60 litre fermenter in brew fridge?

[timbowden]

Hi all,
Just got a tall fridge ready to convert to a fermenting fridge. Also I have a brew packs 60litre fermenter. Anyone put one of these in a brew fridge or is the total weight too heavy? Is it better to split to two separate 23litre fermenters :wha:

 

[LeithR]

I think the fridge may be capable but are you able to lift around 60Kg into the fridge without spilling it. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to. Try a practice run with the FV full of water?

 

[PD]

yes getting a 60 litre bucket full of wort in and out of a brewfridge will be a bit problematic.....probably fun...but problematic

 

[nobyipa]

good luck with that the fridge will take it
But it's dodgy and hard enough putting a 23 litre batch in a fridge very heavy and quite awkward

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Maybe get a fork lift

 

[alby]

Previously I split batches exactly as mentioned into 2x30L, however, I have moved a fridge into the garage and hose directly into a fridge from the boil kettle cfc into a ss 70L pot and syphon out to cornies thus avoiding any manually handling.

I have avoided lagers because they hogged the fridge so long, but now considering trying to squeeze 2x70L for lagering duties, that will more than cover my annual needs and have 2 types of lager going at once.

I have some sturdy wooden supports in case the beka structure were to self-destruct.

 

[LeithR]

@nobyipa,
I'd be a little concerned about the shelf you have your 23L Fv sitting on per photograph, I don't think the shelves supplied with the Fridges are man enough to take that weight - not in the long term. I'm in the process of building a sturdy wooden extension to the shelf which I can glue into the fridge to stand my FV on to.

 

[stuey]

I use the same fermenter for my 50 litre batches in a tall Bosch larder fridge.

I have a square sheet of 1/2 inch ply resting in the bottom of the fridge as you can see in the pic below.

I would not trust the wire shelf and I feel the gash bit of timber I have resting along the bottom of the fridge helps to spread the weight. I have done 5 big brews this way so far with no issue and another one will be put in there later today when it has finished :)

And yes... it is a temporary job I lashed together about 6 months ago!!

It takes both of us to carry the fermenter in from outside and both of us to lift it into the fridge.

It stays in there until after I have racked it into bottles or cask or priming vessel.

The thing to ensure is that the height you measure includes the airlock unless you plan not to use one.

 

[nobyipa]

I use the same fermenter for my 50 litre batches in a tall Bosch larder fridge.

I have a square sheet of 1/2 inch ply resting in the bottom of the fridge as you can see in the pic below.

I would not trust the wire shelf and I feel the gash bit of timber I have resting along the bottom of the fridge helps to spread the weight. I have done 5 big brews this way so far with no issue and another one will be put in there later today when it has finished :)

And yes... it is a temporary job I lashed together about 6 months ago!!

It takes both of us to carry the fermenter in from outside and both of us to lift it into the fridge.

It stays in there until after I have racked it into bottles or cask or priming vessel.

The thing to ensure is that the height you measure includes the airlock unless you plan not to use one.

Yes your right about the wire shelf [my photo is an old one without the reinforcement] don't trust that alone it will deform with a fermenter in it and fall off its rail..
I have recently welded more stronger mesh onto the wire shelf thingy making it well strong enough

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[timbowden]

thanks for all the help everyone :thumb:
I was planning to pump my wort straight into the fermenter already in the fridge and when fermentation has stopped it will be pumped into kegs/casks. My back is'nt up to the job of moving heavy things like this. I'll build a support like the ones shown and not trust the selves :clap: