36 replies to this topic

[3rd party JKor]

100 gallons, eh? What kind of turn-over do you have?

Seems to be turning over pretty fast lately. It's amazing how fast it goes when you advertise free beer.

[Patrick C.]

I've got it set up so the fan runs all the time. This prevents any freeze-up, and should wring a little more moisture out of the air, but now I'm wondering if it sucks in more outside air. It's a 5000 BTU window unit, and the box is at 45°F. I'll have to check if it has a high and low...(goes to kegerator)Yep. Switched it to low. We'll see how it works out.Thanks for the tip Stellar- if you're ever out this way, I owe you a beer. Unless this doesn't help, in which case you have to help me unstick the kegerator door before having a beer.

[kbhale]

I read a post some time ago where a guy bought a old refrigerator meat truck. He modified it a bit and now uses it for cold storage and fermentation. Not quite Ghetto but Red neck back yard.

[3rd party JKor]

I've got it set up so the fan runs all the time. This prevents any freeze-up, and should wring a little more moisture out of the air, but now I'm wondering if it sucks in more outside air. It's a 5000 BTU window unit, and the box is at 45°F. I'll have to check if it has a high and low...

You could completely seal the unit, but you need to figure out how to deal with the condensate. The only reason it isn't sealed is so any moisture that condenses on the cold coils and drips down into the base can migrate to the hot side and drip out of the drain. If you figure out a way to prevent the condensate from overflowing in the base, then you can seal up the pass through from the hot side to the cold side. Although, I wouldn't bother trying this unless you are absolutely positive that the rest of the chamber is completely 100% sealed.

[stellarbrew]

I've got it set up so the fan runs all the time. This prevents any freeze-up, and should wring a little more moisture out of the air, but now I'm wondering if it sucks in more outside air. It's a 5000 BTU window unit, and the box is at 45°F. I'll have to check if it has a high and low...(goes to kegerator)Yep. Switched it to low. We'll see how it works out.Thanks for the tip Stellar- if you're ever out this way, I owe you a beer. Unless this doesn't help, in which case you have to help me unstick the kegerator door before having a beer.

I don't know if it will help or not, Patrick. I was just throwing it out as something to try. But I'd be glad to take you up on that beer sometime, even if it means unsticking the kegerator door. Let us know if you do any good against that humidity issue.

[HerrHiller]

Going back to my idea.. if i wanted to make this shed into 3 sections.. lager ferment chamber..ale ferment chamber and a serving/aging chamber (which would be twice the size of the other 2)...I assum,e id just need 3 AC units and 3 heating units.. I cant think of any other waya round this.. can you guys??? what kind of BTUS would we be talkin about with these anyways???

[3rd party JKor]

Going back to my idea.. if i wanted to make this shed into 3 sections.. lager ferment chamber..ale ferment chamber and a serving/aging chamber (which would be twice the size of the other 2)...I assum,e id just need 3 AC units and 3 heating units.. I cant think of any other waya round this.. can you guys??? what kind of BTUS would we be talkin about with these anyways???

One AC with a cascading arrangement (like a fridge). The AC will exhaust into the serving chamber (which will presumably be the coldest), then you have a fan in between the serving chamber and the lager chamber and one between the lager chamber and the ale chamber. You will need three temp controllers for that configuration though. One to control the AC and one to control each of the fans separating the chambers. You can use light bulbs for the heating elements. Make sure your temp controller can handle heating AND cooling at the same time.

[HerrHiller]

One AC with a cascading arrangement (like a fridge). The AC will exhaust into the serving chamber (which will presumably be the coldest), then you have a fan in between the serving chamber and the lager chamber and one between the lager chamber and the ale chamber. You will need three temp controllers for that configuration though. One to control the AC and one to control each of the fans separating the chambers. You can use light bulbs for the heating elements. Make sure your temp controller can handle heating AND cooling at the same time.

Good thinking. i would have never thought about that... How many BTUs AC you think id need for this?

[3rd party JKor]

Unless this is a walk in, a 5,000BTU is probably enough.

[HerrHiller]

Unless this is a walk in, a 5,000BTU is probably enough.

Well the plan would be to have a door that goes to the outside in each section. and each section to be a walk-in......

[3rd party JKor]

Well the plan would be to have a door that goes to the outside in each section. and each section to be a walk-in......

What are your proposed dimensions?

[HerrHiller]

What are your proposed dimensions?

