Home of the BrewNosers

Not because it's so hot out though.

I have an insulated cold room under by basement stairs and I'm converting it into a fermentation room. I'm looking for an a/c unit that's not too deep to fit into the wall of it. I'll hook it up to a temp controller, etc. Right now the ambient temp there is around 20C and I'd like to get it down to 14 or 15. An a/c unit like this should work just fine.

If anyone has something they want to get rid of that would be "cool". Still looking on kijiji and only looking to spend $40 or so.

Sleepyjamie and I are doing a huge brew day on Saturday and I only have room for 2 carboys in my ferm chamber. This room will fit many more.

I figure if I can only brew once every 4-6 weeks it would be nice to bang out 20+ gallons!

I scored one tonight for $25 and will frame it up sometime in the next couple of days. Now I need a box for my ebay temp controller.

Nice find! I kinda want to get one to build similar setup: cold room for cellaring/fermenting beer. Guess I just need to get my ass in gear...

Bringing up an old thread..

New house came with a 'wine cellar' in the basement. Insulated room, no windows.. would likely be fine in the winter for cellaring beer but right now (and when it gets hotter in the summer) I'm pretty sure the temps won't be ideal (or all that close to ideal) for cellaring beer.

So, Rob how is the 5000 BTU unit working out for you? I know you have a MUCH smaller space that I'm talking about but how do you find the temps? Have you tried to get it down to 10C or less?

I'm also tempted to rig up a portable AC unit (cube with hoses) but put it 'outside' the room and vent the air from the room across the cold side of the condenser, use the air from the adjacent basement room (utility room with furnance/etc) to cool the hot side of the condenser.. and vent the exhaust heat outside. I'm guessing this setup would have a better chance of cooling the room without a lot of the issues associated with the window units (icing/etc)?

Discuss!

It works great and I might have had it down to 10C for a short time, don't think it would be a problem.

Tim. Why don't you put that cube can to use and use that as a new fermentation chamber

Ha! Too big and not insulated.. who needs a portable ferm chamber?

So turns out the cellar stays fairly cool even during a 20degC day (though it did get down to 3-4 the night before). Checked last evening and it was 15degC (59degF), which is on the very edge of the 'recommended' temp of 50-60degF. So I'll keep an eye on it, and if it creeps up above 60 I'll install a used $50 air conditioner and keep it down to 52-55degF. It's a big'ish room.. so I'm thinking maybe I'll get a couple of heat belts and use the room for fermentation as well.

Cheers

Hm... If an outside air temp of 20 drove it from 4 to 15 over a day, a 25 degree day would definitely get it a few degrees higher. Perhaps just additional insulation or a smaller insulated ferm chamber in the room would minimize the fluctuation?

Oops, communication error there. It was about 3-4degC 'outside' overnight.. not sure what the cellar flucuation was (a bit tougher to monitor without opening the door all the time, which would kinda throw the readings off). I'll set up my Maverick temp probe in there and see, ha.

Tim

I'm thinking you'd want the outside walls of the cellar to be not insulated and the inside walls to be insulated from the rest of the house

Rob, do you find there's much condensation from the AC unit?

Back from the dead.. is it easy enough to hook up an air conditioner with 'digital controls' to a temperature controller?

Cheers,

TimG wrote:Back from the dead.. is it easy enough to hook up an air conditioner with 'digital controls' to a temperature controller?

Cheers,

Yep, same style controller as for my fermentation chamber and keezer. I guess the relay in the STC-1000 can handle the load (I think mine's 1500W).

rubbertoe, did you ever have condensation/moisture issues with the AC unit being inside?

None at all and I've never seen the AC even drip. It just doesn't have to run that long since the space is small and insulated. I may have issues pushing the temps really low though.

Fermentation Room by Hot Pepper Daddy, on Flickr


Fermentation Room by Hot Pepper Daddy, on Flickr


Air Conditioner by Hot Pepper Daddy, on Flickr