fermenting in a minifridge

[oliver]

very amateur brewer here, looking for advice on the Inkbird 308 temp controller. I've been brewing 2 gallon APAs and recently acquired a mini fridge (and that 2-stage temp controller). As of right now i don't have anything plugged into the heating socket. I did some searching through threads here, and it sounds like maybe a regular 60W lightbulb would be best? I guess i'm curious if heat and light given off in such a small space will mess with the process. Are there any better alternatives that anyone has come across?

 

[jeffpn]

Look up fermwrap. It's what I use, and it works very well.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

if you have a temp controller you don't need a heat source at all, those are just used for freezers with a slow on and off delay where you don't want a big swing in temp changes, just use the 115 controller by its self and your set, one thing you might need to do is barely crack the door with something like a nail or screw just to let co2 out

 

[GernBlanston]

You could use the mini fridge as parts to build a fermentation chamber such as:

http://www.wortomatic.com/articles/38DD ... on-Chiller

Only use the fridge innards for a cooling source. Just a thought.

Also the heating side is only useful for a fridge/chamber left in a garage during winter, where the temps drop below desired fermentation temps. Otherwise, in a warm environment, cooling is all you need. The fermentation itself produces heat.

 

[Nosybear]

For cooling, I use a refrigerator with a temperature control. For warming, I use a water bath and an aquarium heater. Those things are VERY accurate!

 

[No Nrg]

I have the same setup as you.

I brew 2 gallon batches using the Inkbird and a mini-fridge, nothing plugged into the heating side. Works well, stays within a 2-3 degree range with a +1 variance set for the cooling range. Might have to move fridge out of garage or get a fermwrap as mentioned above for the colder months though.

 

[oliver]

thanks for all the replies. i've now been fermenting for the past 24 hours, and the fridge is holding steady at 66º inside with nothing plugged into the heating side. i've been using my hydrometer sample in a spare bottle to put the thermometer probe in, that seems to be working well.

 

[Stonehome]

I don't think there is any reason to use the wort sample for the probe. It might ferment some bugs that could make future sanitation an issue. Plain water would be just fine since you are simply using it to buffer temperature swings.

Getting a thermowell to monitor the temperature directly in the beer is most accurate. Fermenting beer can run a few degrees over ambient. Although your controlling the temp at all puts you ahead of the game.

 

[lilyalvin]

I used beer display fridges http://www.koolmaxgroup.com/beer-fridges/ at something about 60 temp with 4 gallons pair. And it works out well for fermenting process.

 

[Head First]

If you want a cheap fix for the light bulb Larry Brewer posted putting a light in a can in the blog. You don't want light on your beer.

 

[Nosybear]

For the mini-fridge, I wouldn't use anything over 25 watts for heating. I use a 40 watt light bulb in a full-size refrigerator and it will hold the thing at 90 degrees, if I want (I don't, the mold is a bear to clean).

 

[GFHomebrew]

I ferment in a wine fridge if found in a skip bin someone was gunna throw out I plugged it in and it's been going strong for a couple of months now. I use the STC 1000 temperature controller I've got a heat belt I think it's 60 whatts I use it when raising temps to diacetyl rest. But think I'll only need this in winter. I hear a light bulb wired into a paint tin works well but high voltage and home diy wiring and metal are a dangerous mix me thinks.

 

[Mark D Pirate]

I ferment in a wine fridge if found in a skip bin someone was gunna throw out I plugged it in and it's been going strong for a couple of months now. I use the STC 1000 temperature controller I've got a heat belt I think it's 60 whatts I use it when raising temps to diacetyl rest. But think I'll only need this in winter. I hear a light bulb wired into a paint tin works well but high voltage and home diy wiring and metal are a dangerous mix me thinks.

i go cheap and simple , i have a few of the 5 l tap a draft mini kegs that i fill with hot water and they work fine !
If i need to hold a precise temp for ales during winter i use heat pad plugged into my STC

 

[GFHomebrew]

Sweet as per brulosophers page he is really testing the boundaries of traditional fermentation methods and a lot of the times fermentation temperature isn't so important going by his exbeerments but holding that temp steady through primary fermentation and health yeast pitch count. So not going by my own experience but his it seems temperature stability is key. I'll be testing that one out soon fermenting larger yeast strain at ale temps.

 

[Mark D Pirate]

I read his fast lager method a few times , seems very strange that he suggested i run a kolsch at a higher temp than i often run my ales
he uses 34/70 at 18.8 C
i used Wyeast 2565 so dubious about letting it run too warm .
got another fridge delivered today , only 100 aussie pesos so now have extra ferment / cold crash capacity ....now to buy another stc !
that opens another can of worms as i see some others have a temp control range of up to 99C (almost boiling) or even 120 C, would be great to be able to use same controller as a mash/boil temp controller once i pull my finger out and build my keggle

 

[GFHomebrew]

Yep it's crossed my mind too to use STC in mash not that I have a heating element. Hay make sure you get a good quality STC 1000 I've got some good miles out of my Elitech STC 1000 it's about 30 bucks on eBay I've bought some cheaper ones but they blew up pretty much straight away. I think some that say voltage 110v-240v are dodgey I think them cheap ones can't handle our 240v. Upon that fast lager method doesn't he pitch cool then raise the temp after about 50% attenuation to the warm temperatures.

 

[Mark D Pirate]

Yep it's crossed my mind too to use STC in mash not that I have a heating element. Hay make sure you get a good quality STC 1000 I've got some good miles out of my Elitech STC 1000 it's about 30 bucks on eBay I've bought some cheaper ones but they blew up pretty much straight away. I think some that say voltage 110v-240v are dodgey I think them cheap ones can't handle our 240v. Upon that fast lager method doesn't he pitch cool then raise the temp after about 50% attenuation to the warm temperatures.

The relays don't hold up to our Aussie man sized voltage , got another one ordered just for fridge ( $34 from my LHBS ) delivered with my next few grain bills , i can wire it myself like i did last time and investigate other hardwired options for keggle . (may include a re circ pump and IC on the cooling side )
i will get a licensed sparky to check my work though as 240 V @15 A around steel and water makes me bit nervous and i'm simply too busy enjoying life to die now .

 

[GFHomebrew]

Too true this is how I was originally going to go with my brewing electric being so much cheaper to run the boil side of things. But I brew Biab style I bought some Swiss Voile from spotlight and got my missus mum to sew me up some giant pillow cases with it. I use a three ring gas burner,to heat the wort it takes 20 min to hit strike temp and another 20 usually to hit the boil. Good luck with it

 

[lilyalvin]

Temperature controller in hotel mini bar fridges has proven more than just a good thing.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Temperature controller in hotel mini bar fridges has proven more than just a good thing.

Is that your fermentation fridge lilyalvin? It d be cheap to run hay? I find my wine fridge takes awhile to cool down wort to pitch temps for instance. Last night I immersion chilled my batch to around 25c racked to fermentor then in wine fridge it took all night to fill wort 23lts to 17c.