Fermenting Fridge....

[APR]

My young bloke has been making a bit of beer, and modified an old fridge so that he could have a controlled temperature fermenting environment.

When I first started doing spirits I did a couple of ferments using the Still Spirits Turbo packs. For what ever reason, the end product had a bit of an acetone type smell about it, and even after running it through a reflux still a second time it was nothing special. As it was summer when these ferments were done, we assumed the high temperature might have caused some of the poor flavour we experienced.

Since then we have done a few Tomato Paste Washes, and these have given us a very good quality neutral product. As it has cooled down with winter coming on we seem to be taking longer and longer to have fermentation complete.

Our latest hardware change is to set the old fridge up to keep the fermenting product warm to help reduce the time for fermentation to complete during winter. Previously the fridge was using an STC-1000 temp controller to switch power on and off to the fridge motor to maintain a constant cool temperature which we could accurately set. Because the weather has cooled down, we now want to use that controller to warm the fridge chamber up.

To this end we have unplugged the fridge motor from the STC-1000 and plugged in a Ryobi heat gun which is set to the lowest air flow and lowest heat setting. We sat the heat gun on the floor of the fridge facing upwards. It is possible to place your hand 1 inch in front of the heat gun nozzle and the air flow is not hot enough to burn you. The temperature controller is set to maintain a temperature of between 34 and 35 degree celsius inside the fridge. Currently I have a 5Kg sugar, 25 litre total, Tomato Paste Wash in the fridge fermenting.



A 50 litre keg will also fit inside the fridge OK.

[whiskeyshiner]

Geez mate i hope thats not an ice cream container for the controller :law-policered:

[APR]

Geez mate i hope thats not an ice cream container for the controller :law-policered:

It is actually, however, the controller itself is mounted inside a small form factor computer steel power supply case which is earthed. Part of the reason for the container is when the controller is not being used the leads roll up and fit inside the container.

[Yummyrum]

Love your work APR.thinking I might pull the old fridge under the house up and use it.

[poompy]

have a look at a ceramic repitle heater fits into a edison screw type buble holder. A little 60w one will do the job.

[Hill]

I use electric blankets in my fermenting fridge, not sure if they would take it to 35deg though, Iv have mine at 29

[Dusty_ben]

For heating in my fermenting fridge I've just hung a heat by in the fridge. Keeps rum at 30c perfectly. Sorry to high jack the thread but is 30 a good temp for macrum?

[Zak Griffin]

30 is good for rum, but a bit warmer doesn't hurt :)

Gotta build me one of these fermenting cupboard... I run 60L fermenters though...

[1 2many]

30 is good for rum, but a bit warmer doesn't hurt :)

Gotta build me one of these fermenting cupboard... I run 60L fermenters though...

Just get a bigger fridge Zac, My beer fridge holds the 60 fermenters with plenty of room :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Zak Griffin]

I think I'll just have an insulated cupboard under my distilling work bench, with temp control... Running 2 or 3 x 60L bins at a time at the moment, and once I get my shed set up I'll probably make a bit of beer as well...

[whiskeyshiner]

I think I'll just have an insulated cupboard under my distilling work bench, with temp control... Running 2 or 3 x 60L bins at a time at the moment, and once I get my shed set up I'll probably make a bit of beer as well...

Sandwhich panel minesite dongas are built from are good can make it custom to you fermentors :handgestures-thumbupleft: got a mate whos gunna build me one soon

[Dingo Charlie]

It's getting cold.... brrrrr, I want one to make one of these as soon as possible, 4 x 70L barrels might have to look at the custom sandwich panel jobs.

[Smbjk]

Good thing with bakers yeast is its very heat tolerable summer ok winter fish tank heaters :handgestures-thumbupleft: beer well thats another thing temp is super critical thats why I have a ferm fridge with temp controler. Spirit ferments haven't worried yet