New brew fridge

[marlon]

Thanks for comments about temperature controller and heater type in earlier posts - very helpful. Clearly the type of fridge is significant when deciding heater capacity. Tomorrow I am picking up a larder fridge that I bought on Gumtree so I can finally start to put together my brew fridge.
I have decided to opt for an Inkbird ITC-308 or the ITC-308s. Apart from the latter being £6-£7 more expensive it has the advantage of a detachable and longer temperature probe but whether or not this is important I don't know. Any thoughts, please?
I have also decided to go for a greenhouse heater. Opinions on the most appropriate 'size' varied - 25W, 45W, 60W and even higher - but part of that was influenced by fridge size - under counter as opposed to larder fridge. As a result, this is my biggest dilemma and I don't want to get it wrong. For my larder fridge, overheating and cycling issues taken into account, what should I get?

I use a larder fridge very similar to yours, controlled by stc 1000. The bar heater in mine is just 40 watts, got it from Screwfix - about £15..?. This autumn I've been using it up to 22deg and it's coped fine - (it's in my unheated shed btw). And I haven't noticed any temp over run. I also fitted a PC cabinet fan to circulate the air inside, so the whole fridge is the same temperature. Good results so far.

 

[Aphid]

I use a larder fridge very similar to yours, controlled by stc 1000. The bar heater in mine is just 40 watts, got it from Screwfix - about ���£15..?. This autumn I've been using it up to 22deg and it's coped fine - (it's in my unheated shed btw). And I haven't noticed any temp over run. I also fitted a PC cabinet fan to circulate the air inside, so the whole fridge is the same temperature. Good results so far.

40W in a similar fridge. That's good to know. Thanks. As a novice I am not sure if anything I might do in the future would require over 22C (...?) so that sounds fine. Mine will be housed permanently in my garage.
Be interested to know how and where you have installed the PC fan. Not heard that idea before but it sounds great. I think I have a spare one lying about somewhere. One last question. Do you leave the sensor hanging free inside or pressed against the FV within bubble wrap?

 

[marlon]

40W in a similar fridge. That's good to know. Thanks. As a novice I am not sure if anything I might do in the future would require over 22C (...?) so that sounds fine. Mine will be housed permanently in my garage.
Be interested to know how and where you have installed the PC fan. Not heard that idea before but it sounds great. I think I have a spare one lying about somewhere. One last question. Do you leave the sensor hanging free inside or pressed against the FV within bubble wrap?

I've got the fan hanging on the inside of the door, about half way down, facing downwards, so the air blows down the side of the FV. I checked temperatures top & bottom with a remote sensor thermometer, leaving the door shut for a few minutes each time to make sure the temp is stabilised. It read the same top & bottom. Tomorrow I could take a photo and show you, but tonight, it's cold and dark & the shed's at the bottom of the garden... (and I'm scared of the dark)...:-?

I have the inkbird sensor taped to the FV about half way up and insulated with a wodge of paper

 

[Aphid]

I've got the fan hanging on the inside of the door, about half way down, facing downwards, so the air blows down the side of the FV. I checked temperatures top & bottom with a remote sensor thermometer, leaving the door shut for a few minutes each time to make sure the temp is stabilised. It read the same top & bottom. Tomorrow I could take a photo and show you, but tonight, it's cold and dark & the shed's at the bottom of the garden... (and I'm scared of the dark)...:-?

I have the inkbird sensor taped to the FV about half way up and insulated with a wodge of paper

No torch, huh. :lol:
Pictures would be good, thanks. A few questions:
How do you connect your PC fan to a power supply? Does it need to face downwards or will it still be effective blowing forward away from the door?
Is your FV sensor wrapped all around the sensor, like a paper wrap? Or just placed on the outer surface and taped over to the FV?

 

[marlon]

No torch, huh. :lol:
Pictures would be good, thanks. A few questions:
How do you connect your PC fan to a power supply? Does it need to face downwards or will it still be effective blowing forward away from the door?
Is your FV sensor wrapped all around the sensor, like a paper wrap? Or just placed on the outer surface and taped over to the FV?

The fan is 12v dc, so it's supplied via a 12dc power supply - I had that in the shed. (an old mobile phone charger might do it - or a small car battery charger ..)?
I don't know if it needs to face downwards, it just seemed right to my addled brain. I guess you could experiment - maybe you'll find a better direction to point it - but the idea ( of course) is to keep the air inside moving round.
The sensor is just attached directly to the side of the FV with insulation tape, then insulated from the air in the fridge with whatever you have to hand, so it takes it's reference from your beer inside the FV.

And the dark....thing is......I've got a torch...but the batteries are flat....I've got some more....in the shed....

 

[marlon]

No torch, huh. :lol:
Pictures would be good, thanks. A few questions:
How do you connect your PC fan to a power supply? Does it need to face downwards or will it still be effective blowing forward away from the door?
Is your FV sensor wrapped all around the sensor, like a paper wrap? Or just placed on the outer surface and taped over to the FV?

