To cool or not to cool?

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eskimobob

To cool or not to cool?

Post by eskimobob » Tue May 09, 2006 5:13 pm

Ok so the weather has finally started to warm up and spring seems to be springing - great :D Instead of trying to keep the brew warm during fermentation to prevent sticking, I guess it will soon be a case of trying to keep it cool enough to avoid off tastes. I've been wondering what you guys do about this?

I have considered a number of times the idea of setting up some kind of cooling arrangement where I pump cool liquid through a coil fitted inside the FV. To keep the cooling liquid at the right temperature, it might be passed through a similar coil fitted inside an old fridge.

Obviously some care needs to be taken with the cooling coil in the FV; it would probably have to be made of stainless steel. You would also have to be careful not to cool the beer too much therefore the cooling liquid may have to be pumped around the circuit by a pump that is turned on and off automatically depending on the beer temperature.

An alternative approach might be to rig up some kind of peltier effect heat pump to achieve the cooling and being an electronics and software engineer this is right up my street but am I simply making far too much of this or do people already use systems similar to this?

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Jim
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Post by Jim » Tue May 09, 2006 6:38 pm

There's a Japanese forum somewhere that deals with keeping your fermenters cool (that's a big problem in hot countries). Try Googling for it.

I've seen some set ups where an old chest freezer has had its thermostat modified to run at 17 or 18 C or so depending on the yeast being used. You just put all your fermenters inside.

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johnmac
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Post by johnmac » Tue May 09, 2006 6:55 pm

I bought a huge second hand fridge and got a brand new Danfoss thermostat for £2.60 on ebay. I can control the temp between +2 and ambient. So it's at 15 when it's just cooling my cornies and 19 when I'm fermenting a brew. It takes two cornies and a fermenting bin or four cornies. I'm chuffed with it and would certainly recommend other brewers to do the same. Let's hope we have a hot summer B)

noby

Post by noby » Wed May 10, 2006 1:25 pm

eskimobob,

Do a search for 'Son of Fermentation Chiller'

It's basically a box made from rigid insulation (kingspan type) There's a division inside. On one side sits your fermenter, on the other frozen pet bottles of water. In between is a small fan, which is wired to a thermostat. You change the ice every couple of days.

I got as far as building the box, and gathering the bits'n'bobs, but then someone donated a fridge to me.

bod

Post by bod » Wed May 10, 2006 1:36 pm

http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF

here's some detailed plans for the SOFC.... yep, you guessed it, another american invention! :D

eskimobob

Post by eskimobob » Wed May 10, 2006 4:37 pm

Interesting idea. Not overly convinced about the ice though; the americans do seem to have very easy access to large quantities of ice for next to nothing but I'm not sure how much I could generate in our little rather packed freezer.

I like johnmac's idea. Definitely one to bear in mind if I come across someone chucking out a fridge.

Came across this Japanese beer pouring robot while looking for the Japanese beer cooler; made me smile :D
Image

My original thoughts were olong the lines of this:
Image
albeit coolong beer rather than an XBox :lol:

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johnmac
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Post by johnmac » Wed May 10, 2006 7:06 pm

My thermostat is much like the RS one, but better, in that the terminals are enclosed. I guess you have to buy a box to put the RS thermostat inside. I'm no electrician but I found it easy to install.

QUOTE Saves all the effort of opening the door I did wonder what was the point of all the "kegerator" stuff, now I know. Only in America :rolleyes:

bod

Post by bod » Wed May 10, 2006 7:21 pm

they dont get to be that size for nowt you know... ;)

PieOPah

Post by PieOPah » Mon Jun 12, 2006 2:06 pm

One method is to stand your FV in cold water with a towel draped over it. With the bottom of the towel in the water you then have a fan blowing on the towel. You will probably need to top up the water.

I'm not sure how effective this would be, but if you gently blow onto the back of your hand and then try wetting you hand before blowing on it you can see the difference it temperature.

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