Brew fridge advice please!

[Frank777]

I’m going to put together a brew fridge using Inkbird ITC-308, this fridge
ELF145W_WH | Electra Larder Fridge | 250 Litres | ao.com

and this heater
Hausen Electric Tubular Heater For Greenhouse Shed Garage 1ft/2ft/3ft/4ft Tube:Amazon.co.uk:Kitchen & Home

I’m going to put a Fermentasaurus in it sometimes which is why I was looking for a taller fridge. Can any brew fridge experts see any problems with my choices or have any advice?

 

[Deathstar]

I’d maybe get a small fan to keep the air moving around the fridge to eliminate and dead spots.

 

[Banbeer]

Hi @Frank777, only thing I can think of is if using the Fermentasaurus is you will need to build a shelf above the salad crisper as the compressor is probably behind it and will restrict the depth. I have a similar fridge(same dimensions) so anything you need measuring just PM me and I'll be glad to help mate.

 

[Cestrian]

Funny I just bought the same fridge 5 or 6 weeks ago. its been great!
i put a couple of pieces of decking cut to size on the bottom shelf above the salad draw as Banbeer said, to get a level base. Don’t know about the size of the fermentasaurus, but I bought it because it can fit two large 25L FVs.
I took off the inside light to bypass the thermostat too, because it would only get down to 3C as I’m using it as a lager fridge at the moment. I use it with an stc1000 for temperature control.

I use a similar tube heater on my brew fridge, the 12” one.

 

[Frank777]

Thanks Banbeer, much appreciated.

Cestrian - how did you bypass the thermostat? What degree C are you wanting to get to?

 

[Cestrian]

When I'm lagering I usually set the temp to 0.5C which controls from 0 to 1C. To bypass the temp control I took the two brown wires out of the thermostat switch, cut the connectors off and wired them together. The light doesn't work, but I'm not too bothered. Having watched a few videos on youtube, I think if I had connected the black wire to the two brown ones then the light would work, but didn't want to risk blowing up my new fridge.

 

[Galena]

Thanks Banbeer, much appreciated.

Cestrian - how did you bypass the thermostat? What degree C are you wanting to get to?

I bought a similar fridge recently, and about the same dimensions, whilst I am sure it will be okay for your purpose be aware that there are taller fridges on the market and in my case I cannot quite get two Speidel FV's in one on top of the other and wish I had gone for a taller fridge.
You will only need to bypass the thermostat if you intend to go lower than the thermostat allows, so probably that would be about 4 degrees but this is a useful video on the subject of bypassing VIDEO

 

[Frank777]

I bought a similar fridge recently, and about the same dimensions, whilst I am sure it will be okay for your purpose be aware that there are taller fridges on the market and in my case I cannot quite get two Speidel FV's in one on top of the other and wish I had gone for a taller fridge.
You will only need to bypass the thermostat if you intend to go lower than the thermostat allows, so probably that would be about 4 degrees but this is a useful video on the subject of bypassing VIDEO

Thanks Galena, what size Speidel FVs can’t you fit in together?

 

[Galena]

Thanks Galena, what size Speidel FVs can’t you fit in together?

Believe it or not I can't even get 2 of the 12 litre in, not with the airlocks fitted. They are quite tall airlocks though so if you swapped for a blowoff tube you wouldn't have the same problem. I have just ordered a second fridge as I could do with one anyway for extra brews and one if I cold crash or store beer in so I have now gone for one of these as its taller HERE Thats not a recommendation just the cheapest new fridge I could get that was this tall.

 

[stan.distortion]

A bag of 3/8th plastic elbows off ebay sorted out my height problems, they'll fit in place of the airlock, stick a tube on the other end going to an airlock mounted somewhere convenient. That allowed enough room for a shelf of bottles carbing up, should make carbing much quicker in the winter months!

 

[Galena]

A bag of 3/8th plastic elbows off ebay sorted out my height problems, they'll fit in place of the airlock, stick a tube on the other end going to an airlock mounted somewhere convenient. That allowed enough room for a shelf of bottles carbing up, should make carbing much quicker in the winter months!

Great idea :)

 

[Wynne]

I see folk that you are using larder fridges. Has any one identified a suitable tall freezer for this purpose or do fridges have advantages over freezers?

 

[Thatscold]

Most tall freezers have cooling pipes built into the shelves which are non removable.