Looking to buy a used chest freezer to regulate the temperature on my first homebrew and am looking through some craigslist postings but have some questions about them. 1. I find some that are in decent condition but have some small rust points, I know how much sanitary conditions are important so I am wondering if there is away to somehow clean that rust effectively or is there any chance that the rust in it can ruin my beer? 2. Are most of these wired the same? I'm going to likely buy a digital therm/regulator (debating between these two if any of you have input or thoughts http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/johnson-refrigerator-thermostat.html or http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/johnson-controls-a419-digital-temp-controller.html) that I've seen recommended but am wondering if I should stick to a certain brand of chest freezer if some might be either easier to work with or if their all the same and that wont matter? 3. On avg does anyone know how much more this will bring my electric bill up by? I'm in a dessert area and usually it is in the mid to high 80's and sometimes the 90's and even 100's where the chest will be in (garage) obviously we don't see the high temperatures too often but just wondering if someone in a similar climate can tell me their experience. 4. What size is chest is recommended? How many cubic ft is good for a 6Gal Glass Carboy? Thanks in advanced for any help! I can't wait to get my first brew started but I know I don't want to ruin it either by not investing properly or by not making the right decisions.
all good questions- 1. surface rust is usually nothing more than some staining. all of my kegerators, refrigerators and freezers end up with some rust stains from time to time. the basement is humid and the rust is nothing to worry about. just wipe it away with detergent and a soft scrub sponge. if there is real rust, the kind where holes have appeared in the metal then you probably should look for another freezer. a bit of damage on the very bottom is not unusual though. 2. an analog temp control is fine for your purposes. the Johnson and the Ranco are both bullet proof, either one will work forever. Northern Brewer has a programmable digital controller that allows you to program a fermentation schedule. but it is expensive. 3. freezers are big energy users, but if it is a newer model they only cost maybe $40 a year to run. you aren't keeping food at 0 degrees either. honestly, if the expense is a concern, you probably shouldn't be homebrewing at all. 4. any chest freezer can hold a 6 gallon carboy. you can make cardboard cutouts of the diameter of your carboys and bring them along to test placements inside the freezer. there are on line charts showing this as well. if you do get a chest freezer it may well end up becoming a kegerator in the future. even the smallest chest freezer is good for our purposes, and they are much easier to move. i just moved my 6' keezer...
1. No, unless rust falls into the beer. 2. I have both. The A419 on the fermentation fridge and the Johnson rubber banded to the serving keg in a different fridge. Both can be recommended. I prefer the A419 if money is no object. It shows the temp of the probe, the cord is more flexible (can't kink like the Johnson), and the capability is more flexible to different situations. The newer the freezer, the better in general. But at the end of the day, if it runs good, you are golden. 3. Being that controlling fermentation temp is one of single best routes to great homebrew, the $ of electricity should not be an issue given a fairly efficient freezer. 4. Freezers have humps on the inside in different places depending on the make/model. You almost have to see it to figure that out. I'd say get the biggest, newest, one that will hold the most carboys.
Just did this myself. I am happy (so far) with the results. I wanted to regulate my fermentation temp, plus I wanted to be able to cold crash. I bought a 7 cu ft chest freezer. It will fit two of the fermentation buckets, glass carboys or the wide mouth bottles. You can go smaller if you only need to fit one at a time. Make sure you also measure the height of what you put in it plus the airlock. Some of the freezers I looked at would not have had room at the top. Also make sure you have a temp controller that has a lock-out feature to prevent too frequent cycling which can damage the compressor.
Thanks @billandsuz, @scurvy311 and @Bwhamon for the input!! Just so you guys know as far as the electricity questions, its not that i don't have enough to afford its simply out of curiosity so I can plan and or budget accordingly, I knew I would have to get this from the start so I'm aware of the costs involved just wanted to see an avg of what others saw that's all. One question I still want to know is regarding the brands or models, are they all just as easy to wire to the Johnson controller? Or should I stick to a specific brand that maybe others of you have used with easy success. Thanks again!
There is no wiring necessary. They simply plug the freezer in-line. They switch the freezer on and off to maintain a set point. The Johnson is plug and play. The A419 has some simple settings that need to be programmed basically once. When you finally pull the trigger, it works best when you isolate the ambient air away from the probe. I use a scrap piece of pipe insulation. That way the probe reads more of the temp fluctuation in the beer than the ambient air. http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/s...CA-1009-0000005B8ECED306_zps79379854.jpg.html
Awesome thanks! I guess I had seen an old writeup that showed a wiring diagram so I was under the impression that it had to be wired still.
Concerning rust; in my area this is a killer so I attack rust with both barrels . . . not to keep the beer clean but to keep the freezer in one piece. It isn't too difficult to sand out the rust spots, treat, prime, and re-paint with a good oil based paint. I would recommend you drop the insulation from the lid (this is easy, just a couple of friction clips) and inspect this area. If it rusts from the inside out you won't know till it's too late. This is probably not what you want to hear, but it was my approach (and the old girl cleaned up real purty). Your sellers will pretty much not know the cubic foot size, interior or exterior dimensions, or the fact it has a compressor hump. Plus, I wouldn't trust them to provide accurate measurements. As mentioned, carry cardboard cut outs of your carboy (or kegs or buckets) and place them on the floor to see what fits. It would really be nice to have room for two primarys. The hump can be used to store (cellar) whatever you have in bottles. If you search Google for freezer annual operating costs you'll get a good idea. Welcome to homebrewing.
I have 3 freezers in my garage, one for well.. freezing. It's got my hops and other various things I like to keep frozen. It's an OLD stand up freezer from.. hell, the 90's? Inefficient as hell. I have a new chest freezer for my keezer, and a another freezer for fermenting in. I think it's a 13-some odd cf, I can I currently have 3 carboys and a keg in there, and tons of beer on the hump or in the floor still. That said, I can't tell if my bill is anymore than $20 more a month. It's hot here mostly, and I've got the 3 freezers, and 2 fridges running. I use the A419 for my keezer, and the cheaper analog for fermenting. I find it works just fine, although I do use my thermapen to check liquid I have in there and to check for controlling it closer. Works out real well for the last 2 years. My fermentation freezer is also full of rust. It gets alot of moisture in there because my lid is bent and doesn't seal real well without weight on top of it. Hasn't caused me any problems, other than know I'm shortening the life of the thing with the rust in the bottom.
"Looking to buy a used chest freezer to regulate the temperature on my first homebrew" Noone else has said this yet, so let me be the first...you don't need a temp controller or a chest freezer for your first homebrew. Concentrate on the overall process first...use a bucket and wet T-shirt and see how that works first, IMHO. I know you don't want to hear this...but I'm saying it anyway.
I live in the desert, too with similar temps. I have a chest freezer and temp controller but rarely use them for fermentations. Mine is mostly used for lagering and cold storage...cheers and welcome.
This is probably good advice since the OP lives in the desert, he should be able to achieve significant cooling with just a swamp cooler setup. Save up for a kegging setup and then buy a freezer and controller and make a kegerator.
helps if you can get two batches into one freezer. I CAN, but one must be a shorter 8 gal bucket (well worth it to find one) AND it can't have a full airlock on the top (think blowoff tube). Think one freezer controller that does two batches simultaneously at first. Then add a second one to do lagers, extended fermentations etc after you've got plenty of experience (and even then, "KISS"). You're way ahead of the game if you're starting with fermentation temperature control tho.
