Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

Decided to give this a go today, a new way to have temp control for me(coil and probe) vs. ambient temp in a chamber. I did have to make a superficial lid for the hoses to come through on the 5 gallon cooler as well as insulated housing for said hoses.

First impressions; initial set up was rather quick and easy, had it running in a few minutes. i have it set 8⁰f below room temp and it reached target temp rather quickly. It recommends checking on ice levels every 6-8 hours, for which is why i choose the deeper cooler in hopes for the ice to last longer.

Only con so far is i wish the temp probe had greater distance between it and the cooling coil(inaccurate readings?). But it is nice on how compact it is so it can be removed without taking the lid off. And then replaced with regular bung/airlock assembly once primary fermentation is complete.

I will keep updated as fermentation continues, run time, ice consumption Etc.

Fermenting at 10⁰below room temp-58⁰f

Run time is not constant maybe every 20-30 minutes for about 30 seconds. Pump is extremely quite, only way i can tell it's running is by hearing the water run back into the cooler.
I will add i only cooled my wort in kettle to 68⁰, then in the fermenter. Took only 30 minutes to cool to 58⁰.