Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

Anybody know of an old chest freezer that may be available for cheap (Free)? I really want to start controlling fermentation temp. I'm planning to get one and buy a thermostat to do this, unless anyone has a better idea.

Sounds like a good idea to me. I use an old fridge from Dr. Paulsen with a temp controller. Really improved my beer when I kept better control of the ferment temp.

I don't have a fridge to offer, but I'd suggest keeping an eye on craig's list as I think they show up there fairly frequently. Otherwise, you can buy small beverage coolers fairly cheaply too, just make sure they are big enough for the size carboy or bucket you are using. You can build "collars" for these just like many do for keezers if it's not deep enough.

For temp control: I built a digital temp controller box (actually two of them) myself. They are pretty easy to do. Mine can control both cooling and heating at the same time without needing to reconfigure it or open it up. Not a huge deal especially this time of year, but it's nice to have. Mine cost me around $50 each to make, but you can do it for less if you want to use parts you already have such as a heavy duty extension cord (3-prong) or heavy power cable, or if you want to build your own enclosure. The "brain" cost about $30 delivered.

If you'd like to come out and see my setup just let me know. The instructions I used for building the controllers are here:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aq ... ld-163849/

That's a cute project. Any idea how much current it will switch? I'd guess more than enough for fermentation control.
RANCO makes a controller that, as far as I can tell, does pretty much the same thing, at a somewhat higher price, if you're feeling lazy. I've heard that RANCOs sometimes have a reliability issue (i.e., early death) but so far no issues on mine. I've just got the one that does heating OR cooling, not both. If I were to do it again, I'd probably get a controller that does do both.

Yeah, I've been looking on craigslist. I can pick one up there for $70-$100. More than I really want to spend on the thing, maybe i can wait til christmas. Randy, That's cool. I would love to chat about this at the meeting tonight if you're going to be there. I'm thinking i may attempt this project.

Yeah, that's the problem with CL. You have to be prepared to wait for whatever you want to show up. Keep in mind though that the cheaper the asking price more likely the fridge is junk or obscenely dirty/gross.

Tapped: the controller I have is rated at 10 amps I believe. That should be enough to handle any fridge, freezer, or heating lamp or a pad like TomB built. I think I used a cord and wiring rated for 14 amps just to be safe.

IIRC, when you get a new fridge, there's like a $50 rebate on the old one from the power co., which kind of limits the market on cheap used fridges.

just got the temp controller from Hong Kong. Randy, thanks for the info and guidance. this is truly awesome. Planning to wire it up this weekend. It looks like it will be quite easy. Now if I can only find a freezer, I can start brewing again.


kjb

Hey anything I can do to help someone start cranking out beer! If you need to see how mine is wired let me know.