Ideally (ill prolly never get this actually done for the record.. jnjust a dream build) but ideally id like room 1 to be 3-4'Wx7'Hx10'D room 2 would be the same and the serving room would be the same except double the width

[3rd party JKor]

Ideally (ill prolly never get this actually done for the record.. jnjust a dream build) but ideally id like room 1 to be 3-4'Wx7'Hx10'D room 2 would be the same and the serving room would be the same except double the width

Oh, I thought you were talking about just building a box for a few carboys. That system would require a much more beefy unit. I'd probably have to do some calculations to figure it out.

[HerrHiller]

Oh, I thought you were talking about just building a box for a few carboys. That system would require a much more beefy unit. I'd probably have to do some calculations to figure it out.

like i said itd be a dream build.. gotta admit though.. if i pulled it off.. itd be pretty effin sweet eh? imagine the parties :-)

[gnef]

This is one of my planned upgrades for the house within 5 years (hopefully less than 3).I have been advised by cheflamont and some others in the brew club to use walk-in cooler panels from a local used restaurant equipment supply if we can get them cheap enough, that way I won't have to worry about the insulation as much (I would still insulate the base and ceiling if we couldn't get panels for those). I also planned on doing a dual zone like what was recommended here, just one for cold storage, and the other for fermenting. I figure for me, two zones will be good enough as I don't do lagers very often, and if I do, I can just adjust the second zone while I am doing the lager, then move it back in to ale fermentation temperatures.My main reason for doing this is because I age so many kegs, and I continue to make things to age for years - barleywines, ciders, wines, and meads are the main things I age. I currently have over 40 kegs filled (it was right around 50, but I've been able to empty a few recently), and have a total of 80 usable kegs (I'd like to eventually have 100 total). I have two temperature controlled chest freezers (another one that will be soon), along with my kegerator, but with those, I can only hold 22 kegs cold, and I still have well over a dozen kegs at room temp still that are filled. At this point, I really need the cold storage space to be able to age things the way I would like to be able to for years to come.Plans are still in my head, and when I have been able to save enough money, I will go through with it (I am expecting it to be maybe around 1.5k-2k in the end).If you ever go through with this, let us know, and post back with pictures!

[3rd party JKor]

This is one of my planned upgrades for the house within 5 years (hopefully less than 3).I have been advised by cheflamont and some others in the brew club to use walk-in cooler panels from a local used restaurant equipment supply if we can get them cheap enough, that way I won't have to worry about the insulation as much (I would still insulate the base and ceiling if we couldn't get panels for those). I also planned on doing a dual zone like what was recommended here, just one for cold storage, and the other for fermenting. I figure for me, two zones will be good enough as I don't do lagers very often, and if I do, I can just adjust the second zone while I am doing the lager, then move it back in to ale fermentation temperatures.My main reason for doing this is because I age so many kegs, and I continue to make things to age for years - barleywines, ciders, wines, and meads are the main things I age. I currently have over 40 kegs filled (it was right around 50, but I've been able to empty a few recently), and have a total of 80 usable kegs (I'd like to eventually have 100 total). I have two temperature controlled chest freezers (another one that will be soon), along with my kegerator, but with those, I can only hold 22 kegs cold, and I still have well over a dozen kegs at room temp still that are filled. At this point, I really need the cold storage space to be able to age things the way I would like to be able to for years to come.Plans are still in my head, and when I have been able to save enough money, I will go through with it (I am expecting it to be maybe around 1.5k-2k in the end).If you ever go through with this, let us know, and post back with pictures!

Sounds awesome, and is what I'll be doing soon (except, probably not walk-in). I don't know if I want to have 100 kegs (), but 30-50 is in my mind. I'd love to be able to have 20-25 kegs ready to serve at a moments notice.Regarding the used walk-in panels...what are they charging for these? I'm asking because most insulation degrades over time, particularly foam insulation. If you're getting panels with old polyurethane (PU) foam that have possibly had condensation in them, you'd be way better off buying new foam at HD/Lowe's/etc. The Tuff-R foams (Polyisocyanurate foam) have a really good insulation value and are easy to install. Probably not as easy as pre-fab panels, but the insulation will certainly be better. Polyiso foam is better than PU foam from the get go.

[gnef]

Hmmmmmm, that is interesting. I've also considered framing out the sides like I've seen in some online guides. I would want to frame it at maybe 8 inches deep, so I can use regular insulation batts, and then hold it in with the foam insulation 4x8ft sheets, maybe 2-3 thick. I think for the floor, I would have to use the sheets of insulation, then put water-proof/resistant flooring on top of it. I am still thinking about what I would need to do for the door if I do all the building myself. This is one area where I like the walk-in cooler idea, because there are already doors that are designed for the purpose. Nothing will happen too soon though, so I'm not too worried about it right now. I usually have ideas floating around in my head until I've decided on the best approach for me.