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fermenting Mini Fermentation Chamber
- Thread starter Kramer
- Start date
The Inkbird model I got was the ITC-308. I lied, it's actually $35 on Amazon. If you look to the left of the fan's power cable, that little silver thing is the Inkbird's temperature probe, just taped to the top of the inside of the fridge. The controller is outside.
I've seen people drill holes or use drain plugs to route wires into their fridges. This is unnecessary imo. I just taped them in place and shut the door. I reset my thermometers and let it run overnight...only a 2 degree F swing between lowest and highest temp.
As far as the fridge, I bought it new (on sale) for $70. I wasn't too worried as this will just become a beer cooler anyways once my fermentation season is done. It's not big, but should hold 4 quart and 4-6 pint jars with airlocks which is plenty for my modest garden. Good idea to check classifieds at the end of school semesters..well, if it really gets going to begin with.
I've seen people drill holes or use drain plugs to route wires into their fridges. This is unnecessary imo. I just taped them in place and shut the door. I reset my thermometers and let it run overnight...only a 2 degree F swing between lowest and highest temp.
As far as the fridge, I bought it new (on sale) for $70. I wasn't too worried as this will just become a beer cooler anyways once my fermentation season is done. It's not big, but should hold 4 quart and 4-6 pint jars with airlocks which is plenty for my modest garden. Good idea to check classifieds at the end of school semesters..well, if it really gets going to begin with.
I have a ITC-308 also that I have been using for seedlings with a heat mat. I see there's a wifi version for $50!
I have been using camelcamelcamel.com to check prices on Amazon - it's really great, they show you the historical price variation and you can add alerts to tell you when the price drops below a certain level. The ITC-308 was $25 earlier this year but is now back to $35 but with a 5% off coupon.
If you're into DIY a little, the ITC-1000 is $16 but will need you to connect wires to it (I think it comes with the sensor). Not as plug and play as the others but a fraction of the price.
I have been using camelcamelcamel.com to check prices on Amazon - it's really great, they show you the historical price variation and you can add alerts to tell you when the price drops below a certain level. The ITC-308 was $25 earlier this year but is now back to $35 but with a 5% off coupon.
If you're into DIY a little, the ITC-1000 is $16 but will need you to connect wires to it (I think it comes with the sensor). Not as plug and play as the others but a fraction of the price.
Interesting - the ITC-1000 looks like a neat little piece of kit. I honestly got kind of piqued there because I imagined a chip which required soldering and building your own unit, and I already build tube amps for my guitar obsession. I still might build that someday just for fun.
Another thing here is my fan runs off mains voltage. You could easily replace that with a straight up computer fan and find a wall wart that'll feed it the right volts. Dirt cheap, just maybe harder to find.
And for anyone else that cares to do a mini fridge chamber like this, most have a hump in the back where all the internals are. A pint jar with standard airlock won't fit. But, they make 2 piece mini airlocks that fit just right. Looking at it now, I think I can fit 4 quarts (possibly 3 half gals), plus 6-8 pints.
Another thing here is my fan runs off mains voltage. You could easily replace that with a straight up computer fan and find a wall wart that'll feed it the right volts. Dirt cheap, just maybe harder to find.
And for anyone else that cares to do a mini fridge chamber like this, most have a hump in the back where all the internals are. A pint jar with standard airlock won't fit. But, they make 2 piece mini airlocks that fit just right. Looking at it now, I think I can fit 4 quarts (possibly 3 half gals), plus 6-8 pints.