Whats The Freezer Temp Of Your Fermenting Fridge?

[GrumpyPaul]

I am just getting my fermenting fridge set up with an stc. My son asked if the freezer compartment runs at a temp that could store some coldies.

Has anyone tested this? Can the freezer be used for anything while the fridge is being run at around 16 to 18th degrees.

 

[donburke]

I am just getting my fermenting fridge set up with an stc. My son asked if the freezer compartment runs at a temp that could store some coldies.

Has anyone tested this? Can the freezer be used for anything while the fridge is being run at around 16 to 18th degrees.

everyone uses a different fridge, so the result will be different for everyone

best if you stick a thermometer in the freezer and check it a few times, or better stick a cup of water in the freezer and measure the temp of the water

 

[angus_grant]

Don't know about ferment temps but when testing the dual upright I scored from brother in law, the freezer section gets down to 1 degree when the fridge compartment is Fridgemate-controlled to 5 degrees. So based on that extensive research I would guess that ferment temps would result in a higher temp in the freezer compartment.

I would love to get a sparky to wire up the fridge and freezer compartments separately. So the freezer runs straight from the wall at freezing temps, and the fridge is temp-controlled to whatever I want at that stage.... But probably cost more than the fridge is worth.

 

[Truman42]

Ive done a bit of experimenting with this. If your fridge is the type where cold air is blown down from the freezer compartment to cool the fridge (And most new types of fridge/freezers are) then you have the option of blocking off some of the air flow into the fridge section. This way the fridge will take longer to get cold and the freezer will be colder.

But of course that would be no good for you because your beers would freeze. So...What you can do is block off the fan vents into the freezer section. Try using some foam that will block the entire back wall of the freezer. This will force all of the air into the fridge section. I did this with my kegcheserator where I was going to age cheese in the freezer at 10C and have kegs in the bottom at 4-6 C. It worked okay although I haven't done any real field testing yet.

I think if you experiment with variations of this you will get just enough air flow into the fridge to hold it at 18C whilst the freezer holds at 4-6C. Just do some testing over a few days and see what you come up with.

 

[Arghonaut]

When i had a combined fridge/freezer for fermenting @ 18 degrees, i found the freezer section was anywhere from sub zero to 5 degrees depending on the time of year, i stored my thermometer (which stopped at 0) and other stuff in there . Funnily, it was coldest in summer, as the fridge was powered on more often to keep the temp at 18 degrees i guess.

 

[brend0n]

my fridge is set at 12 degrees when fermenting, not cold enough enough to store any drinking beers, when its finished brewing i drop it to 1-2 degrees for cold conditioning before i bottle.

 

[4heckssake]

digging up an old thread but still useful thanks.
I set up my old main kitchen fridge as a fermenter fridge today and am pleased to see that when the fridge is at 21 deg the freezer seems to be about 4 deg....hmm me thinks that might be handy.