and worked a treat. Just got to get around to doing the same on the upright freezer setup now.

gary

 

[Ross]

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.

Tomtoro,

There is no soldering putting a fridgemate together. It's basically no more difficult than wiring a plug. However, if you have any doubts, get it done by an electrician.

Cheers Ross

 

[el capitan]

I too would like to Temp Control my brew. But alas my misses won't allow any more toys for a while, so that means no more fridges, or kegging equipment.

So besides the old evap method, what other ways can I chill my brew to the right temps? I tried looking for the 100 can beer cooler as mentioned on a previous forum advice, but not not find one. I would go the esky option, but as I have 4 eskys already it would be frowned apon for another newer one to be bought.

Any advice would be great.

Cheers

 

[Prawned]

I too would like to Temp Control my brew. But alas my misses won't allow any more toys for a while, so that means no more fridges, or kegging equipment.

So besides the old evap method, what other ways can I chill my brew to the right temps? I tried looking for the 100 can beer cooler as mentioned on a previous forum advice, but not not find one. I would go the esky option, but as I have 4 eskys already it would be frowned apon for another newer one to be bought.

Any advice would be great.

Cheers

Last time i was at Kmart at the redbank plaza they had the coolers, think they were maybe $20?

 

[el capitan]

Last time i was at Kmart at the redbank plaza they had the coolers, think they were maybe $20?

Where abouts Prawned? I had a good look in the camping and bbq areas.

 

[hughman666]

Where abouts Prawned? I had a good look in the camping and bbq areas.

they're usually around in the same section as the eskies, but aren't necessarily in all shops

 

[Adzmax]

I have 2 fridge mates, one for the frigde, one fo the heater. Just a quick question for some of the other fridge mate users, sorry to hi-jack.

Do any of you other fridgemate users have problems with the brew getting too cold, e.g. over chilling. Say I set mine to 17c and they beer put in was 20c I'll come out in the morning to find it @ 14c. I think it must over chill becuase once the brew gets to 17c the fridge turns off but the ambient temp in there would be much lower. Anyone else expereince this? What do you do? How do you fix it?

 

[white.grant]

I have 2 fridge mates, one for the frigde, one fo the heater. Just a quick question for some of the other fridge mate users, sorry to hi-jack.

Do any of you other fridgemate users have problems with the brew getting too cold, e.g. over chilling. Say I set mine to 17c and they beer put in was 20c I'll come out in the morning to find it @ 14c. I think it must over chill becuase once the brew gets to 17c the fridge turns off but the ambient temp in there would be much lower. Anyone else expereince this? What do you do? How do you fix it?

What are you reading your temps off? the fridgmate or what you actual wort is at? I find that there is about 1 degree on mine between the fridgemate readout and the wort temp itself. I have set the temperature tolerance on the fridgemate to 3 degs +/-.

A lot depends on where the probe is making its readings. The probe will need to be as close to the wort (in it is best (and there is a special optional probe for that)) to most accurately control the wort temp. I have mine crudely stuck to the fermenter with a little bandage of cotton and electrical tape for insulation from the fridge temp. Seems to satisfy my needs.

 

[Adzmax]

I'm using a stainless probe that's is actually inside the fermentor and touching the wort.

Sorry I should have been a bit more clear. The temp always reads correctly it's just that the fridge over chills it. So.....say the fridgemate is set to 17c, it would get to say 16c (because of the 1c differential setting) and then switch off the fridge but it continues to get colder because of the ambient air temp in the fridge. This only usually happens when you put warm wort in the fridge say @ 20c-22c and have the fridge mate set to say 17c-18c.

 

[maltedhopalong]

I started another thread as my question was not related to fridge controllers but the content was similar.

I just wanted to mention to those who use the 100 can cooler or similar method, you should have a look at the coolgardie thread as there are some other options available.

I've never heard of a 100 can cooler trick getting low enough for lager temperatures.

Whereas filling a 60L bin full of water around the fermenter with ice bricks and foam/insulation wrapped around (or in a box with scrunched up newspaper around the bin) can get lager temperatures even in ambient temps from 14ish to 26ish.

The reason I raise this is because if you can achieve those temps (10 to 12C) then surely with less ice bricks, you could achieve even more stable temps at good ale fermentation temps. Not to mention it would be heaps cheaper (60L bin from bunnings was $9.95).

Even if you don't like that idea. there was a guy who wrote in the coolgardie thread that he used medical eskies and even HE got lager temps going. 10cm thick styrofoam. So even cheaper than the 100 can cooler would be to get a big cardboard box from Clive Anthony's or something and get heaps of styrofoam (probably from the same place) and build a far more insulated fermentation box.

 

[Kleiny]

I'm using a stainless probe that's is actually inside the fermentor and touching the wort.

Sorry I should have been a bit more clear. The temp always reads correctly it's just that the fridge over chills it. So.....say the fridgemate is set to 17c, it would get to say 16c (because of the 1c differential setting) and then switch off the fridge but it continues to get colder because of the ambient air temp in the fridge. This only usually happens when you put warm wort in the fridge say @ 20c-22c and have the fridge mate set to say 17c-18c.

Same thing happens in my fridge and the my probe is in contact with wort. As you said its only when you put warm wort in and it stabilisers fairly qauickly

 

[Fatgodzilla]

I too would like to Temp Control my brew. But alas my misses won't allow any more toys for a while, so that means no more fridges, or kegging equipment. So besides the old evap method, what other ways can I chill my brew to the right temps? Any advice would be great.

Have you room for a derelict fridge or freezer. Usually free at the tip or your local (say) Retravision dealer. Reason I say is that I (and heaps others) use an old upright freezer that doesn't work. Note it is in a coolish place but using bottles of frozen water placed in the fridge, I can get brews down to 12C -14C. Perfect for me. (I have a Fridgemate but waiting for a fridge). Point is unless you really want long lagering, even in Brissie you can make cooler brewing conditions (use ale yeasts that like 16C - 18C) and should be fine all year round.

Tip, get wort cool before trying.

Its the same principal as the 100 can cooler or even making a cooling box using styrofoam (Retravision good here too).

 

[Adzmax]

Same thing happens in my fridge and the my probe is in contact with wort. As you said its only when you put warm wort in and it stabilisers fairly qauickly

Yeah figured it would be a common problem since it has to chill the wort so much. The fridge would hold cold and further chill.

Once you get it to temp it's fine though give or take 1c. Guess I'll just have to keep a close eye on them for the first 6-12 hours