Fermentation Fridge with a freezer compartment

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Deadhead

Deadhead

Female Brewer
Joined
Feb 28, 2016
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Location
Scotland
Hi
My friend had promised me a free fridge when he was redoing his kitchen and I finally have it. I'd like to use this a fermentation chamber, and I've got a nice controller all wired up ready to plug and play.
My question though is this fridge is one with a freezer compartment right within the fridge (not seperate). I'm guessing the freezer is part of the whole cooling mechanism and therefore can't be removed? But then I can't get a fermentation bucket in there. Can I bend the freezer without compromising the cooling, or do something else with it? Or if I can't, does anyone have a recommendation on a fermentation bucket that will fit in it?

Thanks!
 
There is a slim chance that you may be able to bend the freezer plate without damage, depends how much you need to move it. Not sure of a short fat FV but I'm sure there will be something available that will do the job.
 
It might be far cheaper and way easier to look at alternative fermentation vessels.

I managed to buy a cheap ebay fridge and fit it with atc800+, tube heater and fan before discovering it was too narrow to accommodate my standard fairly squat brew bucket!!

However i soon discovered the 4" neck wine fermentors and 25l and 30l hdpe jerrycans would all fit snugly so i simply switched to using them ;)

some folk have managed to hack such fridges by removing all the plastic surrounding the freezer compartment revealing the bent cold radiator that generally makes up its back and bottom, and have attempted to bend it back into a more modern back of the fridge type cold radiator. Its risky as the aluminium the shelf/cold radiator is comprised of and the tubes feeding it will easily fail when bent or if flexed too much and loose all the refrigerant gas pressure..
 
Deadhead said:
Hi
My friend had promised me a free fridge when he was redoing his kitchen and I finally have it. I'd like to use this a fermentation chamber, and I've got a nice controller all wired up ready to plug and play.
My question though is this fridge is one with a freezer compartment right within the fridge (not seperate). I'm guessing the freezer is part of the whole cooling mechanism and therefore can't be removed? But then I can't get a fermentation bucket in there. Can I bend the freezer without compromising the cooling, or do something else with it? Or if I can't, does anyone have a recommendation on a fermentation bucket that will fit in it?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
The other option would be marry Treebeard as suggested in other thread, he's already got a 7 gallon Chronical. I'm sure he must have a fridge for that already. You could then share it.:lol:
 
Thanks, I will get my measuring stick out and see what kind of vessels will fit!

BarnBrian said:
The other option would be marry Treebeard as suggested in other thread, he's already got a 7 gallon Chronical. I'm sure he must have a fridge for that already. You could then share it.:lol:
Click to expand...

:thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::lol::lol::lol::lol:
 
I saw a Youtube video where someone "bent" the freezer compartment out of the way. I'll see if I can find it.....

EDIT: Yup, found it.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1CGpXKbO5k[/ame]
 
If your DIY skills are not the best you could buy a ready made controller - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B019Q3K4EI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20



81s0TDvI26L._SL1500_.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
DaveK said:
I saw a Youtube video where someone "bent" the freezer compartment out of the way. I'll see if I can find it.....

EDIT: Yup, found it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1CGpXKbO5k
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's interesting about the bending. I'm clumsy so I will probably leak coolant everywhere. :whistle: But I could certainly try.


Thanks Chippy_Tea, I've already got a controller ready to plug the fridge into and the heater into, so at least I don't have to worry about that.
 
Same issue I had with my fridge freezer. You run the risk of splitting the pipework by bending it and then its a useless box. I've kept it for conditioning bottles in the fridge and then I freeze the hops and chill the bottled water before brewing.
Your best off finding a larder fridge, which I also have (just need to wire up some more sockets to use it) and both of them were FREE!!!! Try Facebook market place or ebay. People kid on that white goods are worth loads, pretty much you are saving them having to dump it, which for most people is a right chore.
 
BarnBrian said:
The other option would be marry Treebeard as suggested in other thread, he's already got a 7 gallon Chronical. I'm sure he must have a fridge for that already. You could then share it.:lol:
Click to expand...

I'm with Brian on this. I think we should all marry Treebeard. Sounds like it'll fix all our brewing issues.
 
Deadhead said:
Can I bend the freezer without compromising the cooling, or do something else with it?
Click to expand...

You can but be careful not to rupture the cooling system pipework.

I did what you've described, also removing the plastic door interior to fit either a 30L plastic bucket (the ones with no handles) or a corny.

The black and white striped thing in the photo is a reptile heat pad, so the fridge can either heat or cool via a cheap STC 1000.

That's a Munich Dunkel fermenting by the way. Prost!

Photo 22-08-2017, 15 30 41.jpg
 
Ooh, I found a plastic carboy that will actually fit into the fridge if I use a blow off tube instead of an airlock. So I may be okay!
Assuming there are no downsides for using a plastic carboy or a blow off tube, which I can't imagine there are too many that overrule temperature control?
And then in the meanwhile, I will keep an eye on gumtree for a larder fridge.
 
airlocks and blow off tubes are optional, when using a brewfridge i opt not to use either as the reassuring glug is inaudible through the fridge insulation. just use a loose lid on your FV.
 

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