Fermentation Chiller (Updated Pic's pg.11)

[jsbeerme]

I'm nearing the completion of my fermentation chamber and thought I would post some pic's for conversation. I need to thank John "johnplctech" for enlightening me with the cooling concept and other misc things. I fired it up last night for the first time and WOW this thing has come serious cooling power. It dropped the temp in the chamber 20°F+ in 10min to 38°F. I can't wait to brew up lager now.....

[Tomthebrewer]

What's the red stuff in the freezer? What was the total cost of doing this?

[Snow Script Brewing]

looks great!

would you enlighten the rest of us with some of the details like: is the coolant antifreeze? is that a generic heater core? Is that an ordinary thermostat used to trigger the pump? what kind of pump are you using?

[AllGrain]

same questions as above, plus, how long did it take you, and is the front cover styrofoam as well? Where did you get it?

[chadwylde]

Its probably blood of the cut off hands that tried to get into his beer that wasn't quite ready yet.

[curryman]

tease!!

[jsbeerme]

What's the red stuff in the freezer? What was the total cost of doing this?

The "red stuff" is RV Antifreeze (Propylene Glycol).

The cost....
Ritetemp Digital thermostat - $12 on ebay
Hayden 401 Tranmission Cooler - $25
12vdc Bilge Pump - $20 - on ebay
120mm Fan - $10 but I had one laying around.
Hose - $8
Foam Insulation - $30
RV Antifreeze - $4
clamps,fittings,glue, etc. - $8
Power supply - ??? The power supply is 13.8vdc @12amps, I have had it for years, but you could also use an old 250W computer power supply.

So depending on what you have access to for free or cheap, it comes out to be a little over $100

[jsbeerme]

looks great!

would you enlighten the rest of us with some of the details like: is the coolant antifreeze? is that a generic heater core? Is that an ordinary thermostat used to trigger the pump? what kind of pump are you using?

Coolant - Non-Toxic Propylene Glycol
Cooler - Hayden 401 Transmission cooler
Pump - 12v DC Bilge pump

Thermostat - Ritetemp 8022c (normal digital house thermostat with the thermistor relocated on the end of a piece of wire and stuffed in the thermowell)
Also, I triggered the pump through a small 12v relay since it draws 3 amps and the thermostat will only handle 1 amp.

[jsbeerme]

same questions as above, plus, how long did it take you, and is the front cover styrofoam as well? Where did you get it?

I have been working on it a bit here and there for a few weeks. The foam came from Lowes it's Dow Brand 2" Styrofoam Insulation. Yup the front cover is foam as well. I plan to incase it all in wood in the near future.

[uppercanadian]

damn that is a sick brew project
I'm still trying to fix holes in my drywall...

[TiMX]

Very nice. That is a great idea!!

[pballfin]

How well does it maintain the temp? I was planning on doing a similar project but was wondering how think to go on the foam. I had estimated 4-8 inches. Of course I was also shooting for more efficiency too.

[johnplctech]

Nice job Joe. I'll steal your radiator mounting ideas when I mount mine permanently. Are you planning on putting insulation on the hoses between the chiller and the freezer?

I got the last few bits in for our top secret project. We had one of our customers in yesterday with a herd of supervisors and they are bringing more of their supervisors in today to look at a job in progress... They left happy...

Hope to finish the top secret project soon. The best part is I refined the design so I only have to make one part to put it all together. The rest are off the shelf parts!

John

[brewone]

One more question...

Where did you get the tranny cooler? I've looked around here for something like that and nobody carries one.

Thanks,
Bill

[Fonzy]

That thing is awesome! When we brewing???