Pics of my brewfridge

 

[Aphid]

Pics of my brewfridge

Thanks for the pictures. Quite a set up you have there! Life support for beer.
Like the way you have integrated the temp controller into the door so it shows from the outside. The heater fixed to the door is a novel idea, too. I now see how you have the PC fan. I had mental images of it dangling loosely from the wire. :lol:

 

[Bigcol49]

. . . but the idea ( of course) is to keep the air inside moving round.

Hi!
Nice setup - loving the STC1000 mounted in the door. Great idea!
I don't have a fan in my brewfridge - I depend on convection.
I would have thought that a computer fan would be too powerful for a brewfridge - do you reduce the speed in any way so that it circulates the air more gently?

 

[dublin12]

In my 230L tall larder brewfridge I have the 60w tube heater. Its 2c-6c outside at moment and the heater seems to get the fridge to about 20.5c (programmed for 22c) but as it is within limits its ok.

I disconnected the PC fan as the heater is at the bottom and hot air rises and I wont be cooling again till next spring at latest. Might not even reenable the fan then either.

 

[marlon]

Thanks for the pictures. Quite a set up you have there! Life support for beer.
Like the way you have integrated the temp controller into the door so it shows from the outside. The heater fixed to the door is a novel idea, too. I now see how you have the PC fan. I had mental images of it dangling loosely from the wire. :lol:

Thanks. I connected the fan on a 'curly' lead so I could re-position it if I felt the urge to. But so far, it's not been moved. Mounted everything I could on the door so that the cables were kept to a minimum, then connected the door via a bit of 4-core curly lead I had kicking about in the shed...now....where did I put those torch batteries...? :electric:

 

[AlanManley]

🎶It's beginning to look a lot like Xmas!!🎶 😁

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[marlon]

Hi!
Nice setup - loving the STC1000 mounted in the door. Great idea!
I don't have a fan in my brewfridge - I depend on convection.
I would have thought that a computer fan would be too powerful for a brewfridge - do you reduce the speed in any way so that it circulates the air more gently?

Thanks. You could have a point about the fan. I fitted it because somebody else on the forum did...:-? No speed controller, but it's only 4watts so I'm not too worried. I can turn it off when cold crashing or lagering

 

[marlon]

In my 230L tall larder brewfridge I have the 60w tube heater. Its 2c-6c outside at moment and the heater seems to get the fridge to about 20.5c (programmed for 22c) but as it is within limits its ok.

I disconnected the PC fan as the heater is at the bottom and hot air rises and I wont be cooling again till next spring at latest. Might not even reenable the fan then either.

Hi Dublin, good point about the hot air rising, I'll be shutting mine off soon, that's a lager I've got in the brewfridge at moment, so it'll be lagering soon:thumb:

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I brew in the old washhouse behind the house so it's unheated. I noticed that the cooling cycle on the brewfridge didn't kick in when it was cold out so I've knocked up a fermentation chamber out of scraps of t&g board, polystyrene, bubble wrap and corrugated cardboard. It isn't pretty, but it cost me nowt, and the tubular heater is holding at 16.9C with an external temperature of 6C.
I use it to brew pseudo-lagers from kits, using Nottingham yeast at the bottom end of its range (14C) and double pitching. Once the fermentation is over I can drop the temperature for a few weeks to "lager" the brew.
This frees up the brewfridge for ales, stouts and wines to brew at 20C. I can have four FVs on the go at any one time.
I consider myself to be very lucky, chiefly because I don't give any grief to SWMBO (and, consequently, get very little grief from her in return).

 

[Aphid]

Aphid these are what I use

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1ft-Tubul...286327?hash=item1e8343ef37:g:MokAAMXQqBxRHiOI

Just bought the same heater on eBay.
What fuse type do I need in the plug, please - 3A or 5A?
Assuming you extended the flex cable, what type of connector did you use?

 

[neal]

Just bought the same heater on eBay.
What fuse type do I need in the plug, please - 3A or 5A?
Assuming you extended the flex cable, what type of connector did you use?

can't remember, I'll go and have a look !

3amp, if you connect a few together then you'll need 5amp, they don't draw much power

 

[Aphid]

can't remember, I'll go and have a look !

3amp, if you connect a few together then you'll need 5amp, they don't draw much power

Thanks, Neal. So 3A in the plug. Did you use a connector to extend the flex cable?

 

[neal]

Thanks, Neal. So 3A in the plug. Did you use a connector to extend the flex cable?

I used a standard junction box (got plenty of stuff lying around in the shed) and screwed it to the side of the fridge !

the fridge is pushed back to the wall, it can't be seen ;-)

 

[Aphid]

I used a standard junction box (got plenty of stuff lying around in the shed) and screwed it to the side of the fridge !

the fridge is pushed back to the wall, it can't be seen ;-)

That's great. Thanks, Neal.

 

[Aphid]

🎶It's beginning to look a lot like Xmas!!🎶 😁

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

My Inkbird ITC-308 arrives tomorrow, hopefully. What setting have you used on your own Inkbird, please?
Cooling differential?
Heating differential?
Compressor delay?

Also, did you need to calibrate? In another post, someone said they found the actual reading and that shown on the Inkbird were different by 2C.