Adv. On Fridge or Keeping Brew cool

[DzRBenson]

Hi all,

Ive only brewed 2 brews so far, and the Lager is still aging but after 2 weeks still tastes a tad Yeasty.

However my main problem is brewing sits at 24c, never changes. This is a bit warm and looking for a better way to cool this, and thinking maybe an old bar fridge or fridge to sit my fermenter.

If I do get a fridge would I need to change anything on it, or would the fridge on the warmest setting be an ideal temp?, Im looking on ebay atm, and just after some adv.

Cheers

[Bum]

A temp controller for the fridge is pretty much essential. No point spending money on a set-and-forget temp control solution that you can't trust and could be nearly as problematic as brewing a little warm. Changes you could make could be as complicated as banging an adjustable thermostat in that goes up to the low 20s or as simple as a $10 electrical timer to control when the fridge is running. I personally used a device called a "Fridgemate". Do a search and you'll find lots of talk about them and similar devices.

There's always the more fiddly but cheaper option of using a dead fridge (or similar large insulated box) and cycle through some frozen bottles to keep the temp down. Like the timer option above it takes a little trial and error to get right and does need a bit more of an eye kept on it than either the thermostat or Fridgmate/similar options.

[DzRBenson]

Thanks for the reply

Im not the best when it comes to wiring etc, so probably not the fridge mate, and turning the fridge on and off sounds ok, but very hard to get right I imagine.

[DzRBenson]

I dont think I can use a a Water cool option in a bucket either, as the fermementer has a low Spigot on it

[matr]

Where abouts are you DzR? There should be someone around to help you wire it up.

Really the Fridgemate or this one off ebay (cheap as chips and better as it has a heating mode) http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mini-Digital-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Aquarium-/270642760202?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item3f0390ca0a is a must and really easy to hook up.

Cheers, Mat.

[Bum]

All tapped fermenters will have the tap pretty low so you face the same concerns as any brewer there. Some brewers swear by the method, others have hygiene concerns. Do some reading and see if it is right for you.

I'm no sparky but the wiring for a Fridgemate was a piece of piss...uh...but no one should do it themselves and everyone should engage the services of qualified electrician...

[DzRBenson]

Im from Guildford, Near Parramatta in NSW.

Im keeping my eye on a few fridges atm, but also looking at other avenues - eg Swamp Cooler. I know I could keep the Spigot clean but would cry if it leaked/seeped in anyway

[earle]

Not as cheap but Grain and Grape have a temp controller that is already wired. http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=1_30_34&products_id=7369 I have a fridgemate but next time would get one like the tempmate which can switch from heating to cooling automatically.

Just don't do what I did on new years eve. Normally my temp probe is attached to the fermenter (lets not start that debate though). Over christmas I used the fermenting fridge(upright freezer) for at 4C as an drinks/food overflow fridge and also had a brew CCing so have just had the probe sitting in there. When I came home after having a few I put a few drinks and food back into it, and didn't realize the probe fell out the door. When I came out the next morning the fridgemate was reading 28C and the freezer was going full bore. Food was frozen and some of the beers were half frozen as the fridgemate had been trying all night to get the temp down.

[billybushcook]

You can't go past a Tempmate!
Set it & forget it!

http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=2592

Best bit of brewing kit I ever bought.
Mine is mounted inside a plastic Tupperware type lunchbox thingy with the front/control panel protruding.

The wiring is not hard, just remember the tempmate does not actually switch the power, it only interupts the supply!

the square thingy in the middle of this diagram is a manifold for connecting several ends to the same terminal.



Mick.

[warra48]

Another endorsement for the TempMate. I love mine on my fermenting fridge.

The beauty of this unit is that it controls both cooling and heating from the one unit.

[DzRBenson]

Not as cheap but Grain and Grape have a temp controller that is already wired. http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=1_30_34&products_id=7369 I have a fridgemate but next time would get one like the tempmate which can switch from heatin to cooling automatically.

