Brewing Fridge

grabman · Post by **grabman** » Tuesday Jan 17, 2006 1:51 pm

no problems there Jack, just remember to adjust fridge temp as well to give the unit a hand.

Mines working on an ale at the moment, sitting at 19C, previous brew was a lager at 10C without a worry!

Grab

JaCk_SpArRoW · Post by **JaCk_SpArRoW** » Tuesday Jan 17, 2006 2:00 pm

grabman wrote:no problems there Jack, just remember to adjust fridge temp as well to give the unit a hand.

Mines working on an ale at the moment, sitting at 19C, previous brew was a lager at 10C without a worry!

Grab

Ok thanks for that...do you need to adjust the fridge temp much at all?
I was thinking of going for the jaycar unit but I like the idea of the Adloheat one better!

grabman · Post by **grabman** » Tuesday Jan 17, 2006 2:11 pm

probably don't need to adjust fridge at all, I just do it to try to ease load on compressor. It's an old fridge that I'm using so just want to be kind to it!

The adloheat unit is a ripper IMHO:!:

Grab

JaCk_SpArRoW · Post by **JaCk_SpArRoW** » Tuesday Jan 17, 2006 2:18 pm

I assume there is a bit of wiring to be done to have the thermometer attached to the thermostat as illustrated in these pics

http://groups.msn.com/MacabresBrewery/b ... ridge.msnw

Is this an easy process?

grabman · Post by **grabman** » Tuesday Jan 17, 2006 4:11 pm

if that setup is like mine then the two are not connected, so no wiring as such.

The adloheat unit is plugged into wall socket and the fridge then plugs into it, the temp probe from unit is then placed in fridge and cycles on and off as needed. THe unit just acts as a "temp controller" and switches fridge on and off to maintain desired temp.

The digital thermometer is there to give better idea of fridge temp, mine is a dual zone thermometer so it gives room temp as well.

http://photos.brodiescastle.com

Have a look

Grab

tyrone · Post by **tyrone** » Tuesday Jan 17, 2006 5:57 pm

Yes it will but you need to relise that it will only turn on the fridge when it is to hot it will not warm a cold wort.

grabman · Post by **grabman** » Tuesday Jan 17, 2006 8:42 pm

tyrone wrote:Yes it will but you need to relise that it will only turn on the fridge when it is to hot it will not warm a cold wort.

True but we are concerned here with keeping temp down, if you want to add heat just take the bugger out of the fridge

JaCk_SpArRoW · Post by **JaCk_SpArRoW** » Wednesday Jan 18, 2006 7:13 am

Both good points but I think I'll go with grab on this one, my shed isnt insulated so there's bound to be some decent heat in there, if not then I can always use the light bulb trick!

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Wednesday Jan 18, 2006 8:08 am

You know,

I have a mate up here in Canada and he was right pissed when his beer was frozen, "I put it in the fridge Dogger" he said " Out in the garage. It always keeps it cold but never frozen it. Do you think it is broken?".

Temp had dropped to minus 20 for a week, not a heated garage.

No shit dit

And for those who don't get that, remember we teach snowshoing here.

Dogger

JaCk_SpArRoW · Post by **JaCk_SpArRoW** » Wednesday Jan 18, 2006 8:11 am

Cant say the temps ever get to that here tho Snoop!...but thanks for the tip!

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Wednesday Jan 18, 2006 5:25 pm

JaCk_SpArRoW wrote:
Also the THF turns on when the temp rises above the set point (for cooling), The THI turns on when the temp falls below the set point (for heating).
So would this mean I would need both to do both settings?...heating & cooling?
I just want something that will control the temps for both lagers & ales...will the one unit handle both?
Will the THF ensure the temp inside the fridge maintains the level it is set at?...i.e 19*C for Ales, 9*C for lagers?

You will only need the one I find that the THF is fine it will kick in the compressor when the temp rises to a set point and reduces the temp. It will then turn of when the temp is reduced below a level (this is calibrated inside the unit and is a set point below the required temp) the fridge will then heat up over time naturally the cooler your climate the longer it will stay cold before the compressor has to kick in again.

When you use heating and cooling together they will oscillate from one to the other with no rest period, this is far less energy efficient.

If you are in a cold climate (Canberra winter) and require heating not cooling the THF can be rewired to turn on when the temp falls below the set point. You can then use it to cool during summer and heat during winter. By placing a switch in the correct place you can switch between heating and cooling. Plug the fringe into the thermostat to cool or plug a light bulb into it to heat and flick the switch to the required setting. (This does require rewiring of the thermostat and you may want help from an electrician)

JaCk_SpArRoW wrote:I assume there is a bit of wiring to be done to have the thermometer attached to the thermostat as illustrated in these pics

http://groups.msn.com/MacabresBrewery/b ... ridge.msnw

Is this an easy process?

