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Chest freezer size question

Northern Brewer General
#1

I want to get a fermentation chamber for my brews here in hot south Florida and want to know what size I should get?. I want to have it hold two 6.5 gallon frementer buckets and a 5 gallon corny keg and 5lb CO2 tank. Then I’ll get a RANCO ETC-111000 Digital Cold Temperature Control unit for $52.99 at Amazon. I was thinking a 8.8 cubic foot freezer might work. The next size up seems to be 14.0 cubic foot in the chest freezer catagory. But that is too large for my apt.
Thanks for the advice.

Cheers
Jimbrewer

#2

I could be wrong, cuz I don’t own either of those size freezers, but I do own a 23 and a 27 cubic footer and I would guess that you are not going to be able to fit what you want in a 8.8. Figure out the exact inner dimension, make a cardboard cutout or draw it on the ground and lay your wishes upon it, then you’ll know!

#3

I agree with John H. Due to limited space in my hot south florida garage, I made 3 cut outs of a 5 gal corny and went to Homey etc. I figure 3 corny’s plus CO2 is fine for me. I ended up with a 7cuft. More than enough room. Do the cut outs of the equipment you want to house. Mike

#4

With a chest freezer you may want check bucket sizes as well. You may find that dropping in and removing carboys from the chest freezer to be a lovely strain on your back. Then again, I have not tried a carboy hauler yet.

#5

You could expand the size of a mini fridge like I did.

And I never thought about it but it looks like a corny would fit.

It’s ugly so it lives in the basement.
And this time of year it heats more than cools.
-mark-

#6
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106821&p=943223&hilit=+ebay#p943223

I you want to save about $20, here is a controller some of use are using.

#7

I have an 8.8 (sears kenmore) and it will hold:

three carboys (at least one being a 5 gallon on hump) plus one keg plus co2 tank
or
four kegs plus maybe one 5 gallon carboy (on hump) plus co2 tank (i’ve not tried this, so maybe)
or
four kegs plus 1 case bottles (two 12pack layers on hump) plus co2 tank
or
four kegs plus one carboy (on hump) but no co2 tank (which obviously can be kept outside of the keezer)

One assumption: keezer has collar, primary carboys are 6 gallon but will probably work for 6.5 gallon too.

:cheers:

#8

[quote=“Alfalfa_Male”]You could expand the size of a mini fridge like I did.

And I never thought about it but it looks like a corny would fit.

It’s ugly so it lives in the basement.
And this time of year it heats more than cools.
-mark-[/quote]

I’ve seen this done a few times on the forum. How well does it keep your temp? And what temp are you running it at? I’m planning my home bar and I want to build a kegerator under the counter with faucets going up through the counter. The obvious choice is a keezer due to height, but the problem with a keezer is the lid; I would have to pull the whole thing out from under the counter every time I swap kegs or service lines. I like your expanded mini fridge because it would keep everything accessible, but I worry about electricity usage and temperature stability versus that of the keezer. Thoughts? Has anyone here done the expanded mini fridge and a keezer that can offer comparison points?
(BTW, I don’t mean to hijack the thread, sorry!)

#9

@cliffordbrewing.

when you build your bar, etc, why not make the counter-top section that is over the keezer lift as the keezer lid opens. they don’t need to be physically connected, but the counter-top can lift up so you are able to open the keezer lid. Of course, you’d need to put the taps in the collar rather than on top.

Or, you could have the taps/faucets going up through the counter-top section that is either to the left or right of the movable counter-top over the keezer.

just a thought.

:cheers:

#10

[quote=“StormyBrew”]@cliffordbrewing.

when you build your bar, etc, why not make the counter-top section that is over the keezer lift as the keezer lid opens. they don’t need to be physically connected, but the counter-top can lift up so you are able to open the keezer lid. Of course, you’d need to put the taps in the collar rather than on top.

Or, you could have the taps/faucets going up through the counter-top section that is either to the left or right of the movable counter-top over the keezer.

just a thought.

:cheers: [/quote]

Yeah, this is what I’ve been planning to do, but still exploring all my options. Thanks for the input! :cheers:

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