Fermentation Chamber build (with pics)

[Old Speckled Ben]

Hi everyone

As I've been relegated from the spare room to the cellar by SWMBO I decided it was time to build a fermentation chamber

My father in law has a wood yard (and likes beer) so was keen to help

Here's a few pics of the FC so far, should be doing more over the weekend

It's going to be double skinned with insulation in-between the layers and heated by a 42w halogen bulb (dim-able) via an STC-1000

The cellar stays cold all year, so I don't need a cooler (yet)

Hopefully these pics will work:

http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af23/hapitwat/9.jpg
http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af23/hapitwat/8.jpg
http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af23/hapitwat/6.jpg
http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af23/hapitwat/7.jpg
http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af23/hapitwat/5.jpg

Decided to make it big enough to hold two FVs/seven Mini-kegs/quite a lot of bottles

Inner chamber will be three foot wide by two foot deep by two foot high, so plenty of room for airlocks, too

Say tuned for for pics.....I might even work out how to insert them directly on to the post

Cheers
Ben

[Morten]

Cool build!
I'd avoid the light bulb though, light will kill your beer faster than anything.

[joe1002]

if you paste the links inside the img codes the pictures will show on your post, so for instance you would enter

Code: Select all

[img]http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af23/hapitwat/9.jpg[/img]

Looks good so far.

[Old Speckled Ben]

Cool build!
I'd avoid the light bulb though, light will kill your beer faster than anything.

Hi Morten

Thanks for the advice

The light is going to be in a separate box underneath the FC so the heat will rise through a mesh covered hole in the bottom of the FV, so it will only be shining on the underside of it

Reckon that will be ok?

Joey1002 - Thanks very much for the picture instructions

[Morten]

You're good to go as long as there is no light shining on the FV's

[JamesH]

Looks great.

I'll be really interested in how this build progresses as I am planning something similar for my brew shed.

Keep the pics coming!

[plot2pot]

Have you considered a tube heater instead of bulb for heating - like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/60W-Electric- ... 20c6883788

It's what I use in my fermenting fridge and it works great with no light problems.

[LeeH]

Why dick around with a light bulb when a tube heater is only 15 pounds?

Edit: what he said ^^^

[Old Speckled Ben]

Looks great.

I'll be really interested in how this build progresses as I am planning something similar for my brew shed.

Keep the pics coming!

Thanks James, I'll hopefully have some more to put on this weekend

Have you considered a tube heater instead of bulb for heating - like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/60W-Electric- ... 20c6883788

It's what I use in my fermenting fridge and it works great with no light problems.

Hmmm, I might have to have a bit of a redesign....

[danb]

I use light bulbs in each of my fermenting fridges as the heat source. No problems in over 10 batches.

[Old Speckled Ben]

Hi everyone

As promised, here are some more pics of the FC build


Inner box built and placed inside


Top view


Cutting hole for heat vent


Hole cut for heat vent


Mesh fitted to hole (viewed from underneath)


Stylish handle fitted to lid


View of mesh covered hole from inside


Marking up for STC-100


Fitting STC-1000


Fitted STC-1000


Dimmer switch fitted underneath STC-1000 to dial down the heat of the halogen bulb (this is a safety precaution to prevent over heating and prolong the life of the bulb.....yes, I know that's the whole point of the STC-1000 but for £3.50 it's a belt and braces approach lol)


Building box for light to go in (scews to underneath of FC so heat flows through the mesh in the bottom, providing the heat but not shining on to the FVs themselves)


Finished light box - I'll be putting foil on the inside to reflect more of the heat upwards. I'll also my drilling a few holes in each side to assist the flow of air/heat


Light box and the world's most sturdy legs resting on lid

This is it finished as far as joinery is concerned

Tomorrow we'll be transporting it back to my house and building it up (light box/legs) down the cellar. As the outer box is so big, we're a bit worried about it fitting through the door

Once it's down there, I'll be doing all the wiring and putting some insulation between the inner and outer box

From that point, it'll be ready for testing (FVs filled with just water to start with, I think). Hopefully I'll pop a few more pics up if anyone's interested

I should probably paint it to protect it against the slightly damp conditions of the cellar

Cheers everyone
Ben

[Deebee]

Looks goog though how do you intend to cool if it gets too hot.
I used a knackered fridge with a tube heater in it. Took 10 mins to wire to sockets afterni got the ready wired stc. Fantastic bit of kit... am looking for a larger one now.. for two natches at a time!

[Old Speckled Ben]

Looks goog though how do you intend to cool if it gets too hot

Hi Deebee

I'm relying heavily on the low ambient temperature of the cellar to do that for me

The few quick tests that I did with just the stc and the bulb in a non insulated box seemed to drop the temp pretty quickly

The fridge and heater is the eventual goal, but this is the cheaper option at about £20 all in (wood and labour for free)

[Jim]

Nice job!

[Old Speckled Ben]

Nice job!

Cheers, Jim