No the fridge is plugged into the thermostat and the thermostat is plugged into Power point. The capillary is then run inside the fridge to detect the temp for the thermostat.

I have the fridge thermostat set at maximum (coldest) so that the only time the compressor turns on and off is when the Adloheat THF thermostat tells it to. This gives the compressor a more regular cycle.

JaCk_SpArRoW · Post by **JaCk_SpArRoW** » Thursday Jan 19, 2006 7:12 am

Thats some seriously awesome advice there Shaun, thanks heaps mate...its all starting to make more sense now....cheers!
I wonder if there's a way of having both the fridge & the light bulb connected to the one unit at the same time to ensure the temp is maintained at all times...being in Canberra we can go from having a 35*C day to 14*C the next day!

MHD · Post by **MHD** » Thursday Jan 19, 2006 8:57 am

yes... temps here are crazy at the moment...
fortunatley the garage is on a slab of concrete which gives it a bit of a low pass filter...

As for winter: easy: brew largers

JaCk_SpArRoW · Post by **JaCk_SpArRoW** » Thursday Jan 19, 2006 9:09 am

MHD wrote:yes... temps here are crazy at the moment...
fortunatley the garage is on a slab of concrete which gives it a bit of a low pass filter...

As for winter: easy: brew largers

Yeah same with mine MHD but the garage aint insulated!

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Thursday Jan 19, 2006 11:45 am

JaCk_SpArRoW wrote:Thats some seriously awesome advice there Shaun, thanks heaps mate...its all starting to make more sense now....cheers!
I wonder if there's a way of having both the fridge & the light bulb connected to the one unit at the same time to ensure the temp is maintained at all times...being in Canberra we can go from having a 35*C day to 14*C the next day!

Yes with some rewiring of the thermostat this is possible but not advisable. What will happen is the fridge compressor will kick in and cool the fridge as it reaches the cut off temp it will also reach the turn on temp for the heater. So the heater will turn on a heat the fridge rapidly at this point the heater will turn off and the compressor will turn back on much earlier than normal. This cycle will continue with your heating and cooling fighting each other (oscillating). It will have a very stable temp but is very inefficient and not good for the fridge compressor. That said it can be done and some brews have do it, just means it will cost you more to run. If you do go this way you may be better of with the jaycar kit, or somthing you put together yourself such as the Tobins TS120 http://www.tobins.com.au/html/ItemHTML/TS-120S.htm there are plains for it here http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/i ... gram&st=15. If you google Tobins TS120 you will find more info on it.

You will find even with temp swings of mid 30 to the low teens, as the fringe is insulated it will hold its temp relatively well over night and the compressor will simply not need to turn on. If you go with the adloheat thermostat put a bucket of water in the fridge with a max min thermometer in it for a couple of days to a week and see how much of a temp swing there is with different outside temps then decide if you need both heating and cooling at the same time. Max/Min thermometers can be purchased from Jaycar, Dicksmiths, I even saw a cheap mercury one in Bunnings the other day.

JaCk_SpArRoW · Post by **JaCk_SpArRoW** » Thursday Jan 19, 2006 11:56 am

No probs, thanks Shaun...I dont anticipate there to be much of a temp swing inside the fridge...as you say they are insulated & should hold the temp...just wondered if it was at all possible but I think with the THF, everything should be hunky dory!!!...thanks again!

peterd · Post by **peterd** » Monday Jan 23, 2006 2:45 pm

I use the Tobins 120.
Chose the 120 over the 40 because I also wanted to be able to control mashing/steeping temperatures, as well as fridge temps.
Less than $50 delivered.
My setup is somewhat more agricultural than some. I dont bother with a switch to choose between max and min temp control: I merely reposition my spade connector. Better hope I dont have it plugged in wrong some time, eh?

scblack · Post by **scblack** » Monday Jan 23, 2006 3:12 pm

Just ordered and paid for the thermostat (THF 0-40), from Adloheat, thanks for the link yardglass.

Now just gotta get the fridge from my parents up near Cessnock, and I'm set.

yardglass · Post by **yardglass** » Monday Jan 23, 2006 6:45 pm

no worries blackster,

do you a favour though and read ''low temp ferment: No Carbonation''.

it might save you a little drama that i wish i could've......

yard

MattR · Post by **MattR** » Monday Jan 23, 2006 9:20 pm

Hi guys,

All this 40 degree weather we are having in Adelaide is killing me (and the brew). So I invested in an ADLO THF to use with an old chest freezer I found.

I kicked off a brew Friday and opened the freezer today to check and was over powered by the gas that has built up inside from the fermentation process.

Is it dangerous to leave the lid closed? Is it a fire hazard?

Cheers,
Matt