Fermentation Fridge - Minimum Dimensions?

[TempTest]

Hello,

Currently looking for a fermentation fridge that will fit in a small area of the kitchen I've been given the go-ahead to use. I've found a number of fridges locally for ~£50 however they are all different sizes. The one that best fits the gap is:

H84, W48, D50cm, storage capacity 3.24 cu ft, net fresh food storage volume 92 litres

Any idea if this will be sufficient for the wide neck wine 5 gallon fermenter? These are a little tallen and narrowed than your standard bucket. I know it's not possible to say for sure but I don't have much of a clue how much room the wooden shelf (to put the fermenter on) and heater, etc, will take. I don't want to buy a fridge that fits my space but not my fermenter, though! Any idea what size, roughly speaking, would be a minimum for use as a fermentation fridge?

Thanks!

PS. As a guide, the second most suitable -but would not fit (!) is 55cm wide, 60cm deep, 110cm high so if this is still not large enough then I know for sure I don't have the space for such a fridge!

[bigdave]

I'd imagine your safest bet will be to ask the seller for internal dimensions.

Its worth remembering that you're going to need a source of heat in there too a suitable amount of extra space should be allowed.

[TempTest]

Thanks for the info! Any idea what the dimensions of the heaters tend to be? And how much free space do they require around them? I've spent a while looking and most smaller fridges still will not fit in the area I have available. The one I've found should do (but I'll need to make a mock setup later and see if it makes moving around difficult!) and I think it'll fit the fermenter (without airlock but with a blow-off) however info on the heater would help decide how do-able it is. Thank you!

[chris172]

Bare in mind that under the counter fridges have a 'hump' in the bottom at the back where the compressor is and takes up half the floor space ... usual where the veg draw goes ... so putting a shelf there would be fine and the small tube heater under... BUT... if you have a tall FV it won't then fit. Ideal would be a tall'ish larder fridge into which you can also fit a corny

Work backwards.... measure your FV's and then find a suitable fridge.

Small 12" heater...http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tubular-Heater- ... ube+heater

[TempTest]

The problem is I am restricted by the available space for the fridge - Both in terms of height, width and depth. It's either this fridge or no fridge, as I'm slowly realising!

If not, I guess I'll just drop the idea of fridge and maybe sometime in the future I'll move into a place with move free space (or an outdoor building with electricity!).

I'll not bin this idea just yet, though... I've asked for internal dimensions and I'll go from there.

[Fil]

My ebay-no pics bargain 'fosters' fridge (Fosters make TOP shelf SS temp controlled commercial fridges for big £££)-
Mine arrived with Fosters beer decals on the sides and another manufacturer HA! -- Is a small job, I switched to using 20 and 25l plastic jerrycans ala nochil to ferment in as they will just about fit inside, another option could be upturned polypins, use the tap to attach a blow off tube your not limited to the vessels sold for fermenting, any foodsafe vessel will work..

[TempTest]

Sounds great. Got the internal dimensions and my current fermenter will not fit. At £50 I'm not going to snap this up on the basis that I *could* get a different fermenter because I don't know how long it'd take to work out what I need, etc. For now I'll let this one pass. But I'll definitely research your suggestion forward because I'm *really* keen on getting a fridge and need to work around the restrictions. You're very correct in what you say... I might not be able to change the kitchen area I have for the fridge but I can adapt what I'm going to put in it...

Any clue on where you got that fermenter? I really like that *exact* setup... Almost wish somebody just sold one 'pre-made'!

[Fil]

Jerry cans via ebay, lots of sellers, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-New-25L-Li ... 3f3b639fd2

however this design has a 'feature' in that its tricky to drain thru the spout completely a bit of a pita when rinsing out after cleaning as the last 20-30ml is a sod to get out, needing numerous tips to direct the last bit out the spout ..
Cleaning kraussen (lively yeast foam) from the handle is a doddle just use warm laundry oxi as a soak, cap, and upturn for 20-30 mins.


look at bottle fridges on ebay.. if you can find one with the compressor and electrics on top like mine its a real doddle to wire up as everything is under the lid and exposed and no bottom hump inside giving you a nice 'square' usable cool area.
And the dbl glazed glass front is a nice feature too.. lets you peek without opening the door and upsetting the temp inside.

£50 is a lot to pay for a 2nd hand fridge imho though after a courier to deliver mine i ended up paying closer to that than i liked for mine.

[TempTest]

Thanks for the link - Some food for thought!

Initial impressions:

1) I like a tap of my fermenter... Not sure if that's possible with these... Can you can your hand in to do the backnut up?

2) As the only space I have available is in a kitchen the glass front might be an issue as I cannot ensure it'd be out of light, as is preferrable for fermentation.

3) Is there space to mount the heater under the fermenter to do away with the fan to circulate the heat?

4) Do you have two caps - One with a hole for the bung and one without for you to upturn it for cleaning? Even with a good soak I tend to run my hand over the inside to loosen any deposits... Not sure how I'd feel about being completely unable to get physical access to the insides, though if you say it's fine it's just something for me to get used to!

Thank you

[Fil]

Thanks for the link - Some food for thought!