I like that idea, yes expensive, Just wondering how much the On/Off would hurt the fridge and any other appliances on the circuit

[earle]

Plenty of people on this forum and others use these devices, some for years without any problems. My fridgemate had a delay built in to protect the compressor from cycling in and out too often, I would assume that most of these similar devices have the same.

[Bum]

Just wondering how much the On/Off would hurt the fridge and any other appliances on the circuit

You plug it inline in the fridge lead only so it will not have any ill effect on the rest of the circuit. These devices usually (can't speak for all models) have a delay in the them to save the compressor a bit. It seems to me my brew fridges runs the same or less often than my food fridge so I'm not too worried about how hard it cycles. Of course, mine is cooling only - might cycle harder if I ran heating too.

[billybushcook]

I spotted these the other day on the Jaycar site too.

32 bucks.

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.as ... BCATID=588

Looks to be much the same as a Fridgemate.

Mick.

[warra48]

Just wondering how much the On/Off would hurt the fridge and any other appliances on the circuit

You plug it inline in the fridge lead only so it will not have any ill effect on the rest of the circuit. These devices usually (can't speak for all models) have a delay in the them to save the compressor a bit. It seems to me my brew fridges runs the same or less often than my food fridge so I'm not too worried about how hard it cycles. Of course, mine is cooling only -[color=#FF4040] might cycle harder if I ran heating too[/color].

Wih respect, your honour, I disagree with my learned friend.
It is my submission the heating cycle will not have any effect on the compressor, as the heating function of a TempMate is designed for a seperate piece of equipment such as a heat pad, heat belt, lamp etc.
In the heating cycle, any power to the fridge is cut off, so the compressor will not run at all.

In my case, I only need to use mine for cooling, but it certainly seems to run a lot less than the kitchen fridge.
That's logical, because for fermentation it runs nowhere near as cool as the food fridge.
It will be really cold for lagering, but the thing stays shut till it's done (no need to dive in for food or drinks all the time etc), so that once it's at temperature, the compressor use is minimal.

[Bum]

That's logical

Correct. Real life doesn't always listen to reason, however. My brand loyalty does lay with Fridgemate, not a Tempmate, but that does not preclude me from running both heating and cooling at once and here in Melbourne there are definitely times of the year when my robo-brain becomes confused. I've found it isn't as set and forget as I'd like. Certainly not as stable as being aware of what is going on in and out of the fridge and making sure only one or the other is plugged in. Also worth mentioning here is that my probe measures "ambient" temp in the fridge rather than some strap-on attempt at measuring the wort temp - which can exacerbate the problem I raised but I find with some observation I get more stable wort temps this way.

But, of course, your objection is sustained because it certainly isn't wrong.

[SuperBroo]

I use a temp controller (an industrial type) on an old chest freezer,

WINTER and SUMMER -
I run a 240 volt computer fan (cost about 20 bucks) 24 hours a day in the chest freezer. Its cheap to run.
This very gently generates heat in the freezer for fermenting, and I can get the temp up to 25 degrees in winter.
The freezer then comes on occassionally to pull the temp down to whatever I wish to ferment at.
The fan also stops mould occuring in the freezer.
You could probably use a 12v fan as an alternative.

My point here is, that you can quite easily generate a small amount of heat in the freezer without using heat belts / lamps etc, and at a low cost.
Plus you get the benefit of no mould because of the air movement in the freezer.

Cheers,
Grog

[drsmurto]

One option is freezing 2L bottles of water and using them in a fridge switched off (or dead as in the pic below).

Not as good as using an external thermostat which is what i do now but the frozen bottle option worked for me for a year. The key is to try and work with nature rather than against her so brew ales in summer and lagers in winter.

[DzRBenson]

Cant see the image, and chance of linking it?

Cheers

[billybushcook]

Does your system block photobucket images?

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t316 ... fridge.jpg