11 replies to this topic

[djinkc]

I built this a several years ago. Cut out some homemade shelving a previous owner put in and tried my best. Nothing's close to square. I ended up with 1/2 pink semihard whatever it is for insulation. Of course foamed the edges and caulked. Covered that with cheap hardboard that was painted, caulked and polyurethaned for moisture protection. It does that OK but I know the AC runs way to much. If I try to use it to drop temps too much in the summer, or simply too cold I freeze the coils - not fun to take that sucker apart. The back and left side of the space is concrete foundation which has the pink insulation glued to it. The bottom is 3/4" plywood sitting on 2X4s, uninsulated. The doors have the insulation and hardboard too. Pretty good fit with the stick on insulation foam strips. Seals pretty tight. Yeah, use damprid when the humidity is up too. The AC unit is on top and the box surrounding it is insulated the same way. Cold air drops into the left side and fans hooked up to the right side are run by a separate thermostat. Not ideal but the two sides can be around 6 - 8df different.I'm thinking at this point about all I can do is drill holes to spray the canned foam in the bottom and use the aluminum or whatever it is bubble wrap to add more on the inside. The stuff a lot of people put on Sankes (I did too) they use in the brewery. I have no idea what the R value is on that but it would be the simplest way I can think of to add more. Any suggestions other than tearing the whole thing out and starting over?

[3rd party JKor]

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what exactly your goal is. Having the AC run less?

[djinkc]

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what exactly your goal is. Having the AC run less?

Absolutely, insulate better with less energy expended - just looking for the easy fix that usually is a pipe dream........... Just tough to do it right with the odd dimensions. I did one lager this winter with it. Really don't think it would be possible with summer temps.

[davelew]

My only advice is that a thermal chamber is like a bucket of water. It doesn't matter how watertight 99% of the bucket is if there's a hole in the other 1%, the bucket will leak. If you want to find the problem with a homemade fermentation chamber, look for the hole in the bucket.First, run the chamber as cold as it will go, then move your hand around the outside looking for cold spots or air leaks. Plug those up. Look at hinges or other bits of metal that run from the inside to the outside, if those are cold then you may need to spray foam on the part of the hinge inside the box. Look at all the seams, especially the corners where seams meet, and fix any leaks with spray foam.

[3rd party JKor]

Cut a piece of 1" rigid foam to fit on the base. Just lay it down and put a piece of plywood over it to give it some strength. Or just spray foam everything, the base and all the inside surfaces. Build it up to about and inch or inch and a half on all the interior surfaces.Yeah, leaks are killer, too. I think insulation might be your #1 problem, but once that's fixed, leaks will be the #1 problem. You should probably be trying to solve both problems at the same time.

Edited by JKoravos, 16 June 2010 - 08:04 PM.

[Stout_fan]

So the doors barrel latch into each other. What keeps them tight against the door insulation?I also noted the wood frame to hold the insulation panel in place on the doors inside. Am I right here?In that case a low R path exists there.

[stangbat]

I agree with the advice you've received so far. More insulation is a good idea, but the icing is due to air leaks that let in the humid air. More insulation won't help this problem as long as humid air can get in.I guess I glycol fog machine would be a good way to find leaks. I'm sure you've got one of those lying around.

[3rd party JKor]

I agree with the advice you've received so far. More insulation is a good idea, but the icing is due to air leaks that let in the humid air. More insulation won't help this problem as long as humid air can get in.I guess I glycol fog machine would be a good way to find leaks. I'm sure you've got one of those lying around.

...or a nice Cuban cigar. Dominican would work, but not as well.

[BlKtRe]

Air leaks, that back concrete wall, and the un-insulated floor will suck temp right out. If you insulate under the floor and make the back panel thicker up against the concrete wall this will help tremendously. After I built my walkin I shot a thermo gun on the concrete floor from the outside of my insulated box. I had temp drops as far out as 1 ft. of the exterior wall. Firmed up the insulation on the inside floor and gained 5* and less AC cycles. Concrete is a temp sucker outer....

[stangbat]

...or a nice Cuban cigar. Dominican would work, but not as well.

Yeah DJ, fire up a Cuban, climb in there, and enjoy!

[djinkc]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have quite a few covered already. Can't see it in the pics but the bolt on the doors also goes through an eyescrew that keeps them shut tight. I need to make a couple Belgians so the fermenters can be out for a few days.......No cigars though - off tobacco again which is going real well

[djinkc]

Last Saturday I lined all the interior walls except the bottom and commom wall with Reflectix, and put it on the outside of the box that housed the AC input. Sealed all the seams with Al tape. What a difference. I have a pseudo pils fermenting at 57df, 2112 yeast. That's a lot lower than I would try a year ago since it's been hot and humid here. Would have froze that sucker up in no time. Probably cut my run time for the AC in half at 57 compared to 63 a few weeks ago. I'm almost tempted to put the temp probe back in the thermowell on the fermenter. Now it's still wrapped in one of those little freeze packs I used for a temporary fix............3 years ago.If I do this again it won't be a fit what is there and work with it. Should have torn out the shelving, started from scratch and done it right with a ton of insulation and a squared structure. Anyway, thanks for the suggestions, Reflectix while semi-pricey was an easy fix. Now I have no doubt I can brew lagers year round now.I *think* temperature issues are resolved at DJ's place to the point where I have to look at other factors to brew better stuff. I really, really, honest to God don't enjoy water chemistry . Taken a lot of courses over the years and while I could pass it, that stuff still never found a happy place in my brain.............So, what's the deal with lagers? Pretty much the same as ales right, just a little colder? Did Noonan ever write anything about them? j/k have his latest..............

Edited by dj in kc, 28 June 2010 - 05:03 PM.