Anyone handy that can help me convert upright freezer into fermentation chamber??

Thinking about it now, I think even with out that bottom shelf there would not be enough clearance for the top shelf to bend vertically because of the ledge that the compressor is housed in.

I don't think there is gonna be anyway around these damn shelves.
 
Ok, after consulting with my soon to be Nephew in law who is an Appliance Repair Tech., here's what I think you can do.

1. Don't cut anything or your going to have a nice former freezer now a nice place to store or display things.
2. The Foam Board thing will work only it will be vertical. You can build a shelf in it and be able to fit 2 carboys. The shelves will be used for bottle conditioning and storage.
3. Your going to have to buy or build a External Thermostat to control the temp within. You could buy one like thegreenman listed or I can send you the plans for the one I'm building which is based on a Digital Aqarium Thermostat and both are about the same price. I just like the digital better and it automatically switches between cooling using the Freezer and warming using a heating pad. It also lets you set the range withing to keep it. So if your fermenting at 64 degree F you can set it to allow a + or - .05 degrees variance before it kicks in. You will also have the benefit of being able to kick it down for lagering or bypassing it and using the freezer again till your ready to make beer again.
 
Thanks RM. I would indeed like those plans for the thermo.

When you say the foam will be vertical, what do you mean exactly? The freezer will have to be laying down? I'm not sure I understand that part.

I was under the impression, I take the upright freezer as is. Remove the door and build the foam around the frame basically just extending the chamber space.

Sort of like this is how I imagined it

fermentation idea.JPG
 
Your thinking right. From the pic you posted with the Foam and the way I was reading your description it sounded like you were planning to lay it over and add foam to make it a litte deeper and as a lid.to close it off. Mostly i was trying to figure why you'd bend the shelves with the cooling shelves. Any way's PM me your email and I'll send it to you.
 
before you get nutty with spray foam and extruded PS foam board. you may want to at least consider just building a heat exchanger. a small pump and radiator would work well given that you are just looking to drop the temp like 5 degrees correct?


you might even get away by using a very large camping cooler... if not you are simply building a closed up box.


look into pc water cooling, and those aftermarket oil radiators for peoples fancy cars etc.

something with a large area and largish dia. tubing. you are not trying to exchange buckets of energy here... just enough to maintain that small temperature drop... so a nutty radiator with a superdense fin assembly and monster fan is not necessary.

edit.
you could even build a "cold finger" type heat exchanger that would sit down inside your fermentation vessel. this would mean you need to cut another hole into your brew bucket... in the case of a carboy, you need to build a custom stopper out of somewhat pliable silicone. it wouldn't be hard to do, but not idiot proof.

here i found this on amazon. this is what i had in mind.

http://www.amazon.com/Derale-13212-Power-Steering-Cooler/dp/B004XONO8E/ref=pd_sbs_auto_7
 
sicman said:
to much work! bring that box out to the farm for target practice hehe.
Click to expand...

defiantly. imo id rather have a simple fridge that i could still use as a fridge when ever i was not brewing.

if you can swing it financially, id just prowl around for another one that's more suitable.

 
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