Initial impressions:

1) I like a tap of my fermenter... Not sure if that's possible with these... Can you can your hand in to do the backnut up?

No way to get your hand in But a length of 1" timber and a bit of string and patience will let u hold a locknut at the back of a tap as y screw it in, floydmeddler iirc made his jerrykegs for low conditioned ales that way.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=58098&hilit=jerrykeg

2) As the only space I have available is in a kitchen the glass front might be an issue as I cannot ensure it'd be out of light, as is preferrable for fermentation.

i dont think yeast are photosensitive??? im sure someone will correct me if wrong,
i have the glass covered with an unsightly bit of camping mat for extra insulation, im sure a more attractive and equally effective insulator could be found the lighting should be switchable, and if not adding a switch shouldnt be a biggy, just get a suitable switch and break the neutral wire to the light to fit it.

3) Is there space to mount the heater under the fermenter to do away with the fan to circulate the heat?

the fan is a crucial element imho, the air is the method of temp transfer so moving it over both the heat n cold sources and the fermentor make the job more efficient.

i thought long n hard about the heater position in my cramped space, lower while more traditional would i think heat the beer by radiation and possibly overheat, but thats just my theory...

4) Do you have two caps - One with a hole for the bung and one without for you to upturn it for cleaning? Even with a good soak I tend to run my hand over the inside to loosen any deposits... Not sure how I'd feel about being completely unable to get physical access to the insides, though if you say it's fine it's just something for me to get used to!

i asked for a few extra caps, the sealing washers are not the thickest and are easily deformed, i wanted to try no-chill in em so a good lid seal was imperative, less important when fermenting only perhaps, iirc 1st time i bought one the extra caps were thrown in, when i bought more i think they charged me a £ per extra cap..

[TempTest]

No way to get your hand in But a length of 1" timber and a bit of string and patience will let u hold a locknut at the back of a tap as y screw it in, floydmeddler iirc made his jerrykegs for low conditioned ales that way.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=58098&hilit=jerrykeg

Looks good, although I tend to take the taps off and string them down after each brew... Could be a pain!

i dont think yeast are photosensitive??? im sure someone will correct me if wrong,
i have the glass covered with an unsightly bit of camping mat for extra insulation, im sure a more attractive and equally effective insulator could be found the lighting should be switchable, and if not adding a switch shouldnt be a biggy, just get a suitable switch and break the neutral wire to the light to fit it.

I thought the reason was to prevent skunking/light strike? Also, just thought, doesn't that mean the fridge light only comes on when the STC-1000 switches the fridge on? Could be like a disco in the kitchen

the fan is a crucial element imho, the air is the method of temp transfer so moving it over both the heat n cold sources and the fermentor make the job more efficient.

i thought long n hard about the heater position in my cramped space, lower while more traditional would i think heat the beer by radiation and possibly overheat, but thats just my theory...

I'll keep that in mind

i asked for a few extra caps, the sealing washers are not the thickest and are easily deformed, i wanted to try no-chill in em so a good lid seal was imperative, less important when fermenting only perhaps, iirc 1st time i bought one the extra caps were thrown in, when i bought more i think they charged me a £ per extra cap..

I'll make sure to request some if I do go ahead and purchase. Will definitely go this way if I do get a fridge, but that has to come first...

[TempTest]

I'm back to really wanting to consider this again... This time, given the cold snap, to keep the beer warm enough during fermentation!

I do have a brewing immersion heater but I'm doing some tests on it now and not convinced (never used it before). The temperature appears to be too high (currently bouncing around 22 degrees Celsius) and additionally I'm not entirely comfortable with putting it directly into the beer... It seems like an infection waiting to happen, especially given the very small bits of rubber bung I keep picking off it (and yes, I have thoroughly washed it already).

I'm still constrained by the same (small) area in the kitchen. Can anybody tell me the smallest fridge they've successfully used as a fermentation fridge? I typically use the Young's Wide Neck Wine Fermenter vessels which are a tad taller if that has any impact. I might have to revisit the idea of the jerry cans above (but cleaning those scares me!).

Any specific details and/or models numbers greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

[jimpy0]

Given the limited space, why not use storage tub and aquarium heater. Or split brews and go with smaller Fv's.

[TempTest]

Given the limited space, why not use storage tub and aquarium heater. Or split brews and go with smaller Fv's.

The aquarium heater option is possible... I already put my fermenter in a tub trug incase the tap leaks so it'd be no different. Smaller brews won't really help... I'd either need more fermenters and more tubtrugs (= more space), or gives me the option to put a smaller brew into a fridge but it seems like a lot of work for nothing (same length brew day for half of the reward...).

One of the reasons I like the fridge idea is I can close the door and whatever space it takes is taken. At the moment it's a fermenter in a tub trug in the back room and that's clearly less unsightly than a fridge tucked away in the kitchen. If only I could find one that fits. Maybe I'll just stick to brewing in the summer (where my other problem is everything getting too hot!).

[Goulders]

I have a small 49.5ish cm wide fridge. Fits a Youngs 23l fermenter in but not the wider ones